| Frequently Asked Questions Please note: for a more technical explanation, or to see how a VPS increases ROI, please read our VPS whitepaper. Questions - Before you purchase  Q. What is a Virtual Private Server? A. A Virtual Private Server is created by segmenting one of our physical servers into smaller chunks. Each chunk has the same capabilities as a full dedicated server, including the ability to be rebooted, run your own operating system and software, create root and user accounts and customise any aspect of your service completely. Each segment has a guaranteed amount of resources - for example, if you purchase a package with 512MB of RAM, you will have full use of this RAM, 24/7. This means that you can run complex or resource intensive processes without worrying about interfering with other users on the account. We are very careful about keeping our 'contention ratio' (the amount of users per server) very low on our VPS packages to make sure all our users achieve the best performance. Q. Can other users interfere with my server? A. No - your server slice is protected and segmented at every level (the kernel, network stack, O/S, filesystem and resource allocation) to make sure that your server remains completely separated. No-one else can interfere with your apps and processes. If someone else receives a virus or is attacked with an internet worm, your server will also remain untouched. Q. What can I use a VPS for? A. There are no limits to the types of things you can do with a VPS. We've listed a few case scenarios which may give you some inspiration!
Q. What are the advantages over shared hosting? A. The advantages are quite clear cut! Our shared hosting plans (the Aussie and Full Featured hosting packages you can find elsewhere on our website) are priced very aggressively and represent excellent value for the average hosting consumer. However, some of our shared hosting customers run into trouble when attempting to run resource hogging processes, specialised servers, and anything else which could interfere with the other users they share the server with. We typically have to shut these processes down immediately and warn that user against putting the server under high loads. Although we keep our 'contention ratio' quite low on our shared servers (compared to most of our competitors), at the end of the day you will still be fighting for limited and scarce resources. Compare this to VPS, where your slice of our server is dedicated to you alone, and you will be able to run almost anything you want without breaching our acceptable usage policy. Q. Can i ever breach your Acceptable Usage Policy (AUP)? A. No - unless you are doing something illegal, or performing an activity prohibited by our terms (for example, email spamming, game servers or irc servers). We will never pull you up or suspend your account because you are using too many resources. It is just not possible! Q. What are the advantages over dedicated servers? A. There are a fair few advantages actually - our VPS packages are priced very attractively. When you lease a dedicated server, you are paying for rack space, hardware that becomes obsolete over time, yearly licensing fees, a data connection, a setup fee, and all the costs associated with maintaining your own dedicated box. These costs can become substantial over time - a VPS is free from most of these overheads and represents a lot better value for money. You can look at our example below - we also have a worked example which demonstrates how VPS plans offer a superior ROI.
Q. Can i pay by the month? A. Yes, like most of our services, you can choose to pay monthly, quarterly, semi-annually, or annually. We do not force you to enter an annual commitment like other providers! Payments are made at the start of each billing cycle. Q. Can i use cPanel or Plesk? A. Yes, you can use cPanel or Plesk. A Plesk 10 Domain license is included on request, free of charge, with your package. However, you can purchase a monthly cPanel unlimited domain license at close to wholesale price. If you are an existing reseller wishing to use a Virtual Server, you must purchase a cPanel license. cPanel and Plesk require more than 128MB of RAM to run properly. Therefore, we will not install these control panels on any AU-VPS1 plans. However, you are more than welcome to try the free Webmin or ISP-Config Control Panels (although still quite powerful, they are not as intuitive as the commercial programs, and may require more technical knowledge to operate). Q. What is burstable RAM? A. Our VPS servers have a unique feature called burstable RAM - basically, if the processes you are running exceed the amount of RAM you have been allocated for your account, then your VPS slice will grant you a temporary 'burst' of extra RAM so that you can finish your process without destabilising any programs. Don't count on having a sustained burst all the time - if other users require those resources, you will be pared back to your guaranteed allocation. Q. What is the contention ratio of your VPS servers? A. The 'contention ratio' is the amount of users we put on the same VPS server. Some providers practice the nasty habit of overselling; that is, cramming as many users onto the same server as possible and praying that they don't all use their "dedicated" resources at the same time. That is not what we do! Even if all the users on one of our VPS servers were to use 100% of their server resources simultaneously, there would be enough to go around with plenty to spare. You can rest assured that your account will always be stable and unaffected by the actions of any other VPS user. Q. What happens if i go over my bandwidth limits? A. Additional bandwidth can be purchased at $4.90/Gigabyte. If you consistently exceed your monthly data transfer you should consider upgrading to the next highest plan. Q. What if i use too many resources? A. If you find yourself hitting or exceeding the limits of your server slice, it is probably time to upgrade to the next highest VPS server plan. If you would like to upgrade during the middle of your billing cycle, we shall charge the difference between the plans pro-rata for the rest of the billing cycle - then, at the start of the new billing cycle you shall be charged the normal fee. Some users may need a server slice with more RAM, bandwidth or other features than are offered on the highest VPS plan. If required, we can create a custom plan and pricing structure based on your needs. Simply call us during business hours and ask to speak to a VPS technician. Q. Where is your data-centre? A. Our data-centre is located in Melbourne, near the heart of the CBD. It boasts redundant backup power, high security, large backbone links to the rest of the internet and all the trappings expected of a state-of-the-art data-centre. Questions - After you purchase Q. How quickly does my account get activated? A. Usually our technicians can create your account in just a couple of hours. However, depending on what time you order and on what day, some accounts may take up to 24 hours to activate. Please note that your account can only be activated when funds have been received and cleared - if you paid by cheque, money order or direct deposit there may be delays. Q. What can i install on my VPS? A. Anything you want really - any flavour of Linux or Windows, as well as any hosting control panels as required, applications, firewall tables; the list is endless. Q. Do I have root access to my own server? A. Yes, you have full administrative/root access. You can also create additional users which can access your service at lower privileges, which gives you complete control over your service. Q. Do i require any special knowledge to run a VPS? A. Generally, managing a server requires a certain level of skill in system administration. We recommend that our clients choose a server management package unless they are confident in maintaining their own hosting environment, and recognise that without keeping up with all the security patches their server may become compromised by internet worms or hackers. Users who choose an AU-VPS1 package without server management may need to learn some special UNIX commands if they use the free Webmin control panel. Q. I am a reseller - how do i transfer my accounts over to a VPS? A. Unless you know how to do it yourself, you can purchase a server management package (even if only for one billing cycle) and let us do all the work for you. This process will be completely transparent, and clients will experience improved performance almost immediately. If you manage your resellers via cPanel, you will also have to purchase a cPanel domain license. Q. How many reseller accounts can I create? A. You can create an unlimited amount of reseller accounts. However, the more accounts you create, the more resources you consume, and you may find yourself hitting your server limits. We recommend that large resellers use our AU-VPS3 packages to get the most out of their server slice. cPanel is not supported on the low end VPS1 server. |
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