Daisy Group offers a variety of solutions related to broadband, hosted VoIP, IP virtual private networks and more. The facility upgrade came at a price of one million British pounds.

Physical security at the sight appears to be rock solid. Not only is the facility located 25 feet underground, Daisy Group described it as “bomb proof” thanks to a twelve ton door.

“We’ve been hosting data for more than 13 years and have seen the market and the demand for secure storage increase dramatically in that time,” commented Daisy Corporate Sales Director Will Kennedy in a press release regarding the matter.

“The new facilities and space that we have created in our Manchester data centre mean that we’re able to open up our world-class hosting solutions to any kind of business, large or small, that require secure and instant access to their data and applications,” Kennedy continued.

Features of the data center site include fiber network connectivity, 247 monitoring and power backed by diesel generators. Daisy Group’s data center upgrade unveiling occurs not long after the company announced the acquisition of audio-conferencing company Worldwide Group Holdings limited last month.

Underground sites have been commonly revamped by a variety of companies to host data center servers. Swedish ISP provider Bahnhof currently operates a data center in an old underground bunker located in Stokholm. That site was detailed in 2008 by website monitoring company Pingdom.

Manchester Data Center Uses Former Bank Vault

Unlike more common bandwidth floods aimed at the network (Layer 3) or transportation (Layer 4) layers, application layer (Layer 7) attacks can be structured to overload specific elements of an application server infrastructure. Even simple attacks – for example those targeting login pages with random user IDs and passwords, or repetitive random “searches” on dynamic web sites – can critically overload CPUs and databases.

One of VirtualRoad.org’s independent news media clients in Asia recently came under a complex Layer 7 GET flood attack. VirtualRoad.org’s DDoS mitigation team routed the client’s traffic to Prolexic’s 500 Gbps cloud-based mitigation platform.

Prolexic’s Security Operations Center (SOC) quickly determined the type of attack and discovered that it was launched through a large multi-hop proxy network in order to mask the attackers’ source IP address. In minutes, Prolexic mitigated an attack that could have brought the site down for many days or weeks.

“Launching DDoS attacks for politically and ideologically motivated purposes is not new, but is increasing in frequency,” said Neal Quinn, chief operating officer at Prolexic. “This illustrates the ubiquity of DDoS and that targets are no longer limited to high profile commercial web sites.”

VirtualRoad.org offers DDoS mitigation services as a core part of its standard and customized packages of web hosting services. As part of an agreement with Prolexic, VirtualRoad.org can leverage resources at Prolexic’s SOC to mitigate large and complex attacks that are beyond the capacity and capabilities of its own network and technicians.

“The collaboration between VirtualRoad.org and Prolexic works extremely well because we can leverage Prolexic’s proven experience in protecting large enterprises against DDoS attacks to give our social justice clients more peace of mind,” said Thomas Hughes, director, Media Frontiers, the parent company of VirtualRoad.org. “Our partnership with Prolexic is now a crucial element of our mitigation services, and thanks to Prolexic’s proven expertise, our clients can continue their freedom of expression without disruption, even in an increasingly hostile web environment.”

To learn more, read the full case study at http://www.prolexic.com/virtualroad.

About Prolexic

Prolexic is the world’s largest, most trusted Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) mitigation provider. Able to absorb the largest and most complex attacks ever launched, Prolexic restores mission-critical Internet-facing infrastructures for global enterprises and government agencies within minutes. Ten of the world’s largest banks and the leading companies in e-Commerce, SaaS, payment processing, travel/hospitality, gaming and other at-risk industries rely on Prolexic to protect their businesses. Founded in 2003 as the world’s first in- the-cloud DDoS mitigation platform, Prolexic is headquartered in Hollywood, Florida and has scrubbing centers located in the Americas, Europe and Asia. To learn more about how Prolexic can stop DDoS attacks and protect your business, please visit http://www.prolexic.com, follow us on LinkedIn, Facebook and Google+ or follow @Prolexic on Twitter.

Prolexic Mitigates Layer 7 DDoS Attack

“Typically IT gets hit with things like, ‘Why is my application running slow?’ ” says LogicMonitor Founder and Chief Product Officer, Steve Francis. “And they scramble around trying to figure it out with multiple monitoring tools and often multiple people. Is it the virtualization platform or the application itself? Or is it the network? Maybe the storage device? With LogicMonitor the monitoring data for the whole infrastructure is right there, in a single pane of glass, completely integrated and easily accessible to anyone in the organization.” Which translates into issues getting solved quickly and efficiently, according to Francis.

Francis explains that while troubleshooting IT infrastructure problems is a major part of the value LogicMonitor delivers, and leads many VMware users (as well as MSPs, cloud companies and other web companies) to try its SaaS-based monitoring solution, it is the ability to proactively avoid issues and gain actionable, infrastructure-wide intelligence that enthuses LogicMonitor clients in the long run.

“Clients often come to LogicMonitor for a point solution, or to put out a fire,” says Francis, “And after we quickly help to pinpoint their issue, they begin to discover LogicMonitor’s breadth. Not only do they easily get top to bottom performance monitoring, but operational intelligence and also real-time business metrics. A real awakening occurs. In the case of VMware monitoring, it’s a perfect fit.”

The San Diego VMUG event presents a great opportunity for VMware users to see a firsthand demonstration of the power and value LogicMonitor delivers in monitoring VMware’s vSphere, vCenter and ESX technologies.

Companies interested in VMware monitoring and gaining instant visibility into their entire IT infrastructure can take advantage of a 14-day free trial of the full version of LogicMonitor at http://www.LogicMonitor.com.

About LogicMonitor

LogicMonitor, Inc. is the leading SaaS-based IT infrastructure monitoring solution, giving instant visibility into the entire IT infrastructure stack – networks, servers, applications, storage, and cloud – in a single pane of glass. Headquartered in Santa Barbara, California, LogicMonitor was founded by a team of data center operations experts on a mission to make monitoring both powerful and simple. The company is a NetApp, VMware, Dell, HP, and Citrix technology partner. In addition to being recognized as one of the top network monitoring solutions by TechRepublic, LogicMonitor recently received the WebHost Magazine Editors’ Choice Award for comprehensive network monitoring, and received the Best of SaaS Showplace (BoSS) Award for delivering outstanding business value. For more info, visit http://www.logicmonitor.com

LogicMonitor to Showcase VMware Monitoring

“We are so excited to join in the work StartEngine is doing,” said Jeffrey Papen, founder and CEO of Peak. “There is nothing more important to us than giving back to the technology community by sharing our time, knowledge and expertise. We look forward to watching the next Facebook and Google grow from accelerator and incubator programs.”

StartEngine is more than just another rapid accelerator in Los Angeles. They are an engine to help launch a hub for financing, business infrastructure, community collaboration, and exposure to the best VC’s and angels around. The goal is to create an environment of massive creativity and production, a connection between driven individuals who may not otherwise have had the chance to meet and a place where great companies and great leaders are born.

“StartEngine is excited to have Peak Hosting as one of its partners,” said Howard Marks, co-chair of StartEngine. “They will help our startups scale fast and reliably.”

About Peak Hosting

Founded in 2001, Peak Hosting has built 15 of the largest Internet properties in the world. No other service provider has designed, built or scaled larger and well-known Internet giants. Our team of engineers, who average over 14 years in the industry, can design and build any IT network solution. As part of our Operations-as-a-Service, Peak Total Operations™ (PTO) delivers the experts in operating system management, application support, networking, security, database administration, monitoring & alerting, automation tools, performance trend analysis, and virtualization expertise so companies can focus on their individual product without needing the specific skill-sets to implement “the plumbing” around their goals.

About StartEngine

StartEngine is a rapid accelerator focused on helping Los Angeles-based technology startups build a solid foundation for success in 90 days. Created by Howard Marks, co-founder of Activision, and Paul Kessler, one of the most prolific investors in Los Angeles, Start Engine will provide local startups with the essential resources and counsel they need to become successful, self-directed businesses. Start Engine offers a team of mentors who have proven themselves as successful entrepreneurs – not professional investors – ensuring that its startups are guided by the right people for the right reasons. Early-stage companies in the web, mobile and ecommerce space are encouraged to apply for the program which completes four cycles per year, culminating in Demo Days that are attended by the region’s top angel investors and VCs.

Peak Hosting Teams Up With StartEngine

“If we are not prepared to immediately meet client demands for server space, then we are not staying committed to our mission of providing the highest level of customer service,” stated Albert Ahdoot, Colocation America’s Business Development Director.  “By making it incredibly easy for businesses to colocate or get a dedicated server with us, we can put our effort into staying on top of the latest data center technological developments.”

Although their strongest data center presence is in Los Angeles, Colocation America also operates data centers in other major U.S. markets including Chicago, San Francisco, New Jersey and New York.  All of its 22 data centers maintain the highest standards, meeting the PCI, HIPAA, and SSAE 16 compliancy guidelines. In each of these markets, Colocation America offers a wide range of colocation and connectivity options starting  from $75 per month.  Having extra data center space means that both small businesses needing a dedicated server with minimal bandwidth and large companies requiring several server racks of space can continue to be accommodated.  According to Ahdoot, “Being able to offer full scalability in regards to connectivity, space and power, along with high levels of security, allows Colocation America to continue to meet business needs as they grow and require more servers or bandwidth.”

As part of the latest growth in space, Colocation America has upgraded its data centers with new alarm monitoring systems, high-density power cabinets, 24 x 7 closed-circuit video, a new ventilation and air temperature regulation system, as well as new client work areas. “Anyone new to Colocation is invited to come and tour our Los Angeles data center facilities to see for themselves exactly how Colocation America can meet their colocation or dedicated server needs.”

About Colocation America

Operating data centers in San Francisco, Los Angeles, Chicago, New Jersey and, New York, Colocation America offers a high level of support, connectivity, redundancy, and security.  Colocation America’s reputation as a trusted hosting company staffed by experienced technicians dedicated to keeping up with the latest technology, means that it can continue to grow and improve its colocation services and dedicated server hosting.

For more information, visit http://www.colocationamerica.com

Colocation America Expands L.A. Data Centers

All businesses purchasing any business hosting package from UK2 will be entered into the prize draw to win tickets to the F1™  British Grand Prix at Silverstone. First prize is 2 tickets to the race day itself, while the runner up wins tickets to Saturday’s qualifying session. It’s one of many competitions UK2 has planned over the coming weeks so it’s worth keeping an eye on their website for future promotions.

Craig McCartney, responsible for marketing at UK2.NET, commented on the promotion: “Businesses looking for hosting are being offered similar packages by nearly everyone in the market. Our pricing helps to differentiate us from our competitors but we wanted to offer something more than just good-value hosting. We wanted to give businesses value added products which will help them to grow their online presence and increase customer engagement with their target market.”

“Through our partnership with the Marussia F1 Team and our involvement in F1 this year, we also wanted to offer our new business customers the chance to get closer to the action by giving them the opportunity to win tickets to the F1™ British GP,” Craig added.

SME’s and Start-ups need reliable and affordable solutions to help support their businesses. Hosting is one of these solutions and UK2 has done well to include these value-added products to their already attractive business offering to give these SME’s the tools they need to succeed.

Click here for more information UK2’s business hosting.

UK2 Launch Business Hosting Promotion

1. Know your weaknesses – Potential attackers already do. They know to look for passwords containing only letters or numbers, names of spouses, children or friends, simple dictionary words, and double letters or numbers.
2. Memorize a complex password – You probably use a simple password because it is easy to remember, but you are not giving yourself enough credit. You know entire songs, your social security number, dozens of phone numbers, and probably a truck load of useless trivia. You can memorize a few passwords, even if they are complex.
3. Use a password generator – Find a good password generator and use it to create a complex password that mixes letters, numbers, case, and does not rely on dictionary words.
4. Change your password often – Even if someone does manage to eventually crack your complex password, it will not matter because you have already changed it. Right? Change your password often, and keep changing it on a regular rotation, several times a year.
5. Use Any Means Necessary – If you need to safeguard something particularly sensitive, do not hesitate to pull out all the stops to protect it. That may involve using an encrypted key instead of a regular password or even making use of an encrypted VPN. Do whatever you have to do to keep your data safe.

Once you get in the habit of making good passwords, it will not be something laborious. It will be as normal as any of the other routines you do throughout the year.

5 Tips for More Secure Passwords

On Monday, through a district court in Arizona, the FTC filed a complaint against North America Marketing and Associates along with a variety of other companies.

According to the filing, the entities carried out a scheme that promised clients they could create and host websites that would generate cash by including links to top online retailers including Best Buy and Wal-Mart. The initial website hosting offering cost between one hundred to four hundred dollars. However, it wasn’t meant to be. Little to no cash was generated and instead, clients were directed to purchase expensive advertising packages that cost thousands of dollars.

“The defendants are charged with violating the FTC Act and the FTC’s Telemarketing Sales Rule (TSR) by misrepresenting that consumers who bought and used websites and advertising packages would earn substantial income, and that experts would help them operate their business,” stated a news release pertaining to the matter posted on FTC.gov.

The accused are based in states including Nevada and Arizona.

In the recent past, the FTC has paid particularly close attention to marketing scams carried out by online presences. This January, the commission announced settlements with a variety of websites for operating customer deception sales related to weight-loss products. Those accused of the practices were required to pay half a million dollars each.

Build Your Own Website & Make Big Money? Not so fast says FTC

Wharfedale Technologies Inc. (WFT Cloud), a leading SAP Infrastructure and SAP on Cloud consulting firm, has made significant gains within the cloud computing domain due to its focus on cost savings and faster ROI when customers decide to migrate their SAP Non Production landscapes to Cloud.

WFT Cloud’s own SAP Cloud Image Factory (SCIF) is based on permutation & combination’s of SAP software available on open systems. This proprietary methodology rests at the core of how WFT Cloud saves its customers both time and money when provisioning their SAP landscapes to Cloud. WFT Cloud’s “SCIF” library, containing over 800+ SAP Images, enables SAP to Cloud migrations to be delivered in minutes – (not days). The SCIF approach will free up existing resources and additional capex which can then be applied to other business critical initiatives.

WFT Cloud customers realize greater cost savings through a predictable pricing structure. WFT Cloud’s all inclusive fixed price model includes: cost for hardware and software, SAP operations support, SAP data Protection, as well as SAP system refresh and patching. WFT Cloud customers experience accelerated ROI and a cost savings advantage after migrating their SAP non production landscapes to WFT Cloud. The following are the average cost savings for WFT Cloud customers when migrating from different system environments or deploying a new landscape:

• Mainframe to WFT Cloud -              minimum of 40-50% savings
• UNIX (Linux/HPUX/AIX) to WFT Cloud – minimum of 30-40% savings
• Intel (Non-Virtualized) to WFT Cloud –      minimum of 25-30% savings
• Intel (Virtualized) to WFT Cloud -         minimum of 20-30% savings

WFT Cloud customers can also take advantage of our “Cloud Aggregation Solution”. The cloud aggregation solution” provides customers with the flexibility and choice of selecting between competing cloud service providers. This option truly serves to benefit WFT Cloud customers by delivering SLA driven options, reduced operational costs and faster ROI.

Ganesh Radhakrishnan, CEO of WFT Cloud, concurs with Gartner’s assumption that, “20% of all businesses will own absolutely no IT assets come 2013”. This is why WFT Cloud has become a leader in helping customers to reduce operation costs and improve efficiencies when migrating their SAP landscapes onto WFT Cloud.

Please join Ganesh Radhakrishnan, during his panel discussion at Sapphire Now 2012.

About Wharfedale Technologies Inc.

Wharfedale Technologies Inc. (WFT Cloud) is a leading technology consulting firm specializing in SAP infrastructure integrations and services, as well as private/public hybrid Cloud solutions. As an SAP certified provider of cloud services, Wharfedale also offers SAP solutions around - high availability, disaster recovery, advanced sizing for virtualization, back up/recovery Integration, systems refresh automation and landscape optimization.

For more information on Wharfedale and WFT Cloud services, please visit http://www.wftcloud.com or http://www.wftus.com or call us at (888) 533-3113.

SAP and all SAP logos are trademarks or registered trademarks of SAP AG in Germany and in several other countries. All other product and service names mentioned are the trademarks of their respective companies

WFT Cloud Announces SCIF Methodology

The Appro Xtreme-X Supercomputer based on the new Intel Xeon processor will deliver improved HPC performance with outstanding memory footprint, I/O and FLOPs in a dense system offering outstanding memory performance to improve data intensive HPC applications while lowering data center infrastructure costs. The new Intel Xeon processor E5-4600 product family features up to 4 channels DDR3 1600 memory per socket, 48 DIMMs per system, 8 cores with 16 threads per CPU and 20MB cache, 2 QPI Links with up to 8GT/s per socket, integrated PCIe 3.0 with up to 40 lanes per socket. The system supports the new Intel Integrated I/O and Intel® Turbo Boost Technology 2.0.

“We are excited to have completed the installation and deployment of the Appro Xtreme-X™ Supercomputer based on Intel® Xeon® processor E5 product family at the Kyoto University in Japan”, said Daniel Kim, CEO of Appro. “These cutting-edge supercomputers configured with four processor based servers provide 1.5TB per node of shared memory with a single address space delivering outstanding memory performance, density and manageability to support HPC scientific research projects”

The Appro Xtreme-X Supercomputer configured for the Kyoto University consists of two systems. The first system features 10 TFlops based on four processor servers delivering a total of 24TB of shared memory in a 16-node configuration. The second system features 200TFlops based on two processor servers in a 601-node configuration coupled with 64 GPU nodes to provide even higher density and higher performance in a small footprint. The two systems are interconnected with the latest Mellanox Dual Rail FDR Infiniband networks.

These systems are designed to optimize floor space offering outstanding memory footprint per processor, power utilization, and cooling efficiency using the latest cluster technologies and techniques. They are also configured with Appro’s HPC Software Stack to include Appro Cluster Engine™ (ACE) remote management software delivering diskless operation, fast booting, load balancing and failover capabilities for non-stop operation; all factory integrated and ready to ship with Appro’s turn-key System Delivery Integration Services.

“The most complex computational tasks required by workloads ranging from data intensive computing to breakthroughs at the leading-edge of science can take advantage of the solutions delivered by Appro in their new Intel® Xeon® E5-4600 product family based platforms.” said Raj Hazra, General Manager of the Intel Technical Computing Group. “These solutions offer Intel’s new Integrated I/O technology with PCI Express 3.0 support and deliver breakthrough performance through improved system memory bandwidth.”

About Appro

Appro is a leading developer of innovative supercomputing solutions. Appro is uniquely positioned to support High-Performance Computing (HPC) markets focusing on medium to large-scale deployments where lower total cost of ownership is essential. Appro accelerates technical applications and business results through outstanding price/performance, power efficient and fast time-to-market solutions based on the latest open standards technologies, innovative cluster tools and management software packaged with HPC professional services and support.

Appro supercomputing solutions enables scientists and engineers to use data-intensive, capacity, capability and hybrid computing for scientific research, data modeling, engineering simulations, and seismic visualization. Appro’s headquarters is located in Milpitas, CA with offices in Korea, Japan and Houston, TX. To receive automatic Appro news and feature stories, subscribe to Appro RSS feeds at http://www.appro.com, also visit us on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/ApproSupercomputers or interact with us at http://twitter.com/approhpc

Appro Announces Xtreme-X™ Supercomputer