December 20, 2001 -- (WEB HOST INDUSTRY REVIEW) -- SWsoft, Inc. (sw-soft.com), a server and networking software technology company, today announced it has established a partnership with Dell (dell.com) and Intel (intel.com) to launch Virtual @1-Net, a new hosting service based on the HSPcomplete full-lifecycle hosting automation solution. 1-Net is able to use a combination of Dell hardware with Intel computing power and HSPcomplete to house hundreds of customers, each with their own full-featured virtual private servers, on a single physical
server.
1-Net Singapore is a major driver of broadband in Singapore. It established
the nationwide Singapore ONE broadband backbone and network infrastructure
and has managed the network since 1997. A wholly owned subsidiary of
MediaCorp Group of Companies since Oct. 2000, 1-Net serves as the country's
broadband exchange, connecting ISPs, providers of broadband and hosting
services, government agencies, educational and research institutions,
enterprises, and other IT and telecom service providers.
Besides broadband connectivity, 1-Net provides hosting and managed services,
and broadband-enabled an industrial complex that brings e-business service
providers together to use the facilities of a wired-up business center. In
early 2001, 1-Net saw an opportunity in the hosting services market.
"At one end of the spectrum are those businesses that either do not have Web
sites or, at most, basic 'ebrochure'-type sites parked with increasingly
untenable providers of free hosting services," says Luke Lee, business
development manager. At the other are large enterprises that have the
financial, manpower and technical resources to build and operate their own
data centers.
Somewhere between the two ends are those who typically co-locate or co-share
Web servers at hosting companies or Internet Data Centers, an arrangement
that still requires the enterprises to own hardware and have the technical
resources to manage the servers and sites. It was in this segment and the
'nil or free site' niche that, according to Lee, "1-Net saw enormous
potential for a hosting service that would not require customers to actually
own hardware and yet allow them to have access to dedicated hardware and
other resources that are virtually their own."
For the vehicle to enable and deliver this virtual hosting service, 1-Net
met SWsoft, which was then readying HSPcomplete for market, its solution for
hosting service providers. Incorporating virtualization, resource management
and clustering features, HSPcomplete allows service providers to offer their
customers a full suite of services, from shared Web hosting for small- and
medium-sized businesses to cluster configurations for large enterprises.
1-Net signed up for HSPcomplete in April and the hardware platform on which
to deliver the virtual hosting service, SWsoft recommended Dell.
"Dell makes very innovative products that use cutting-edge technologies.
What we found attractive were the monitoring tools, the Dell Open Manage
server management software, and the ease of upgrading. Dell's Intel based
servers also have very innovative designs; the built-in redundancy features
allow us to actually upgrade the servers without having to remove them from
the rack."
Other factors that went into SWsoft's decision to recommend Dell hardware
were the pricing that Dell could offer through its 'no middlemen' direct
sales model, the speed of delivery, and the availability of a leasing
program that reduced upfront expenditure.
1-Net launched its virtual hosting service in August under the Virtual@1-Net
brand. The basic plan costs S$15 a month, and gives subscribers their own
virtual Web server on 1-Net's broadband network, Web mail, FTP server,
Microsoft Front Page 2000/XP extensions and a pre-installed database.
"Customers also have their own administrative or root access rights. Each of
them can log in to their own server, deploy their preferred software, and
manage the server the way you want. It's effectively their own server and if
they need more disk or memory space, an upgrade to a higher subscription
plan can be easily performed," says Lee.
The hosting is also ideal for resellers who are providing Web design
services as it enables them to have total control of the Web hosting
facility without investing in any capital assets. "In fact, since we
launched the service, we've had numerous enquiries from would-be resellers,
some from as physically far away as the U.S. and Canada," Lee continues.
Once the customers chooses a subscription plan, pays for it, and payment is
accepted, HSPcomplete automatically creates a virtual server within the Dell
cluster and provides software included in the plan to the server within
minutes.
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