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Our Network
At
Invermidas.com, we understand the importance of speed, security, and stability;
and have invested heavily in hardware and facilities that ensure your
sites are up and running on the web 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
Connected
to Three Backbones
Invermidas.com's Network Operations Center is "OnNet"
with Frontier Global Center (FGC), which means that we have a direct fiber
optic connection between our Cisco 7200 router and theirs. 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 an in-house 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.
We share the digital distribution architecture of
FGC, which is comprised of more than 25 high-speed private peering connections
to major Internet carriers such as MCI, Sprint, UUNET, AT&T, AOL,
Best, Erols, and others. FGC also has high-speed links to 8 public exchanges
including both MAE East and West and several NAPS. To use an analogy,
the private peering connections allow data to travel from New York to
LA on a non-stop flight, while the public exchanges require a stop over.
Network
Redundancy
Invermidas.com uses intelligent end-user routing software
called Border Gateway Protocol (BGP), between Qwest, GC and GTE, who use
the same protocol. BGP identifies which path is the most efficient for each
data packet and then routes the packet to its destination on the fastest
path. This increases the speed at which web pages sent from our NOC arrive
at their destination.
Studies have shown that the most common reason for
downtime is circuit failure on Tier 1 provider backbones, the major data
highways. To guard against this potential problem, we have three Tier-1
providers. If one experiences problems, we can route traffic down the
other one. Furthermore, because we are OnNet with GlobalCenter, Qwest
and GTE, we share their digital distribution architecture, which includes
private peering network connections to major Internet carriers such as
MCI, Sprint, UUNET, EUNET, AT&T, AOL, Best, Erols, @Home, IBM Advantis
and others. These private peering arrangements allow Invermidas.com to
exchange packets of data with every major backbone carrier in a one-to-one
environment quickly and efficiently.
In addition, GC has high-speed links to eight public
exchanges including both MAE East and West and several NAPS. Through these
public exchanges, customers have the ability to reach their site, no matter
from where they are coming on the Internet.
Network
Reliability
Industry analysis reveals that 70% of downtime over
ten hours with any ISP is caused by telephone circuit failure. Since our
NOC is in the same building as Global Center, Qwest and GTE, circuit failure
is virtually eliminated because there is no phone circuit between us and
our providers. Instead, there is a direct connection between our Cisco 7500
routers and theirs.
Invermidas.com's providers also have peering connections
with other major Tier 1 providers, which allows traffic to be switched
to alternate backbones should the need arise.
Raw
Performance Equals Low Latency/High Throughput
Too often providers operate their networks at three
to four times responsible capacity. As a result, their corresponding transfer
times reach over 300ms. Invermidas.com's network daily average is 27%
of its capacity, with midday peak spikes reaching only 33% capacity. Invermidas.com
guarantees clients will be carried off our network in less than 80ms over
a five minute average at any time of day or night.
Network
Operations Center
Invermidas.com's Network
Operations Center (NOC) features raised flooring. This enables a constant
flow of conditioned air and helps to maintain uniform room temperature at
all times. In addition, raised flooring reduces static and ensures a professional,
computer grade environment for your servers.
The facility is equipped with a Raytheon fire suppression
system, designed to immediately extinguish fire and protect equipment
and personnel. The command center is controlled via automatic doors to
further secure and protect the equipment.
Finally, the NOC is located in a secure, monitored,
class A building with a minimum number of approved personnel allowed access
to highly sensitive areas and equipment. A detailed record of employee
and visitor entry is maintained at all times.
UPS
- Uninterruptible Power System
To guard against local power failures, Invermidas.com
has 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.
Industrial-Grade
Air Conditioners
Invermidas.com's NOC has two Liebert ten ton industrial
air conditioners, which condition our computer rooms and operations center.
Our computer room is kept at an optimal temperature of 65 degrees Fahrenheit.
Custom
Web Servers
Invermidas.com's web servers are custom-built industrial
machines designed for a 24/7 web serving environment. All Invermidas.com
servers are equipped with dual redundant 450-watt power supplies, hot
swap Seagate Barracuda/Cheetah drives and force-filtered cooling systems.
In addition, our NOC is equipped with an inventory of identically configured,
burned-in standby servers.
Force
Filtered Cooling
All of Invermidas.com's custom web servers are equipped
with a positive pressure filtered-air system. Four large fans pull filtered
air into each server's protective case and the components within are cooled
by fans which circulate this purified air. This constant introduction
of clean air into the case creates a positive pressure environment ensuring
dust and particles remain outside of the server.
Hot
Swap Seagate Drives
The drives and drive bays of all Invermidas.com servers
are constructed from high-grade aluminum, and rest in shock mounted drive
cages, which adds to the durability of the hardware. Invermidas.com's
drives proudly feature the lowest failure rate in the industry.
Redundant
Hot Swap Power Supplies
Each server employs dual-redundant hot swap power
supplies. If a power supply were to fail, the server would continue running
with power from the alternate supply. Meanwhile, alarms would alert a
technician, who would quickly restore redundancy. In the meantime, servers
and client sites would experience no downtime.
Standby
Servers
We keep spare servers on-line of all CPU configurations.
If a server were to experience a hardware failure, we would turn a key,
grab the handle on the drive, pull it out, and insert it into an identical
standby CPU. We would then reboot the second machine and the server would
be up and running again in a matter of minutes.
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