FAQ

From MDSupportWiki

Frequently Asked Questions

We've compiled a new handy list of questions our customers might ask about us!

1. How long has your company been in business?

In one form or another since 2001.

2. What about your servers - where are they located?

It depends! We have heaps of servers in the USA and Australia (a few in the UK too!). Our Aussie servers live in a Melbourne data-centre.

3. Do you own your own hardware?

Our Aussie servers, absolutely. Our typical new server now has a Dual Core Xeon system with 4Gig of RAM, configured in Raid5 and with backup storage.

4. What payment methods do you accept?

Visa, Mastercard, Bankcard, American Express, Diner's Club, PayPal, WorldPay, Cheque, Australia Post Money Order or Direct Deposit.

5. Do you offer a trial period?

No, usually spammers and hackers sign up to free accounts.

6. Are there any setup fees?

Not for our standard hosting packages. Cool eh?

7. I don't want to pay for a year!

No sweat, you can pay month by month for most of our hosting accounts (other things like domains have a 1 or 2 yr minimum).

8. Can i have a coupon for discounted services?

We run specials all the time, usually we advertise them on our front page or in the MD forums :)

9. How come other companies charge $140 for .au domain registrations, but you guys charge only $34.95 - what's the catch???

The question you should be asking is how they get away with it! We've priced our domains very competitively because we do not want to rip you off for a service that is mostly completed automatically by a computer system. Plus, unlike discount fly-by-night registrars we offer premium phone support from 9am-10pm every day free of charge.

10. How long will my domain registration take?

If we are registering a .au domain, we have to check your ABN manually, so it may take several hours. Other domains are usually processed straight away.

11. What about hosting services?

Hosting is usually provisioned straight away. VPS Server accounts are created same day, and dedicated servers may take several days to get going.

12. What PHP version do you have installed?

You can use either PHP4 or PHP5.

13. What about MYSQL?

We usually configure MySQL5 on our servers.

14. Do you offer SSL?

Of course. You can use our own shared SSL certificate for free, or bring your own along, or buy a new one.

15. Do you make backups of your servers?

We do make regular backups of all our servers (and believe us theres a lot), but you shouldn't rely on them. Always keep your own copy (just in case our data-centre got hit by a rogue meteor for example :)

16. Will my information be sold or used by marketers?

Absolutely not. In fact, we are bound to Federal Privacy laws, and you can read our Privacy policy here.

17. Do you offer 24/7 Support?

Yup, via our ticketing system or on livechat. Our call centre goes home at 10pm.

18. How quickly will you answer my support issue?

By phone, straight away, we promise! Go on, try us - give us a call now and see if you have to answer any cheesy elevator music or advertising! If you send a ticket, we will try and answer it within the hour, depending on how clear your inquiry is. For complicated questions we encourage you to submit a ticket in case we need a little more time to work it out.

19. Do you offer ASP?

Yup, you can sign up to a ASP plan, but it does cost a bit more.

20. What about SSH?

Unfortunately, SSH access represents a bit of a security risk, so not on our shared hosting accounts. However, you have full SSH access on our VPS and dedicated servers.

21. Can I run irc/bots/etc?

No! Also, we don't allow spammers, game servers, warez/illegal software, and a few other things you can read about in our Terms of Service. You've been warned :)

22. Can you install -insert favourite script- for me?

We have a handy little app called Fantastico which automagically installs over 50 handy scripts for you with just one click. (Hint: Read the article to find out how to use it). If your script isn't in the list, we can provide some general help, but if you want us to do it for you there would be a charge.

23. How many people are on my server?

It depends - we continually load balance our clients. Resource hungry clients may get put on special servers so they don't interrupt the service for the rest of you! We always make sure the service is stable and loads quickly for you though.

24. How much does extra bandwidth cost?

If you are hitting your bandwidth limits we would recommend that you upgrade to the next package.

25. Why do I get more resources on the Full Featured plans?

The reality is that Aussie bandwidth costs a lot more money to buy, and so we can't give you as much. Most small to medium businesses only use a fraction of their monthly limits, and we certainly encourage those individuals to try our Aussie plans. The other advantage to our Aussie plans is that the servers are just down the road, so if something is wrong we can send a technician to pop down and fix them (and hence our aussie plans are also a bit more reliable).

26. So you do recommend the Aussie hosting plans then?

Absolutely. Especially if your clients are located in Australia. If you have a more global audience though a US based full featured package might suit you better.

27. What's your uptime like?

We try really hard to keep your server up all the time, except when we need to do some maintenance or urgent security updates :)

28. So how many users do you host?

Lots... like the sands of the hourglass - no, seriously, we regard ourselves as a top 5 Aussie hosting company, based on our client figures and aggressive growth.

29. Do you have a test file where I can test your speeds?

Sure - you can download this file if you need a test.

30. How do i sign up for hosting with MD?

We have two guides: a brief Quick Start Guide and a more detailed Comprehensive Getting Started Guide. You can always call us if you are still not sure.

31. I already have a domain name. Can i keep it?

Yup. You can either transfer your domain to MD, or alternatively keep it at your current registrar but change the nameserver settings there so that they point to your MD server. It is probably easier to transfer your domain over (and free for .au domains too!, for other domains you will be charged the standard rate for registration, but on the plus side you will get an additional year tacked onto your registration).

32. So what are the differences in each plan? Do i need to own a business to be on the business plan?

Nope - anyone can purchase any plan. The difference is in the limits - for example, our Business package has more bandwidth, disk space, databases, subdomains, and so on! The Office package has even more features and higher limits. It is similar for our Australian line of hosting as well.