www.hosting.com/pdf/white-papers/HWP001_white_boxes.pdf

Ask Yourself This: Bottom Line: How much revenue can you afford to lose? Do you have a dependable escalation path for
diagnosing issues in a timely manner? Does your support create a single point of failure
that could result in costly downtime? Will server downtime impact your companys
bottom line? A company that makes 2 million dollars a year in total revenue and has a high hosting asset
value can expect to lose almost $16,000 every year from downtime. See Hosting.coms online
lost revenue calculator for more information: www.Hosting.com/Lost-Revenue Web Hosting With White Boxes Is Risky Business Generic Solutions Not As Dependable As Proven Solutions W ould you trust your online presence to a server prone to
failure? If your website or web application is hosted on a white box, you may have done just that. Industry wide, white boxes refer to computers, servers, even routers composed of
generic or refurbished parts; often from different manufacturers. In
the web hosting industry, white box servers are prominently used
by the volume budget hosting providers whose model is to offer
low cost solutions by cutting corners on hardware and customer care costs. With a price difference of 10 to 15 percent less than the cost for
brand name solutions, many datacenters are lured into purchasing
white boxes. However, most datacenter technicians build their own
white boxes using the equipment that is most readily available
when the solution is being built. This ideology is often rooted in
an incentive for higher profits, with a stack them deep and build
them cheap mindset. This opens the door for too good to be true
deals, however, and quality is ultimately sacrificed; resulting in a
product that will require constant maintenance. You Get What You Pay For Common perceptions of white boxes are that they are easier to
customize, or that they can be uniquely configured. Although this may sound attractive, a web hosting company that relies on white
boxes exposes its clients to many unnecessary risks, such as: Relatively high hardware failure rates. Limited or no warranty Insufficient support from white box source. Lack of appropriate replacement parts. Inconsistent configurations leading to compatibility problems. Long recovery time from failures in hardware or software. Little or no built-in redundancies for key components. Since white boxes lack any true standardization, most units
are deployed with no stress testing or quality assurance. This inconsistency makes it impossible to assign a success rate to any
white box solution. Components used to build a white box often vary in how long theyve been on the shelf. With older hardware
more prone to failure than newer hardware, a white box will only be
as reliable as the oldest component within it. For critical business
operations, factors such as these create unacceptable interruptions to your business. These risks present a stark contrast to trusted
solutions from brand name providers. Our Hewlett-Packard servers come with warranties and
support that often feature three-year coverage on parts,
labor, even onsite service. They offer next business
day limited global warranty, pre-failure notifications on
processors, memory and SAS hard drives. IBM only offers
a fraction of these services. Hewlett-Packard has the fastest growth on blade servers
in the market over the past 5 years, shipping a million
servers more than IBM, and 6 times as many as Sun in
2006 alone. HP & HOSTING.COM Its impossible to depend on a server that has
not been held to standards, and has no proven
success rate. Thats an unacceptable risk that we
wont subject our customers to. Jonathan Erwin Vice President of Sales and Marketing
Hosting.com Web Hosting With White Boxes Is Risky Business Whats In A Name? Avoiding the error prone practice of building servers in-house, Hosting.com invests in the best, brand-name machines for our
clients needs. Hosting.com pays 50% to 75% more for solutions
than a provider who elects white box solutions. At Hosting.com, server stability and availability is our top concern. Businesses cant afford extended periods of down time. Would you prefer to invest more for a reliable solution, or spend more to re-establish your business reputation after your site has gone down? Hosting.com believes that your reputation deserves a
proven solution that is designed to succeed, rather than being built on the fly. By partnering with successful companies like Hewlett-Packard,
Hosting.com can offer our clients the assurance that their web
hosting servers are supported by professional services. Brand
name companies consistently install the same components and
test each server through their own quality assurance departments before shipping. These rigorous testing standards have earned
these companies their reputations, and they are more likely to be
in business for a long time. Additionally, brand name solutions
typically last longer with little or no support. These products come
with factory warranties, an assurance that most white boxes dont have. All of these factors actually lower operational costs
associated with web hosting servers, since less support or repair
is needed. Hosting.coms Signature Series servers all come
standard with the following: 30 Minute Hardware Replacement Guarantee 1 Year Warranty from a global server leader (HP, IBM, Dell, etc.) Adequate supply of replacement parts on hand. Redundant key components - power supplies, processors, and drives. Server performance guarantee in the Service Level Agreement (SLA) We also keep additional servers available for the fastest and
most efficient resolution to any issues that you might experience.
Our brand name solutions are all standardized, and therefore all
certified with common drivers, software, and configurations. Its
this consistency that makes it possible to implement images for
quick rebuilds on almost all servers within our datacenters. When one considers the bigger picture, relying on a generic white
box solution for your hosting needs just doesnt add up. It all
comes back to the old saying, you get what your pay for. This is
why Hosting.com gladly pays more for its hardware. We think our
clients are worth it. Learn more about our Enterprise Business Hosting solutions by
requesting a quote at www.hosting.com. Author Scott Brining is the Technical Writer for Hosting.com, providing over
7 years of Technical Writing experience to the company. In 2006, Scott
oversaw the SAS 70 Type II certification for Hosting.com.

Comments