Tags |
|
|
Casual Articles - Lies, Damn Lies and 99.9% Uptime
Review of Online Website Builders
Online website builders are becoming more and more popular. Online Website builders enable the average HTML-Challenged person to build (dare I say...cool) websites online without having to code a thing. These time saving tools come with some features built in, such as forums, link exchanges, password protected member areas, RSS feeds and more.I've looked into a couple of offerings lately in an attempt to replace the poor hosting I was getting from another web host. I compared 3 site builders:1. VeryVip at www.VeryVipHosting.com: This host offered three options. One standard everday hosting option and two onli
toring interval is, this next one should be easy: what is the meaning of "down"? If your service provider is providing uptime, how do they decide when something is down? Are they simply doing a "ping" of the server? Or are they testing the application itself?
Online website builders are becoming more and more popular. Online Website builders enable the average HTML-Challenged person to build (dare I say...cool) websites online without having to code a thing. These time saving tools come with some features built in, such as forums, link exchanges, password protected member areas, RSS feeds and more.I've looked into a couple of offerings lately in an attempt to replace the poor hosting I was getting from another web host. I compared 3 site builders:1. VeryVip at www.VeryVipHosting.com: This host offered three options. One standard everday hosting option and two onli
If "up" to them means your server is running, even though your application is really "down", your uptime statistics take on a whole new meaning -- or lack of meaning.
Also, who is the one actually doing the monitoring? Ideally, you'd like to have a third party monitoring service. That way you know your monitoring numbers are independently verified.
Availability From a Business Persp
Information Elements of a Mortgage Broker Website
Good mortgage websites have to contain a lot of information and this is because the consumer demands it. The consumer that wants to visit such a website is doing so, so that they can save time by not picking up the phone or driving to an office building. If you want to attract and keep customers, you want a mortgage website design that will provide all of this information in a very comprehensive manner. No one likes a drab or boring website, but on the other hand no one likes a website that is too busy. It can be difficult to balance the two, but the balance can be achieved and your customers will be so happy when you stri
"There are three kinds of lies: lies, damn lies, and statistics."
Good mortgage websites have to contain a lot of information and this is because the consumer demands it. The consumer that wants to visit such a website is doing so, so that they can save time by not picking up the phone or driving to an office building. If you want to attract and keep customers, you want a mortgage website design that will provide all of this information in a very comprehensive manner. No one likes a drab or boring website, but on the other hand no one likes a website that is too busy. It can be difficult to balance the two, but the balance can be achieved and your customers will be so happy when you stri
-Benjamin Disraeli, popularized by Mark Twain
Lies, Damn Lies and 99.9% Uptime
Statistics don't lie outright. They just don't tell the whole truth.
Suppose your hosting provider claims 99.9% uptime during the past month. This means all the accumulated downtime during the whole month was no more than 40 minutes. Sounds great, right?
The numbers don't answer one important question: when did the downtime occur? What if you were down 40 minutes during your peak usage time on the busiest day of the week? Suddenly 99.9% of uptime doesn't sound so great. That's the whole truth often missing in uptime reports.
The All Important Monitoring Interval
Convinced you can do better than 99.9%, you search for another hosting provider. You finally settle on one that offers an additional "nine" or 99.99% uptime per month. No more than 4 minutes of downtime.
Before you get too excited, let's see where that extra nine comes from by examining the concept of monitoring interval. The monitoring interval is how often your hosted server is checked to make sure everything is working A-OK. Think of it as the lines on a ruler. It's going to be pretty hard to measure down to one eighth of an inch if your ruler only has one inch lines on it.
Suppose your application is monitored every 15 minutes. Now say your server is rebooted. If the monitor runs while the server is down, your server will show as down for 15 minutes, even though it only takes 3 minutes to reboot. If the monitor misses the reboot window, it won't show as being down at all.
A provider that offers 99.99% must have a small enough monitoring interval that it can measure down to the nearest .01%. How small is that exactly? Let's break it down using the shortest month:
28 days x 24 hours/day x 60 minutes/hour x .0001 = 4.03 minutes
A service provider must provide a monitoring interval of no more than 4 minutes to provide a 99.99% uptime guarantee.
Finally, what of 99.999%, the so-called "five nines" of uptime? Well, we would have to monitor every .4 minutes or every 24 seconds. With the reporting period increased to a year instead of a month, it's possible to have accuracy up to five nines with a 5-minute monitoring interval. Trouble is, who wants to wait a whole year for a report?
The best reporting will include a combination of daily, weekly, monthly and yearly statistics for comparison.
What Do You Mean, Down?
Now that you understand what a monitoring interval is, this next one should be easy: what is the meaning of "down"? If your service provider is providing uptime, how do they decide when something is down? Are they simply doing a "ping" of the server? Or are they testing the application itself?
If "up" to them means your server is running, even though your application is really "down", your uptime statistics take on a whole new meaning -- or lack of meaning.
Also, who is the one actually doing the monitoring? Ideally, you'd like to have a third party monitoring service. That way you know your monitoring numbers are independently verified.
Availability From a Business Perspe
Product Conversions Will Lead You To Acquisition Candidates!
As a proactive business buyer, whether a one-time buyer or someone who acquires companies on an ongoing basis, you must define and pursue various creative means to locate unique companies that potentially offer you extraordinary acquisition potential, whether they’re “officially” for sale or not.There is a proven adage in the sales profession that directly relates to business buyers pursuing quality companies to buy, “All the good salespeople are employed! The fact of the matter is, the best acquisition candidates are officially NOT for sale. It is not that they cannot be bought; it is just that the business ow
of uptime doesn't sound so great. That's the whole truth often missing in uptime reports.
As a proactive business buyer, whether a one-time buyer or someone who acquires companies on an ongoing basis, you must define and pursue various creative means to locate unique companies that potentially offer you extraordinary acquisition potential, whether they’re “officially” for sale or not.There is a proven adage in the sales profession that directly relates to business buyers pursuing quality companies to buy, “All the good salespeople are employed! The fact of the matter is, the best acquisition candidates are officially NOT for sale. It is not that they cannot be bought; it is just that the business ow
The All Important Monitoring Interval
Convinced you can do better than 99.9%, you search for another hosting provider. You finally settle on one that offers an additional "nine" or 99.99% uptime per month. No more than 4 minutes of downtime.
Before you get too excited, let's see where that extra nine comes from by examining the concept of monitoring interval. The monitoring interval is how often your hosted server is checked to make sure everything is working A-OK. Think of it as the lines on a ruler. It's going to be pretty hard to measure down to one eighth of an inch if your ruler only has one inch lines on it.
Suppose your application is monitored every 15 minutes. Now say your server is rebooted. If the monitor runs while the server is down, your server will show as down for 15 minutes, even though it only takes 3 minutes to reboot. If the monitor misses the reboot window, it won't show as being down at all.
A provider that offers 99.99% must have a small enough monitoring interval that it can measure down to the nearest .01%. How small is that exactly? Let's break it down using the shortest month:
28 days x 24 hours/day x 60 minutes/hour x .0001 = 4.03 minutes
A service provider must provide a monitoring interval of no more than 4 minutes to provide a 99.99% uptime guarantee.
Finally, what of 99.999%, the so-called "five nines" of uptime? Well, we would have to monitor every .4 minutes or every 24 seconds. With the reporting period increased to a year instead of a month, it's possible to have accuracy up to five nines with a 5-minute monitoring interval. Trouble is, who wants to wait a whole year for a report?
The best reporting will include a combination of daily, weekly, monthly and yearly statistics for comparison.
What Do You Mean, Down?
Now that you understand what a monitoring interval is, this next one should be easy: what is the meaning of "down"? If your service provider is providing uptime, how do they decide when something is down? Are they simply doing a "ping" of the server? Or are they testing the application itself?
If "up" to them means your server is running, even though your application is really "down", your uptime statistics take on a whole new meaning -- or lack of meaning.
Also, who is the one actually doing the monitoring? Ideally, you'd like to have a third party monitoring service. That way you know your monitoring numbers are independently verified.
Availability From a Business Persp
Targeting Online Customers
Although generating online traffic is an important goal of any website, attention should always be directed to the very first and most important issue in website marketing: targeting online customers. It's important to remember that the definition of your online customers always comes from your customers' basic needs and preferences. Your customer's needs define your online business. If you define your customers based on their requirements, you will know what direction to follow based on your understanding of their needs. As a result, you won't necessarily sell your products or services to a specific demographic group, but rat
to one eighth of an inch if your ruler only has one inch lines on it.
Although generating online traffic is an important goal of any website, attention should always be directed to the very first and most important issue in website marketing: targeting online customers. It's important to remember that the definition of your online customers always comes from your customers' basic needs and preferences. Your customer's needs define your online business. If you define your customers based on their requirements, you will know what direction to follow based on your understanding of their needs. As a result, you won't necessarily sell your products or services to a specific demographic group, but rat
Suppose your application is monitored every 15 minutes. Now say your server is rebooted. If the monitor runs while the server is down, your server will show as down for 15 minutes, even though it only takes 3 minutes to reboot. If the monitor misses the reboot window, it won't show as being down at all.
A provider that offers 99.99% must have a small enough monitoring interval that it can measure down to the nearest .01%. How small is that exactly? Let's break it down using the shortest month:
28 days x 24 hours/day x 60 minutes/hour x .0001 = 4.03 minutes
A service provider must provide a monitoring interval of no more than 4 minutes to provide a 99.99% uptime guarantee.
Finally, what of 99.999%, the so-called "five nines" of uptime? Well, we would have to monitor every .4 minutes or every 24 seconds. With the reporting period increased to a year instead of a month, it's possible to have accuracy up to five nines with a 5-minute monitoring interval. Trouble is, who wants to wait a whole year for a report?
The best reporting will include a combination of daily, weekly, monthly and yearly statistics for comparison.
What Do You Mean, Down?
Now that you understand what a monitoring interval is, this next one should be easy: what is the meaning of "down"? If your service provider is providing uptime, how do they decide when something is down? Are they simply doing a "ping" of the server? Or are they testing the application itself?
If "up" to them means your server is running, even though your application is really "down", your uptime statistics take on a whole new meaning -- or lack of meaning.
Also, who is the one actually doing the monitoring? Ideally, you'd like to have a third party monitoring service. That way you know your monitoring numbers are independently verified.
Availability From a Business Persp
To Survive, You Need To Teach Old Dogs New tricks
The sea change that most businesses face today is increasingly becoming the norm rather than the exception. The change is driven by globalisation, technological and social dynamics. Hovering around the status quo is like a cancer stricken person waiting for his condition to get better. If you continue doing the same, things are not going to get better. There is a saying that you cannot teach old dogs new tricks. To survive in today’s competitive market, old dogs need to be taught new tricks.Organisations fail to change because of old ways of doing things. There is unclear vision as most CEOs are unable to co
A service provider must provide a monitoring interval of no more than 4 minutes to provide a 99.99% uptime guarantee.
The sea change that most businesses face today is increasingly becoming the norm rather than the exception. The change is driven by globalisation, technological and social dynamics. Hovering around the status quo is like a cancer stricken person waiting for his condition to get better. If you continue doing the same, things are not going to get better. There is a saying that you cannot teach old dogs new tricks. To survive in today’s competitive market, old dogs need to be taught new tricks.Organisations fail to change because of old ways of doing things. There is unclear vision as most CEOs are unable to co
Finally, what of 99.999%, the so-called "five nines" of uptime? Well, we would have to monitor every .4 minutes or every 24 seconds. With the reporting period increased to a year instead of a month, it's possible to have accuracy up to five nines with a 5-minute monitoring interval. Trouble is, who wants to wait a whole year for a report?
The best reporting will include a combination of daily, weekly, monthly and yearly statistics for comparison.
What Do You Mean, Down?
Now that you understand what a monitoring interval is, this next one should be easy: what is the meaning of "down"? If your service provider is providing uptime, how do they decide when something is down? Are they simply doing a "ping" of the server? Or are they testing the application itself?
If "up" to them means your server is running, even though your application is really "down", your uptime statistics take on a whole new meaning -- or lack of meaning.
Also, who is the one actually doing the monitoring? Ideally, you'd like to have a third party monitoring service. That way you know your monitoring numbers are independently verified.
Availability From a Business Persp
Job Search Techniques: Smashing The Gray Ceiling
For decades, women have chaffed at the invisible glass ceiling which prevents their moving into the high executive brackets that their competence, knowledge and skills have earned. The same amorphous barrier confronts older workers both in terms of advancement within a company and, most especially, when a job change is required. There is an adage in the military that if a rank above major has not been obtained within twenty years, it never will be. The ranks of early military retirees are sprinkled with majors who knew that ten or fifteen more years would never bring a Colonel's cluster.How can such "unwritten rules" be
toring interval is, this next one should be easy: what is the meaning of "down"? If your service provider is providing uptime, how do they decide when something is down? Are they simply doing a "ping" of the server? Or are they testing the application itself?
For decades, women have chaffed at the invisible glass ceiling which prevents their moving into the high executive brackets that their competence, knowledge and skills have earned. The same amorphous barrier confronts older workers both in terms of advancement within a company and, most especially, when a job change is required. There is an adage in the military that if a rank above major has not been obtained within twenty years, it never will be. The ranks of early military retirees are sprinkled with majors who knew that ten or fifteen more years would never bring a Colonel's cluster.How can such "unwritten rules" be
If "up" to them means your server is running, even though your application is really "down", your uptime statistics take on a whole new meaning -- or lack of meaning.
Also, who is the one actually doing the monitoring? Ideally, you'd like to have a third party monitoring service. That way you know your monitoring numbers are independently verified.
Availability From a Business Perspective
There is a better way. Instead of settling for the one-size-fits-all approach of "nines of uptime", set your own availability goals. The key is to examine availability from a business perspective:
- What are my business-critical periods?
- How much downtime is acceptable during off hours?
- What kind of monitoring interval is needed?
- How do we know if the application is down?
- Who is actually doing the monitoring?
Always make a distinction between business hours and after hours. You should have different availability requirements for each period, even if your application is used 24x7. Next, create your goal using words and whole numbers, not percentages. For example:
- Zero downtime during business-critical periods.
- No more than 2 unscheduled downtime incidents per month of no more than 5 minutes per incident during after hours periods.
- No more than 1 scheduled maintenance period per month of no more than 30 minutes during after hours periods.
- Monitoring interval of 5 minutes.
- Monitor key aspects of the application, not the server.
- Independent third-party monitoring from multiple locations.
After defining exactly what your availability goals are, you can now strive to achieve it. The difference now is that your goal is 100% achievable. That's a statistic you can count on.
HTTP = HTML link (for blogs, profiles,phorums):
<a href="http://www.casualarticles.com/article/88326/casualarticles-Lies-Damn-Lies-and-999-Uptime.html">Lies, Damn Lies and 99.9% Uptime</a>
BB link (for phorums):
[url=http://www.casualarticles.com/article/88326/casualarticles-Lies-Damn-Lies-and-999-Uptime.html]Lies, Damn Lies and 99.9% Uptime[/url]
Related Articles:
The Top 10 Wild and Wacky Ways to Market Yourself for Big Visibility
5 Easy Steps to Turn MySpace into a Networking Machine For Your Business
eBooks: Make Money With Free eBooks
Bookmark it:
|