So, you've decided that you can't do without cloud services. The next step is to find a reliable provider. You drive the query "cloud provider" into the search engine and ... your eyes run up. There are many offers, and all suppliers seem to you to be the same person: "quality service", "affordable price", "individual approach" and the like. How not to get lost among so many similar-looking sentences?
We share with you practical tips and a useful tool in the form of a table. For ease of use, you can download the checklist . Be sure to ask questions from the list below to potential suppliers, mark the answers in the table and choose the best option according to the criteria that are most important to you.
Download checklist
Find out the reliability of the data centers where your data will be stored
This is one of the main selection criteria. The reliability of data centers consists of several factors: geographic location, degree of security, physical security, availability of necessary communication sources (uninterrupted power supply, air conditioning, etc.). Let's consider everything in order.
Location of data centers. Data centers are located both in Ukraine and abroad. Each of the options has its own characteristics. Basically, data centers outside Ukraine boast a higher level of availability. The advantage of Ukrainian data centers is the budgetary cost of services it support job.
We offer two options for virtual servers with different locations of data centers: TuchaBit and TuchaFlex + with data centers in Ukraine and Germany (mostly), respectively.
Physical security and security of data centers. It includes protection from unauthorized persons on the territory of data centers, the presence of electronic protection systems, centralized uninterruptible power supply, air conditioning and power supply systems, duplication of the main systems for ensuring the operability of the data center. A reliable data center must be certified.
It makes sense to trust only those providers who place equipment in data centers of Tier III and IV levels. Why? In the event of errors and system failures in data centers with Tier I and II security levels, work can be completely paralyzed. Tier III and IV keep systems up and running even during data center failures, repair and maintenance work.
For example, we only work with data centers with Tier III and higher levels. This ensures high levels of resiliency and data integrity in the clouds, as well as stable operation even during power outages.
All important communications (power supplies, the Internet, power lines, backup channels, cooling systems, etc.) are duplicated in our data centers. Thanks to this, the recovery processes are carried out without stopping the operation of the equipment.
Make sure your provider provides snapshot service
Before entrusting your important data to a provider, it is imperative to make sure that the company provides a snapshot service. Snapshots are a guarantee of the reliability and security of storing your data in the clouds. And also the indicator of the provider's responsibility.
Alas, not all companies provide such a service, since it requires additional investments in equipment. But we took care of this to ensure the complete safety of your data. TuchaBit and TuchaFlex + services already include the cost of creating and storing the last two images. And if you need more snapshots, you can order additional snapshots as needed.
A snapshot (snapshot) is an image of a virtual machine disk, that is, the entire system with software and data stored on it, at a certain point in time. The snapshot helps to restore the system to its original working state after any critical changes. For example, after a virus attack, use a snapshot to restore a machine disk to the state it was in when it was created. Pictures are usually taken at night (from 8:00 pm to 6:00 am), but you can always change the time frame.
Do not confuse snapshots and backups (data backup). Making only backups is not enough, since they only create copies of individual files. Copies will help restore certain files, but only snapshots can restore the state of the system. Therefore, it is best to use these tools together.
Read more about snapshots, how they work and how useful they are in our article .
Determine the quality of technical support work: availability, speed and efficiency of response
The availability of technical support in itself does not guarantee you a quick response to requests and quality assistance. Find out more about the technical support service of your provider: work schedule (for your convenience it should be 24/7), response speed, interest in the client's tasks. To check the availability of technical support in practice, contact it through various communication channels.
It's good when there are several ways to reach technical support: phone, mail, ticket system. In technical support Tucha operate all of these channels. And you always have the opportunity to make sure of our availability.
Check out support levels, server administration capabilities
In order not to be left without help at the right time, check out the types of support from the provider in advance.
What kind of support does the provider provide? Let's take an example of the work of our company. We provide 4 types of support :
Free basic support . Employees of our service maintain the operability of our infrastructure, ensure its stability and availability. We do not have access to the operating system on your server, so we do not interfere with its work, limiting ourselves to professional advice.
Server administration is permanent. We gain access to your system and can not only advise you, but also solve emerging problems related to the operating system and software installed on the server. Service cost - 50% of the server cost, but not less than 30 euros / month.
Server administration hourly... Administrator rights are issued to us only for the period of one-time work to eliminate errors on the side of the OS and software. The cost of the service is 20 euros / hour.
Warranty support . Essentially the same as server administration, but free. An important condition is a new virtual machine and only our employees have administrator rights. Only works for hosting websites, email, domain zones and files.
As you can see, there is where to roam.
Before starting cooperation, check the availability and conditions of support with the provider.
Ask if the provider provides migration to the cloud, does it help "make friends" with cloud technologies
Often, when moving to the clouds, users need to transfer data (websites, mail, etc.).
Tucha is a provider who understands this kind of customer request. There is a migration service for this. We will not only quickly transfer your workplaces, sites, mail or other data to the cloud, but also answer your questions about migration and more.
Find out the level of guaranteed service availability
If uninterrupted access to the cloud is important to you (and we know for sure, it is important :)), check the indicators of guaranteed availability of services. The availability of services is a guarantee of their fault tolerance in specific numbers. For example, the TuchaFlex + (Europe) service has 99.9% availability. This means that service interruptions can take no more than 7 hours per year. TuchaBit (Ukraine) availability - 99.0%.
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