Adhost Blog
24/7/365 Support
1-888-323-4678
support@adhost.com
Cequel Data Centers Acquires Adhost Internet
Posted in Company NewsI am pleased to announce that TierPoint Seattle Holdings, LLC acquired Adhost Internet Advertising, LLC on November 30, 2012. Tierpoint Seattle is a subsidiary of Cequel Data Centers, LLC which operates more than 100,000 square feet of data center space through its ownership of Colo4, LLC in Dallas, Texas, Perimeter Technology with two locations in Oklahoma, and TierPoint, LLC in Spokane, Washington.
We believe this will be a great next step for our customers and our team as TierPoint shares our vision for the future and our commitment to customer relationships. The Adhost staff is making the transition as well, so it should be a seamless transition for our customers. I will be staying on as the General Manager in Seattle, and I am very excited about the future.
Of course, if you have any questions about this transition, please feel free to contact me or your sales representative. Thank you for being an Adhost customer. We are excited to take this next step with you.
Will Riffle
General Manager, TierPoint Seattle Holdings, LLC
permalink | digg this | technoratiCloud Computing, Security and Virtualization Event in Seattle
Posted in Company News,Seattle Internet Events,SecurityDo you currently use virtualization in your environment, or have plans to do so?
Organizations of all sizes have turned to virtualization in order to reduce costs and increase the efficiency, availability, and flexibility of their IT resources. But virtual environments cannot depend on physical infrastructure alone for protection. According to a Gartner report, “virtualized systems will likely be more secure in five years than their physical counterparts”.
Join WatchGuard Technologies, Adhost Data Centers, and VMware – learn more about Cloud Computing, Security, and Virtualization!
- Taste wine and enjoy authentic Spanish Paella from local boutique winemaker Kevin Brown of Siren Song Wines
- All attendees will receive a 30 day evaluation of XTMv (WatchGuard XTM Virtual Firewall)
- Win prizes!
Thursday, September 13th
Time: 3:00 pm – 6:00 pm – Registration begins at 2:30 pm
Location: WatchGuard Worldwide Headquarters – 505 5th Ave S, Suite 500 – Seattle, WA 98104 (Free Parking in the Union Station Parking Garage – bring your ticket for validation)
Click Here to Reserve Your Seat Now
Agenda
» Welcome, Introductions, News and Announcements
» Get Business Done, an Introduction to Adhost – Speaker, Kurt Widmann, VP Sales and Marketing – Adhost Data Centers
» Next Generation Solutions for a Virtual World – Speaker Peter McNaull, Sr. Sales Engineer – WatchGuard Technologies
» Enter the New Cloud Era – Speaker, Jenae Serna, Sr. Partner Business Manager – VMware
SSAE 16 Type II Audit Completed
Posted in Company News,Security
We are pleased to announce Adhost successfully completed a Statement for Attestation Engagements No. 16 (SSAE 16) Type II audit. In previous years, Adhost passed SAS 70 audits, and this year the American Institute of Certified Public Accounts (AICPA) replaced the SAS 70 with the SSAE 16. Compared to SAS 70, SSAE 16 brings US companies up to date with the new international service organization reporting standards, the ISAE 3402.
During a week-long on-site visit in July, an independent service auditor examined the policies, procedures and business processes in place at Adhost over the previous one-year time period. The following controls related to colocation and other data centers solutions provided in our Seattle data centers were audited:
- Control Environment
- Physical Security
- Environmental security
- Availability
- Operations
Data center companies who complete annual audits are able to demonstrate a substantially higher level of assurance and operationally visibility than those companies who do not. The completion of the SSAE 16 Type II audit typifies Adhost’s continued commitment to create and maintain the most stringent controls needed to ensure the highest quality and security of services provided to our customers.
A SSAE 16 report, also known as a SOC 1 (Service Organization Control) report, is beneficial to both the service organization and its clients because it demonstrates that the service organization has implemented effective control objects and activities. All of our data center clients, including publicly traded companies and those in the financial and healthcare industries, benefit from our processes and procedures and are able to use our audit report for their required audits.
To learn more about SSAE 16 and the details of the audit, visit our SSAE 16 page.
permalink | digg this | technoratiNew Video of Our Seattle Data Centers
Posted in Company NewsWe’ve added a new video showcasing our Seattle data centers in Fisher Plaza. Video footage includes:
- Network Operations Center (NOC)
- Fisher Plaza infrastructure
- Multiple generators
- On-site diesel tanks
- Data center security, including SAS 70 Type II Audit
- Raised floors
- List of bandwidth providers
- Interviews of Adhost team
New Seattle Data Center Is Open
Posted in Company News
We’re pleased to announce the opening of our third data center in downtown Seattle. Located in the Fisher Plaza West building, the new Seattle data center features 100 cabinets, with a mix of full, half and quarter cabinets. Construction finished in time for the stormy winter forecast for this winter in the Seattle region.
Our two existing data centers are full, and due to continuing demand from businesses looking for secure data centers with redundancy in power, cooling and bandwidth for their servers, we began construction of this third data center last summer. All three data centers are built to N+1 requirements and Fisher Plaza exceeds seismic zone four standards for earthquakes. Fisher Plaza is connected to eight multi-megawatt generators and two emergency wells that can supply water to cooling towers if city water is disrupted.
There is 24-hour surveillance of data center visitors by security guards and cameras. In addition Adhost undergoes annual SAS 70 Type II audits to verify our data centers’ secure environments. The audit covers the policies, procedures and business processes in place at Adhost. Data center clients can use this audit report for their own security compliance requirements for HIPAA, Sarbanes-Oxley, PCI DSS and others.
Like our second data center, the new one incorporates louvers which exchange outside air to cool the data center when the temperature outside is cool enough – the majority of the year in Seattle. In addition, the power comes from Seattle City Light which is 88% hydro-electric.
We are featuring two move-in specials:
- 42U Cabinet with 100 Mbps bandwidth and 20 Amps UPS Power
- 42U Cabinet with 1,000 Mbps bandwidth and 40 Amps UPS Power
For more information, visit our Seattle Colocation information page. To request a tour or a quote, email sales@adhost.com or call 1-888-234-6781
permalink | digg this | technoratiConstruction of Third Seattle Data Center on Schedule
Posted in Company News
Due to continued growth and customer demand, this summer we commenced construction of our third data center at Fisher Plaza. Like our Adhost West Phase 1 data center, the new data center will feature N+1 power supply, 42 inch cabinets and an outside air exchange system.
The project is on track to be completed in mid-October. To learn more about the new data center or to reserve rack space for your server colocation needs or dedicated servers requirements, contact sales@adhost.com or call 1-888-234-6781.
permalink | digg this | technoratiAdhost Joins the Microsoft Dynamic Data Center Alliance
Posted in Company News
We are pleased to announce that Adhost joined the Microsoft Dynamic Data Center Alliance as a Hosting Partner. The Dynamic Data Center Alliance brings together an ecosystem of partners including hosters, system integrators, hardware manufacturers, and software vendors who are working with Microsoft to offer differentiated value to customers based on the Dynamic Data Center Toolkit.
Earlier this year we launched our cloud hosting solution, using the Dynamic Data Center Toolkit, with Windows Server 2008 R2 Hyper-V and System Center Virtual Machine Manager as the foundation. You can read a Microsoft case study on why we built our cloud solution using these Microsoft virtualization and cloud technologies at: Cloud Service Saves Hosting Provider 65% on Hardware Costs and Increases Revenue.
permalink | digg this | technoratiAdhost East Data Center Update from Adhost CEO
Posted in Company NewsDear Adhost Clients:
I am writing to you to update you on the status of the power infrastructure supporting the Adhost East Data Center located in Fisher Plaza East. Adhost is committed to providing a fault-tolerant, highly available environment to support our data center operations. We are working closely with Fisher Plaza, other tenants and vendor engineers and electricians to get our data center operations back onto that footing as fast as possible. This letter is meant to provide a synopsis of both the actions taken to date as well as a synopsis of short and long-term steps that Adhost and Fisher Plaza are taking to achieve our commitment.
As many of you know, on July 2nd, 2009 there was a significant event in the main electrical switchgear room located in the parking garage. While we are still awaiting final forensic analysis of this event, at this point we know that two 5000 amp bus ducts were severely damaged and that enough heat was generated to activate the pre-action sprinkler system in this room. Of course, the introduction of water into a live electrical switchgear room had predictable results – namely that all of the gear in that room became inoperable. Unfortunately this room was where the automatic election is made between utility and generator power. The loss of this room resulted in a loss of power to the Adhost East Data Center for approximately 27 hours.
The Adhost West Data Center was unaffected during this event and remains in its standard operating configuration of utility power backed by N+1 generator plant.
For approximately one month following the event, our East Data Center was powered by generators as its primary source. We announced several maintenance windows to upgrade the reliability of that generator power including moving from the single-riser/single generator configuration that we initially brought the building back up on to an N+1 generator plant that allowed for continuous operation and accommodated a regular maintenance schedule for the individual generators.
On August 1st and 2nd, we announced and successfully completed another maintenance window to switch-over to a temporary configuration that features utility power as the primary electrical source backed by the N+1 generator plant for emergency backup.
Meanwhile, we are working to develop a long-term permanent solution that will take this event into consideration and which will allow Adhost to operate continuously through a similar loss. This solution entails the following components:
- Diversifying the Adhost East critical equipment loads across the two switchgear rooms that service (or will service) Fisher Plaza East.
- Working with Fisher Plaza to ensure that catastrophic loss of one room will not inhibit our ability to operate.
- Working with the various regulatory agencies to put into place non-water-based fire suppression systems in all critical electrical areas.
These solutions take time to engineer and they also take time to source and install the appropriate equipment. Right now we are working to have the permanent solution in place by the end of October. As we get progress down this path, we will have better timelines which we will make available to our customers.
One other lesson that we have learned and which we are addressing is to implement a better emergency communications plan (ECP). Our previous ECP was shown as inadequate during this event and we already have implemented parts of this plan. Highlights of the plan include:
- An off-site (completely outside of the Adhost network and facility) maintenance mailing list server which is automatically synchronized with our main maintenance mailing list. We will also be introducing three primary lists over the coming months:
- East Data Center Operations
- West Data Center Operations
- Shared Hosting Operations
Once in place, we will announce to all lists events that impact the entire infrastructure such as power, cooling, network, DNS, and email. We will also announce major events that primarily impact one of these subgroups to all three lists with follow-up details being posted to the affected lists.
- Adhost is committed to using Twitter as a quick, off-site communications tool to announce not only information on major events, but also other Adhost news. You can follow our tweets at http://www.twitter.com/adhost
- An off-site Web server which will act in several capacities:
- Allow customers to get status messages on our major services.
- Provide a chat-style interface for customers with status questions and support needs.
- An off-site phone number that will give status updates to callers.
- Moving our phone systems to a more fault-tolerant system that will allow us to communicate via phone with customers during significant events.
Once again, we apologize for the extent of this event. We want to assure you that we are integrating the lessons that we learned from this event into our on-going operations and policies and procedures.
We appreciate your business, patience and understanding as we work to improve our services. If you have any questions or suggestions, please email support@adhost.com.
Will Riffle
President and CEO
Adhost Internet
Adhost Seattle Data Centers Pass SAS 70 Type II Audit
Posted in Company News,Security
We are pleased to announce Adhost successfully passed a SAS 70 Type II audit for the time period July 16, 2008 – July 15, 2009. During a week-long on-site visit in June, an independent service auditor examined the policies, procedures and business processes in place at Adhost over the one-year time period. The following controls related to the colocation services provided in our Seattle data centers were audited:
- Control Environment: discipline and structure are a key component of the organization and influence the control consciousness of its personnel.
- Physical Security: business premises and information systems are protected from unauthorized access, damage and interference.
- Environmental security: critical information technology infrastructure is protected from certain environmental threats.
- Availability: colocation facility is available and accessible to its customers
- Operations: Operations department identifies and resolves problems affecting the colocation facility or customers in a timely manner.
The examination was performed in accordance with standards established by the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants. Existing Adhost clients, as well as potential clients, can request a copy of the SAS70 audit report by emailing sales@adhost.com.
To learn more about SAS 70 and the details of the audit, visit our SAS 70 page.
permalink | digg this | technoratiFisher Plaza East Restoration Timeline
Posted in Company NewsAfter numerous meetings with Fisher Plaza this week, we have a tentative plan to share with our Adhost East Data Center clients. Note that this plan is still very fluid and we are meeting regularly with Fisher, as well as all of the various engineers, electricians, utilities, etc. to improve our electrical sources in the near and long terms. To this end, we are following a number of parallel tracks:
This weekend: Redundant generator-based power
- In order to provide N+1 redundancy, Fisher will add two additional generators and paralleling equipment to the existing temporary generators. This will provide redundancy across the three central risers affected by the power outage. Until the building returns to commercial/street power, this solution will allow the building to perform maintenance on the generators as necessary without impacting service. As of July 9, 2009, we expect this work to be completed by approximately 5AM on Monday, July 13, 2009.
- The City of Seattle has closed John Street next to Fisher Plaza for the additional generators.
- All necessary generators are on-site.
Short-term: Temporary commercial (Seattle City Light) power and generator backup
-
We are working with Seattle City Light to create a temporary connection to their vault that will allow us to switch our main service back over to city power with generator backup.
-
The time frame for this is hoped to be less than 4 weeks and is dependent on the ability to source the proper switch-gear and other related electrical equipment.
-
This temporary solution would follow a parallel track of building a new switch gear room and rebuilding the original switch gear room.
Long-term: Permanent solution
- Fisher will build a new switch gear room outside the current vault and switch gear room on P2. This will allow Fisher to begin construction quickly without waiting to clear the damage equipment from the current switch gear room.
- Fisher will also rebuild the current switch gear room which will allow for redundancy.
- Fisher plans to add new equipment and paralleling equipment to power up the building’s four generators together.
Fisher emphasized that their vendors are locating equipment and designing the new plan as quickly as possible. However, they are expecting several months until full restoration. Once they have a firmer timeline we will share it with you.
permalink | digg this | technoratiNext Page »
Sorry, no posts matched your criteria.