**In a Platform environment, the servers are purchased and managed by
our customers at a data center of their choice. Thus, feature availability
depend upon the location and what services you obtain at your Data Center.
Comparison of Dedicated and Shared Solutions
Click on the feature name for more details. Contact Sales
Cloud Servers are virtual servers of customizable size and power that
run on a big, powerful host server that has lots of CPU, RAM, and a disk
array build of SAS drives (Serial Attached SCSI) in RAID 10. Cloud Servers
are less expensive than a dedicated server, but as many virual servers
share the same host hardware, they may be slightly less reliable. LuxSci
loads its software on these and:
Manages the server for you
Monitors the server 24/7
Provides support to you
Cloud servers are ideal if:
You do not need to send any kind of bulk email (this is prohibited in the Cloud)
You want it as easy as possible to upgrade to larger server types as your account grows
You want the least expensive dedicated server option
You require only small amounts of disk space
You do not need a custom or complex configuration of server(s)
You are willing to pay for inbound and outbound bandwidth on a metered, per-GB basis.
If your account grows too large for your Dedicated Server, you have several options:
Cloud Servers: Upgrade to the next largest Cloud Server size. This
requires a little bit of downtime will affect your monthly fee; however, there is
no "migration fee" involved and the process is very straight forward, fast, and seamless.
Dedicated Servers: If a simple upgrade, such as the addition of
RAM or a second processor is possible on your server, this is a quick and
easy upgrade that will result in a little downtime, a larger monthly fee,
and possibly and upgrade charge. However, if you outgrow yoru current
server and need a new one (i.e. one with a larger or faster disk array or
with more "horse power"), this would require a server migration. Server
migrations require:
Signing a new contract for a new server
A new setup fee for the new server
A migration fee for moving your account to the new server ($300)
A maintenance window of a few hours to perform the migration
A change in the IP addresses used by your server to new ones.
While upgrades and migrations happen all of the time, they are quickest
and easiest on Cloud Servers. So, if you plan on upgrading "as needed",
Cloud Servers might be for you.
This is the minimum price/month/server and is a function of the type of
server used, the kinds of services that you can run on it, and the kinds
of support needed for those services. The price includes the raw hardware
fees from the Server Provider, software licenses, server management, and
support.
Cloud servers are virtual machines which share a large host server with
other virtual machines that may be used by other LuxSci customers or other
customers of the Data Center. So, while all servers provide a dedicated
software environment, Cloud Servers may share the underlying hardware with
others.
LuxSci manages the administration of all types of dedicated servers
that it provides. This includes, but may not be limited to:
Updating server operating system software, as needed
Updating application and server software, as needed
Installing updates to LuxSci proprietary software, as available
Scheduling and performing upgrades and hardware maintenance
Replacement of any failed hardware. Rebuilding the system from backup in the case of complete failure. Rebuilding RAID arrays in the case of disk failure.
LuxSci uses proprietary software to monitor its dedicated servers
to ensure their uptime and proper function.
This includes, but is not limited to:
Port checking to monitor server and application uptime and
to alert on any issues
Automated server health monitoring to alert on and auto-remedy
many common problems that may arise on a server, such as
a denial of service attack, perceived abuse, etc.
LuxSci provides support for the server and services running on the
server to the users and/or administrators of the server.
For all dedicated servers, this support includes:
Server, firewall, and software configuration refinements to accommodate your
particular needs and usage patterns as they evolve
Troubleshooting issues with LuxSci, application, or operating
system software
Remediating server issues identified by LuxSci's monitoring
systems
FTP, MySQL, DNS, and Apache Troubleshooting
24/7 support for emergency issues.
Restores from backup as they fall under your contract
Installation and configuration of new IP addresses, SSL certificates, and reverse DNS entries
Configuration of "sudo" access for shell users as needed.
Import and Export of MySQL databases
Providing historical reports of bandwidth usage and server load.
Installation of processes in CRON
Installation of PHP and Perl libraries
Installation of other approved 3rd party software available via RPM.
Re-compilation of the web server software to include different modules (as long as this is not a frequent event).
For email servers, this further includes:
Email flow troubleshooting
POP, IMAP, SMTP Troubleshooting
SecureLine and WebAides Troubleshooting
Help with all of LuxSci's Software Infrastructure
Support for dedicated servers either included in the cost as a
per-user fee for unlimited flat-rate all-user or administrator-only
support, or is pay-as-you-go via Support Tokens. For more details, see Token-Based Technical
Support.
Premium Server Providers include full managed support as part of their
server price. For these kinds of servers, you have both LuxSci's staff
and the full staff of the Server Provider ready to assist with any server
issues.
A server that includes Server Provider support gives you a larger
effective support team with a larger depth and breadth of knowledge than
you get with just LuxSci's support team. You can't contact the Server
Provider's support team directly, but LuxSci will work with them as needed
on your behalf to resolve any server issues as quickly as possible.
Premium Server Providers include various types of server monitoring
as part of the server package. Such monitoring includes checking
server ports for server and application uptime and proactively
logging into a server to diagnose and remediate problems should they
be detected. It also includes notifying LuxSci's support team of any problems.With "Server Provider Proactive Server Monitoring" and "LuxSci Proactive Server Monitoring",
you have two independent monitoring systems and teams of people both constantly
working to ensure the uptime of your server and to remedy any issue that
may arise. The combination of these two monitoring systems helps ensure that,
should any issue arise, it is detected and resolved of as quickly as possible.
Servers that support bulk mailing can be used for High Volume outbound email
services. Cloud servers have an acceptable use policy that expressly
forbids their use for any kind of bulk emailing.
For high performance applications, like busy email servers, high
performance Serial Attached SCSI (SAS) disk drives in RAID arrays are
highly recommended. Premium servers come with SATA or SAS disk arrays.
Basic servers contain only SATA drives. Cloud servers share fast SAS RAID
arrays with the other virtual servers on the same host.
Some kinds of servers, like web servers and email filtering servers,
lend themselves well to load balancing to handle high loads. Simple
"round robin" load balancing is always possible using multiple servers and
DNS. However "fail over load balancing", where a server that fails is taken
out of the rotation automatically, can only be quickly and reliably
accomplished using a hardware load balancing device. These are available
with Premium Dedicated Servers.
Small Cloud Servers (ones with 2GB or less RAM and 80GB or less disk
space) have full disk image backups included -- a daily one, a weekly one,
and a variable one. Larger Cloud Servers and Dedicated Servers can be
backed up by LuxSci -- the price is a function of the number and frequency
and retention of snapshots needed.
"Standard backups," if available with your server, are $1/GB/mo and
include 2 daily snapshots on site and 4 weekly backups off site -- all
stored on hard drives.
For shared accounts, additional disk space can be added
as needed up to a point for a small additional fee.
For dedicated servers, the amount of disk space available
is a function of the hardware chosen for the server itself.
You can use all of the space available on the server not
in use by applications and other data storage. Note that
we recommend keeping at least 25% of the disk space unused
for optimal performance.
For shared accounts, additional bandwidth for web hosting and FTP can be added
or used as needed for a small additional fee. Note that there is no charge
for bandwidth used for shared email hosting.
For dedicated servers, the amount of bandwidth space available is a
function of the server itself. For Cloud Servers, bandwidth is paid for on
a metered basis and both inbound and outbound bandwidth is considered. For
dedicated servers, the amount of bandwidth typically included is 250GB/mo
for premium and 1000GB+/mo for basic.
*There are no per-user license fees for services performed by the
dedicated servers themselves: IMAP, POP, and SMTP. There are also no
per-user license fees for WeMail, WebAides or SecureLine for dedicated
server accounts when the dedicated server hosts your own instance of our
WebMail interface as well.
Flat-rate technical support for email hosting users is included and is
priced as a function of the number of users. For dedicated hosting, the
price differs based on if the users are allowed to contact LuxSci
directly, or if only named account administrators are allowed to contact
LuxSci.
The per-user price for technical support can be removed for accounts who
wish to pay for support on a per-incident basis using Support Tokens
instead. See Token-based Technical
Support.
Shared hosting allows different clients to share the same server and
resources. This could
result in the actions of one client affecting the performance of the
service received
by another client on the same server.
Inherent data privacy is also greater in a dedicated environment.
It does not guarantee the uptime of the server itself; however, the
only people using the server are its owners. The shared server SLA
promises "Service Uptime", which implies "Server Uptime" as well.
Dedicated Servers to be used is situations requiring HIPAA compliance require that
both LuxSci and the Dedicated Server Provider comply with the HIPAA Security and
Privacy Rules with respect to the electronic protected health information (ePHI)
that may be present on the server. This level of security and privacy is not
available with all dedicated server providers / environments.
"I originally came to LuxSci for email hosting, and started a simple web page which turned from a joke to a public craze of visitors almost overnight! I was able to upgrade bandwidth and disk space without having to call someone or wait 2-3 business days for my changes to take effect. I've tried free web hosts and expensive web hosts (over $250 a month) that still don't allow instant upgrades and changes to users accounts. I've never had comparable service to LuxSci either! These guys never sleep!"
Dedicated Server Pricing
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