Web Site Hosting - Network

FASTER THAN OC3 CONNECTIVITY

Our servers are housed OnNet with Frontier GlobalCenter (FGC) and Qwest. FGC, whose 13,000-mile fiber optic network and Dense Wave Division Multiplexing (DWDM) technology provide an enormous 460 Gbps of capacity worldwide, has an ATM fiber node located just a few floors below our Network Operating Center.  Being OnNet with a Tier-1 provider means that we don't link to a backbone, we are actually on a backbone! We have no phone circuit, and do not use a Telecom link to get to the Internet; instead, we have a connection directly to FGC's ATM fiber node, located a few floors below our servers in the same building. This fiber optic line can handle the bandwidth of a T3 or an OC3, and with FGC's Dense Wave Division Multiplexing (DWDM) technology, it can handle several times the bandwidth of an OC3.

OPTIMAL NETWORK REDUNDANCY

The second most common reason for downtime is circuit failure on the tier 1 backbone. Because we are OnNet with Frontier GlobalCenter and Qwest, we share their digital distribution architecture, which includes private peering network connections to major Internet carriers such as MCI, Sprint, UUNET, AT&T, AOL, Best, Erols, @Home, IBM Advantis and others. These private peering arrangements allow us to exchange packets of data with every major backbone carrier in a one-to-one environment quickly and efficiently.

In addition, FGC has high-speed links to 8 public exchanges including both MAE East and West and several NAPS. Through these many public exchanges, customers have the ability to reach their site wherever they are coming from on the Internet. Thus we have the best of both worlds: a network that is both efficient and wide reaching. In addition, peering arrangements mean that should something happen to FGC's lines, their traffic will immediately be routed through other tier-1 providers. To give you an idea how reliable this is, Yahoo is another fine company who connects directly using Frontier GlobalCenter. If you can reach Yahoo, you can reach our network.

EFFICIENT ROUTING

We employ intelligent end-user routing software called BGP. This Border Gate Protocol (BGP) can identify which path is the most efficient for each packet, and then route the packet to its destination on this path. This increases the speed at which web pages sent from our NOC arrive at their destinations.

UNITERRUPTIBLE POWER SYSTEM

To guard against local power failures, we utilize two industrial-grade, three phase Liebert UPS systems. These act as back-up batteries, maintaining uninterrupted power in case of surges or power outages. With these backup systems in place, we can keep our network up and running indefinitely without relying on external power.