By David Hamilton, December 28, 2009
(WEB HOST INDUSTRY REVIEW) -- The original promise of cloud computing - computing served as a limitlessly scalable, always accessible, dependable utility - is finally being realized by both consumers and businesses thanks to advances in hosting software and technology, and 2009 has been a crucial year to that effect.
Open-Xchange has made incredible advances in web-based email and collaboration. R1Soft's CDP 3.0 represents the importance of data backup to enterprise customers interested in benefiting from the cloud. Parallels has made it easier for web hosting businesses to manage their hosting, and provide Software-as-a-Service applications. VMware has created what it calls the first cloud operating system. Finally, Windows launched its latest server operating system release, adding features for new server infrastructures. virtualization tools, and web resource management.
Put together, these new technologies form an exciting picture, showing that the advances in the web hosting realm are quickly meeting the needs of individuals and businesses, and paving the way for more enhancements as we wake up from dream clouds to find they are are real.
Open-Xchange
While Microsoft Exchange remains the choice email client for most business applications, open-source messaging and collaboration platform Open-Xchange (www.open-xchange.com) has added features this year that integrate all sorts of social features alongside business-class functionality, making it no wonder it has seen an 80 percent increase in its user base in 2009.
Open-source groupware provider Open-Xchange announced its "Social OX" concept in July, providing features that bridge isolated information such as email, contacts, calendars and documents. Under Social OX, all email and contact information are in one place, whether personal or business. It can aggregate webmail from Google, Yahoo and many others into a folder in Open-Xchange, plus automatically add and incorporate contact details from social networks such as Facebook, LinkedIn or Xing to the Open-Xchange address book.
In 2009 alone, Open-Xchange has formed relationships with domain name registrars Dotster and NameCheap, as well as French web host Nexen-Alterway Hosting, and Asian SaaS distributor NTS.
CDP Server 3.0 Standard Edition
Unveiling the next major update to its continuous data protection technology used in many of the finest data centers around the world, software developer R1Soft (www.r1soft.com) unveiled the latest version of its CDP software at the cPanel Conference in October. CDP Server 3.0 Standard Edition, the first release of R1Soft's CDP 3.0 products, offers users high-performance CDP backups on a single server without the need of a dedicated backup server.
R1Soft's enterprise-level backup solution provides data protection for Linux and Windows servers with near-continuous disk-based backups that can be scheduled as often as every 15 minutes. It also increases server uptime with its bare-metal restores, which skip the OS re-installation step, allowing data to be recovered from any point-in-time backup in minutes.
The beta version of the CDP 3.0 Standard Edition also provided early access to some of the features from CDP 3 Enterprise, which would be released later. CDP advancements include file and folder excludes, on-disk journaling, and storage of disk-based backups on NAS, Windows shares, cloud storage and other places. And unlike CDP 2.0, which required a dedicated CDP Server be set up, version 3 lets users install it directly on the server being backed up.
Along with this added functionality, there are also more user friendly interfaces and reporting features to boost web host productivity.
Web hosts such as NEXCESS.NET (www.nexcess.net) have chosen to make R1Soft CDP available to their entire client base, letting them protect their clients`s mission-critical data. As CDP 3 goes into wide release, it is likely that more web hosts will be won over.
Parallels Small Business Panel 10
Parallels Panel 9 went into wide release in December 2008, and would have more than qualified for a mention as one of the top technologies of 2008 because of the immense power and control it gives to web hosts. With Parallels' Small Business Panel 10, released this year, the virtualization automation provider has come out with a streamlined and accessible control panel application that can be used to let a hosting provider easily offer a full line of services.
With Small Business Panel, Parallels introduced a new control panel designed to offer virtual private server and dedicated server hosts added ease-of-use and more revenue streams, as well as making self-service possible for SMB clients.
And Parallels` new Partner Marketplace offers commercial applications that cloud service providers can sell to their small business customers through an easy-to-use storefront, along with open-source apps such as SpamAssassin, Application Pack, Helpdesk, Tomcat, ColdFusion and MSSQL.
Essentially, Parallels SMB Panel 10 gives users the control and access to a wide range of solutions to make them a one stop shop for all of their clients` needs.
VMware vSphere 4
Billed as "the industry's first cloud operating system," and "the next evolutionary step in IT computing," VMware vSphere 4 emerged in 2009 as the foundation for a new kind of cloud. Evolving from VMware's proven virtualization platform, vSphere uses federation and standards to bridge cloud infrastructures, creating a hybrid cloud structure that can respond to both public and private cloud needs.
VMware vSphere lets users get more from their existing IT assets and reduce capital expenses of the datacenter by up to 60 percent, and lower power, cooling and real estate needs can cut energy costs by up to 80 percent, while keeping the flexibility to still use any OS, application or hardware.
vSphere 4 also includes support for up to 8 core virtual CPUs with a maximum of 255GB of virtual machine ram, and can run on host machines that have up to 64 CPU cores and 1TB of memory. vSphere 4 workload throughput is improved as a result of resource management and processor scheduling. Hardware-assisted memory virtualization also reduces both CPU and memory overhead. As well, storage is improved through a new para-virtualized SCSI driver, and additional ESX kernel-level storage stack optimizations.
Virtual server technology provider Infinitely Virtual (www.infinitelyvirtual.com) recently completed an upgrade to vSphere 4, increasing its operational efficiencies, and providing customers with break-though virtualization features, scalability and performance. And it was done with no downtime. Furthermore, it lets customers gain more out of their infrastructure, and lets Infinitely Virtual release new products, including those based on VMware Fault Tolerance, which provides continuous availability to any application without any data loss or downtime. Infinitely Virtual also plans to offer support for vApps, which ensures seamless application movement and choice between clouds using Open Virtualization Format to designate and enclose all components of a multi-tier application, as well as the operational policies and service levels relevant to it.
VMware vSphere is available in several different flavors for small business and medium-sized businesses, and enterprises.
Windows Server 2008 R2
Launched in the fall, Microsoft`s latest server operating system release, Windows Server 2008 R2, while not nearly as hyped as its other OS release, Windows 7, proved to be a major deal for Windows-based web hosts and developers. Version enhancements included new functionality for Active Directory, new virtualization and management features, as well as support for up to 256 logical processors, and the use of Internet Information Services version 7.5.
Built on the foundation of Windows Server 2008, R2 lets organizations increase the reliability and flexibility of their server infrastructures. new virtualization tools, web resources, management enhancements, and Windows 7 integration, helping save time, reduce costs, and provide a platform for a dynamic and efficiently managed data center.
Powerful tools such as IIS 7.5, updated Server Manager and Hyper-V platforms, and Windows PowerShell version 2.0 combine to give customers greater control, increased efficiency, and the ability to react to front-line business needs faster than ever before.
