VPS Cloud Hosting: Server Management Overview
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UnitedHosting only sells fully managed solutions. This means that a full server management plan (that other providers charge £60+ per month for) is included with your cloud server at no extra cost. We are also confident you will find the quality of our 24x7 server management and support second to none.
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Managed Cloud Hosting Overview
Where most providers will hand over your server as a 'default install' we are different! Your managed server will be provisioned by our experts ready to use with all software installed, updated, secured and optimised for your specific needs. From day one your server will perform just as you need it to perform and you can rest assured that it is fully patched and security hardened at all times. Moving forward our team will monitor your cloud server 24x7 ensuring it is always optimised and performing exactly as it should be and in perfect health.
Initial Cloud Server Deployment
We do not expect you to understand all the tasks below, but we felt it important that you see the amount of additional provisioning steps we take with your server before it is handed over.
Initial Operating System and Security Tasks:
 Install latest CentOS 5 64bit operating system.
Remove un-necessary operating system (non hosting related) software packages.
Secure default operating system groups and remove unnecessary system users.
Modify system file/folder permissions to secure system directories and binaries.
Harden temporary data paths (e.g. /tmp directory hardening).
Install socket, process, resource system monitors, & brute force detection system.
Install and configure customised Advanced Policy Firewall (CSF Security firewall).
Close all ports which are not required by core hosting services.
Implement tweaks and fixes for known PCI failures to ensure PCI compliance.
Tweak & harden common services to minimise information broadcasted publicly.
Configure Smartd, a hard disk failure early warning alerting system.
Modify default SSHd server configuration files to address common security issues.
Install and configure mod_security to filter common web based attacks.
Install 'Log Watch' software to pro-actively monitor access and error log files.
Install and configure MUNIN / MRTG system performance graphing and analysis.
Install custom software to automatically monitor and restart services as required.
Inspect installed software packages to ensure they correct current versions.
Setup automatic update procedure to ensure the operating system is maintained.
Backdoor Inspection: inspect and verify server for sanity from known backdoor exploits.
Installing Cloud Server Hosting Environment:
Install latest Cpanel and Web Host Manager (WHM) VPS Cloud optimized versions.
Install latest hotfixes, as well as bug fixes and in-house patches for Cpanel WHM.
Setup bind DNS and configure your branded Nameservers ready for use.
Check, install and update latest LAMP versions (Linux, Apache, MySQL and PHP).
Install Zend Optimiser and any required web caching (e.g. Nginx and Varnish).
Security Harden FTP, SSH, Sendmail, POP3, SMTP, IMAP, and other protocols.
Install any required software licences (e.g. Cpanel Softaculous, r1soft, spamexperts).
Login to web interface and complete any web based configuration steps.
Setup automatic updates for Cpanel WHM software (stable branch).
Implement known inhouse patches and fixes to ensure PCI compliance.
Run through audit checklist to ensure software and services are correctly deployed.
Final Cloud Server Monitoring and Backup Tasks:
Configure 24x7 service monitoring and alerting systems.
Configure customers chosen backup method and schedule.
Run initial backup snapshot and check and confirm integrity of first backup.
Setup customers chosen spam filtering system (SpamExperts or SpamAssassin).
Run through final checklist to ensure system health monitoring is active.
Ongoing Cloud Server Management
Server management is a never ending task. Our team will continue to monitor and maintain your cloud server 24x7 so it is always up to date, secure and performing as you need it to be.
Monitor service performance 24x7 to ensure your cloud hosting is performing optimally.
Maintain LAMP versions per customer requirement (e.g. PHP / MySQL updates).
Ongoing tweaks to Apache, PHP, MySQL configurations for performance tuning.
Stay on top of security releases to ensure your system is always patched and secure.
Regularly check integrity of CentOS and ensure up2date is current.
Ensure cPanel is maintained to latest 'stable' release version.
Regular system wide audits to verify the server environment integrity.
Review server logs and system reporting to manage and mitigate load spikes.
Regularly check integrity of server backup snapshots for disaster recovery.
Maintain cloud hypervisor nodes so your server can always failover.
Provide any additional system administration per customer requirements.
True 24x7x365 inhouse support is available to you for any assistance you require.
Cloud Server Management Summary
We understand you have a choice when it comes to finding a cloud hosting provider. We hope that our website demonstrates that UnitedHosting goes the extra mile to ensure you receive a managed service like no other. Our aim is simple - to provide a fully managed service, ensuring you should never have to worry about your web hosting again. You can concentrate on your business leaving UnitedHosting to concentrate on your cloud server and maintain a 100% uptime record for your website. Allow us to earn your cloud hosting business, contact us today.
Please see our managed cloud server packages or contact us to discuss your requirements.
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