Beat the Hat

(This blog post was supposed to be titled “Beat the Heat”, but I mistyped it as “hat”.  I think it’s funnier this way.)

Weather like this can wreak havoc with a datacenter.  The heat and humidity aren’t just unpleasant to be in; they place a heavier load on HVAC systems trying to keep the great indoors comfortable.  The electric grid struggles under the increased demand for power, and by this afternoon, inevitable brownouts and power failures will start rolling throughout the region.  And although this can be a minor inconvenience for most businesses, it can be devastating to your website.

You see, web servers don’t like being turned off.  Planned shutdowns are bad enough, but an unexpected loss of power can destroy data by corrupting storage arrays, mangling databases, and interrupting backup processes.  That’s why we only work with world-class, enterprise-grade datacenters.

Multiple redundant cooling systems keep our Scranton datacenter right around the 70-degree mark.  If utility power fails, multiple Eaton Powerware 9395 and 9315 facility-wide uninterruptable power supplies (UPSes) to hold down the fort until the three on-site Cummins (250KW) and Detroit Diesel (one 580KW, one 675KW) generators get up to speed.  Asco 7000 and Russ Electric RTBD automatic transfer panels automatically transfer load to the generators once they’re stable, and back to utility power once it returns.  And thanks to multiple fuel tanks, there’s enough fuel on-site at all times for up to 48 hours of runtime.  With a power draw around 1200A at 480V plus another 800A at 208V 3-phase, that’s a lot of juice.

Everything is monitored by on-site technicians 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.  From environmental controls to intrusion and fire detection, the datacenter technicians carefully monitor and respond to potential trouble around the clock.  It’s a far cry from some discount web hosting providers who use window air conditioners (we’ve actually seen this), consumer-grade UPSes, and a system that merely calls someone when things go wrong.  Using a high-end datacenter that does things right is expensive, but we won’t settle for anything less.

Are we invincible?  Of course not.  Any hosting provider — including us — can still go down (and if any provider ever promises you otherwise, you should immediately run in the opposite direction).  No matter how much you plan and prepare, things can and do still go wrong.  But we’ve taken every step we can to protect our servers — and your data — from outages.

So to celebrate, we’re offering a very special deal this weekend (7/7/12 and 7/8/12) only:

Order any Virtual Private Server by 7/8/12, and use promo code WAYTOOHOT to save 25%!

Order any dedicated server by 7/8/12, and use promo code WAYTOOHOT5 to save 5%!

These discounts are good towards your hosting plan and all add-ons such as control panels and server management.  They aren’t just one-month discounts, either — these codes are good for life!  This offer ends Sunday 7/9/12, so stay inside and switch your VPS or dedicated server to Fresh Roasted Hosting!