Netfirms Offers MultiPlatform SolutionBy Justin Lee, theWHIR.com
February 14, 2007 — (WEB HOST INDUSTRY REVIEW) — In the Web hosting market, offering versatility and a wide selection are imperative to staying in business. And since the market includes both Windows and Linux platform-based users, offering hosting solutions that are compatible with both technologies can give a Web host a more competitive edge.
So when Linux-using customers of Web hosting provider Netfirms (netfirms.com) began requesting support for the .NET Framework, the company decided to do them one better: it launched Netfirms MultiPlatform, a Web hosting solution that offers both Linux and Microsoft Windows platforms under one account. Christopher Hebert, marketing manager of Netfirms, says that the solution is an industry first.
“Netfirms MultiPlatform is the first to deliver a unified development environment that supports the latest and legacy Microsoft .NET Frameworks (ASP.NET 1.1, 2.0, as well as classic ASP), every standard Linux scripting language (including Perl, PHP and Ruby on Rails) and both major databases (Microsoft SQL and MySQL),” says Hebert.
The Netfirms multi-platform server technology offers a range of Windows-based functionality via the Microsoft Hosting Partner Program, including ASP.NET 2.x, 1.x, Classic ASP and Microsoft SQL Server 2005. Under the Linux server platform, Netfirms provides a full LAMP development environment including Linux, Apache, MySQL and PHP.
Windows-based applications are traditionally executed on a Windows Server 2003 server grid, while Linux-based applications are normally executed on a Linux server grid. The two platforms are unified through proprietary clustered technology developed by Netfirms, enabling customers to manage both transparently through one account.
“A few competitors have recently launched grid or clustered architecture for their Linux / Unix hosting, nobody has done this for Windows, and none of our competitors have unified the FULL Microsoft .NET Framework with Linux in one easy-to-use account,” says Hebert. “We worked with Microsoft engineers for almost a year to achieve this.”
“Our goal is to make it as easy as possible for Web developers to utilize the latest and greatest technology from Microsoft and the open source Linux community without having to manage multiple hosting accounts or make difficult decisions regarding which platform to choose,” says Hebert. “We’re giving Web developers more choices, allowing them to build powerful Web sites and web applications, and offering this at a very competitive price point.”
Netfirms customers can take advantage of multi-platform technology through the company’s business plan, priced at $14.95 a month. Meanwhile, the enterprise hosting plans range from $49.95 to $129.95 per month.
Additionally, customers who select the Netfirms business plan can build their Web site with both Microsoft and Linux features. The plan also includes 150GB of disk space, 1,500GB transfer, five free domain names, email, e-commerce, statistics and round the clock customer support. So far, Hebert says the MultiPlatform is receiving a positive response from its customers.
“The response so far has been excellent,” says Hebert. “Of course it was our customers who requested this. Netfirms hosts over 1.2 million Web sites and we’ve made this technology available to everyone of our customers.”
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