Web hosting provider HostDime (www.hostdime.com) announced on Tuesday that it has expanded its DimeNOC Datacenter by 7,000 square feet. With the expansion, the total square footage of the Orlando, Florida data center is 20,000.

According to the press release, in addition to its expansion, HostDime has also upgraded its power infrastructure and colocation client amenities. The expansion also includes a new client conference center and client build room.

The additional square footage will be employed to house new colocation clients, as well as HostDime's revamped managed dedicated server line. HostDime says its updated product lie features Intel's Westmere Hexa-Core technology, and offers new CPU options.

“The additional space will be used to accommodate the constant growth we’ve seen in our full line of hosting services,” Manny Vivar, VP of global operations for HostDime said in a statement. “The growth of our fully managed services, ranging from reseller hosting to traditional dedicated servers, shows our continued commitment to becoming a leader in the hosting industry on a global scale.”

According to the press release, the new server hardware offers native IPMI capability. The technology offers clients full KVM access to their servers and the ability to perform remote reboots via their CORE client profiles anytime on demand.

“This expansion demonstrates our commitment to our client’s growth with the most innovative technologies and facility infrastructure,” Miguel Torres, VP of network operations said in a statement. “We are poising ourselves to become one of the largest web hosting providers in the Southeast region.”

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Web hosting provider Hosting  announced on Monday it has acquired managed hosting provider NeoSpire. The terms of the transaction were not disclosed. The acquisition both expands the physical footprint of Hosting.com and adds additional expertise to the company's portfolio of services.

With data centers in Dallas, Denver, Irvine, Louisville, Newark Delaware, and San Francisco, the company is "well-positioned to offer expanded services to customers in the south with geographic diversity across the country," according to the press release.

"The synergistic relationship between NeoSpire's managed hosting services, including managed security, application hosting, database administration, exchange hosting, SaaS hosting and colocation work well within the current and future direction of Hosting.com's strategic plans," said Art Zeile, CEO of Hosting.com. "We're excited to bring their current customers into our portfolio and leverage NeoSpire's extensive security operations and expertise."

NeoSpire customers will be able to benefit from Hosting.com's experience and technical leadership for availability and recovery services.

Customers will have access to the entire suite of enterprise-class Hosting.com services, including the recently launched Cloud Replication solution that uses VMware vCenter Site Recovery Manager 5, and its private cloud service which was launched in May 2010.

With this acquisition, Hosting.com now has over 131,000 square feet of available colocation space in six geographically dispersed cities to deliver business solutions to customers throughout the United States.
Hosting.com, which is backed by private equity firm Pamlico Capital, was advised by Alston and Bird, Ernst and Young, W. David Snead, EKS&H, and Moreton & Company. On NeoSpire's side, DH Capital served as exclusive financial advisor to the company on the transaction, while Patton Boggs acted as legal counsel to NeoSpire in connection with this transaction.

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Reliability is the most important factor when it comes to selecting a web hosting company, it has been claimed. According to Citizen's Report, there are a number of things that can go wrong with an internet-based business and it is reassuring to know your web hosting provider is there for you.

Prior to selecting a company, businesses should take the time to look at the percentage of time their server is working properly, the news provider stated. "If the server tends to be down 15 per cent of the time or more, this kills valuable time that you could be working," it stated.

Citizen's Report said finding a promising web hosting company for internet-based businesses is "an essential piece to the puzzle".

"This is the company that has control of your server space, web services and file maintenance, so you want to make sure you are protected," the news provider added. Writing for the Twin Cities Daily Planet last week, Ann Treacy reported that many small businesses do not even have websites yet, let alone reliable web hosting.

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Finding a promising web hosting company for your internet based business is an essential piece to the puzzle. This is the company that has control of your server space, web services and file maintenance, so you want to make sure you are protected. Here are 5 things to look for in a promising web host.

1. Reliability
There is nothing more important than reliability when it comes to selecting a web hosting company. There are a number of things that can go wrong within an internet based business and it is assuring to know that your web host is there for you. Prior to selecting a company, take the time to look at the percentage of time their server is working properly. If the server tends to be down 15% of the time or more, this kills valuable time that you could be working.

2. Contact info
Part of a web hosting company being reliable is also them being available. If your server goes down, you want to know that you can get a hold of the company as soon as possible. The best way to check on the support personnel is to call them up prior to agreeing to anything to test them out.

3. Domain name
With thousands of internet based businesses on the web and millions of web addresses already taken, it can be difficult coming up with an original domain name. However, every web host should be able to provide you with one for a reasonable price. Check into the support they give you for finding a quality domain name and the prices each company charges for a domain name.

4. CGI access
Depending on the type of internet based business you have, you may want to or need to run your own programs. In order to do this, you must have CGI access. Not every web host offers this, and not every company offers the same capabilities for their CGI access. When researching into a web hosting company, check to make sure they offer CGI access that allows you to read, write, and execute on your server.

5. POP account
Having a POP account is vital for your business because of the protection that it offers. A POP account gives you password-protected access to mail that is sent through your website email address.

There are several things you want to look into prior to selecting a web hosting company. The more questions you can come up with to ask the company and the more research you put into your decision, the better off you will be.

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Web hosting provider Go Daddy (www.godaddy.com) announced on Wednesday that it is responsible for more than 45 percent of the market growth in the latest Netcraft Secure Server Survey Report. This announcement comes a week after Go Daddy surpassed its 50 million domain name milestone. According to the press release, Go Daddy added more than 10,000 SSL certificates to its portfolio. Netcraft's report says the nearest competitor grew by half that amount, according to the statement.

"Go Daddy is serious about protecting its customers' data," Go Daddy CEO and founder Bob Parsons said in a statement. "It's important to secure your website, but it doesn't have to cost a lot. Think about it, Go Daddy provides world-class customer care and an SSL certificate that is identical to our competitors -- all at less than half the price of most providers. I don't have to tell you, saving money is important to people these days."

Go Daddy says its growth in the market has been "dramatic" this year, including its July announcement that it managed more than a half million SSL certificates. According to the press release, in August, Netcraft ranked Go Daddy as the second largest EV SSL provider in the world. According to Go Daddy, its SSL certificates include an unlimited server license and free 24 x 7 customer support.

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Web hosting provider American Internet Services (www.americanis.net) announced on Monday that golf equipment manufacturer Callaway Golf Company (www.callaway.com) recently completed its move into the AIS enterprise-class Lightwave Data Center in San Diego.

Located 30 miles south of its corporate headquarters, AIS provides Callaway with reliability, redundancy, security and room for growth along with fixed costs for easier budgeting. Callaway said decided to use AIS' Lightwave Data Center because it was impressed with the policies and procedures AIS has in place, such as Information Technology Infrastructure Library service  architecture, and its knowledgeable staff.

The golf equipment manufacturer asked AIS whether it should expand internally or partner externally. During its evaluation period, Callaway gave AIS an opportunity to demonstrate its capabilities. "What Callaway needed fit right in our proverbial wheelhouse," said Tim Caulfield, chief executive officer at AIS. "We felt we could offer them the means for controlling their operating and capital expenditure costs while delivering a bullet proof solution that has high-availability at its core."

To ensure the transition was seamless, Callaway's IT team and the AIS ProServices team spent eight months planning the move to the Lightwave facility which took place over the Labor Day weekend.
Even when a massive power outage hit the Southern California immediately after Callaway moved to the Lightwave Data Center facility, Callaway remained unimpacted as a result of Lightwave's redundant UPS power plants, backed by dual generators. As previously reported, all three of AIS' data centers in the San Diego area were "up, and on generator power," during and after the outage.

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On Tuesday, the web hosting provider Hostway made the announcement that it has launched its new Channel Partner Program. This program is intended to make it easy for channel partners of all sizes to offer Hostway’s cloud and managed hosting services to their end clients. As stated in the press release, the web hosting company’s Channel Partner Program was created to meet the needs of small to medium sized technology resellers.

The four-tiered system provides channel partners access to a range of sales and technical support resources. The program also provides discounts as well as rewards to meet any need. The program will make it possible for channel partners to grow their client base, and offer dedicated partner-specific telephone support numbers to have direct access to technical teams to quickly address support issues.

“The cloud hosting and infrastructure-as-a-service industries are poised for unprecedented growth over the next several years,” Dave McCrossen, vice president of sales at Hostway said in a statement. “Hosting companies will not create or support this growth alone – technology developers, aggregators, resellers and influencers will drive growth. As a result, we have deployed a channel program that addresses the needs and concerns of these new participants in the hosting industry so that they can instantly share in the rewards of the marketplace growth.”

Through this partnership with Treehouse Interactive, the web hosting provider channel partners can now access a portal with marketing and sales collateral materials, marketing resources, opportunity registration and real-time commission tracking, according to the press release. The web hosting provider’s partner program is different in that it requires no specific revenue targets or up-front contract.

“Other programs make you hit certain thresholds before the discounts and commissions kick in. But, with Hostway, our channel partners are rewarded for their performance from day one,” Russell Griffin, director of channel partner programs at Hostway said in a statement. “From the moment you sign up, we provide the tools, resources and discounted pricing you need to succeed in building your business.”

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Data center opeartor Immedion announced on Monday it has expanded its footprint into western North Carolina with the purchase of Netriplex's Asheville data center. The move comes a few weeks after Immedion announced its plans to open a new data center in Charleston in May 2012.

Netriplex Asheville is now operating as an Immedion data center. As part of the acquisition, Immedion will be retaining Netriplex's engineering and support staff. The 20,000 square-foot Asheville facility expands Immedion's overall footprint allowing them to service a broader range of customers in western North Carolina and beyond. Like all of Immedion's facilities, the Asheville location will support customers with 24-hour customer service care.

The acquisition is part of Immedion's overall expansion strategy. The Netriplex acquisition doubles Immedion's data center footprint from two fully redundant data centers to four. This expansion gives Immedion "greater leverage in the southeast region and gives their customers an added level of redundancy," according to the press release.

"We are very pleased to bring Netriplex’s Asheville data center into our growing family of data centers," said Immedion CEO, Frank Mobley. "Their suite of services, location, and customer focused nature are a perfect fit for Immedion and the way we do business. This venture increases Immedion's technical depth and gives our customers more disaster recovery and scalability options."

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Web hosting provider Oxford Networks (www.oxfordnetworks.com) announced on Wednesday that it has partnered with Resilient Tier-V (www.resilientcom.com) to offer network and data center services. Oxford Networks says it will invest $5 million into Resilient Tier-V as part of the agreement to help build out its data center at the former Brunswick Naval Air Station where it currently leases 66,000 square feet. According to the press release, Oxford Networks and Resilient will create a data transmission, secure data storage and secure network management facility.

"Oxford Networks has been heavily investing in its fiber optic infrastructure for over a decade," Craig Gunderson, Oxford Networks president and CEO said in a statement. "This partnership with Resilient Tier-V gives us the opportunity to leverage that network and to offer data management and cyber security services that are critical to businesses both here in Maine and elsewhere. Resilient offers one of the most secure data storage sites in the United States and we are excited about what this can mean for our clients and the state."

Resilient launched in the spring and says its has additional investment from other partners as well, according to a report by the Bangor Daily News. "Oxford Networks resources, from a technical, financial and management perspective, provide key opportunities for Resilient's growth," Charles Largay, president of Resilient Tier-V said in a statement. "Resilient is operating out of a facility at the former Brunswick Naval Air Station that already provides extremely high levels of security for our customers. This investment will accelerate our ability to provide additional levels of reliability and redundancy that, until now, have been unattainable in most commercial data centers."

According to the press release, the partnership will offer a wide range of services including multi-gigabit fiber optic connectivity to Boston and beyond, as well as data center services including virtual private servers, managed services, secure data storage, disaster recovery services and network connectivity.

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A BANGLADESHI HACKER has managed to break into the computer infrastructure of a company called Inmotion Hosting and defaced hundreds of thousands of web sites hosted on its servers. According to the US web hosting provider, its administrators noticed an attack in progress at around 4am EST on 25 September and immediately moved to block it.

The hacker, who calls himself TiGER-M@TE and previously defaced Google Bangladesh, tried to replace the index.php of all Inmotion-hosted web sites to which he gained access. It's not clear how many he managed to deface before being locked out of the system, but his submission to the Zone-H defacement archive resulted in the web site's server crashing.

Nevertheless, over one hundred thousand requests went through, with his Zone-H profile now listing 167,054 new defacements. A separate text file uploaded by the hacker online contains over 730,000 domain names corresponding to web sites hosted at Inmotion Hosting.

Defaced web sites displayed an image reading "HACKED", the hacker's name and the usual "greetz" hackers leave during such attacks. But TiGER-M@TE didn't just replace the index.php file in every home directory. He did it for all sub-directories as well, making manual cleanup much harder for webmasters.
Fortunately, the company developed an automated system to restore the original files from backups, a process that lasted until late in the day. At 11pm Inmotion reported that it had repaired most of its customers' web sites.

"The majority of the automated repairs for shared have taken place at this time. We will continue to do repairs as possible tonight and tomorrow. If your site is showing a directory listing instead of your site, you will need to upload a replacement," the company said in an update on its web site. It's not exactly clear how TiGER-M@TE broke in, but Inmotion's security team suspects a vulnerability in an authentication system. Customer access to Cpanel, a popular web site configuration and management application, was disabled by Inmotion soon after it detected the attack.

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