FAQ

Frequently Asked Questions


Expertise: Can I talk to a real person?
What are the advantages of hosting with ConnectOS?
What expertise can ConnectOS offer beyond what I already know?
What do to the Microsoft certifications (MCSE, MCP, MCSP) mean anyway?; How do I switch over from my current provider with the least amount of downtime possible?; Why do some Web pages take a long time to load?
Why partner with a Microsoft Certified Solution Partner?

Server Hosting: Does it matter that I don't live in Seattle? (Not everyone can!); How will I administer my server?; Just how many kinds of monitoring can be set up for my server?
How does ConnectOS calculate "throughput?; How does ConnectOS calculate "bandwidth"?

Data Center: How will my server be connected to the Internet?; Security is important to me. How secure is the data center?; Can I drop in and check on my server now and then?; Is there room to grow at the Data Center?

Microsoft Exchange: What advantage is there to outsourcing Exchange hosting with ConnectOS?; If ConnectOS provides my Exchange email, what features will be available?

Microsoft FrontPage: Does ConnectOS support FrontPage Extensions?; I am using FrontPage 98. Will it work with FrontPage 2002?

Uptime and Availability: What is the difference between uptime and availability?

Security: What steps does ConnectOS take to protect my data from unauthorized access?

Consulting: I know I'll need technical support on a regular basis. How can I lower my cost?

What advantage is there to outsourcing exchange hosting with ConnectOS?: Exchange 2000 provides a reliable, scalable, and manageable infrastructure, increases knowledge worker productivity, and gives you access to the people you want and the information you need.
Companies outsource their Exchange applications in order to reduce their support costs. The ConnectOS Corporation advantage is based on our high level of expertise and ability to provide excellent, personalized customer support. Consider the additional detailed presented in a Microsoft white paper, Making the Exchange 2000 ASP Decision.
If ConnectOS provides my Exchange email, what features will be available?: All of the features of Exchange 2000 Server will be available - e-mail, scheduling, online forms, and the tools for custom collaboration and messaging-service applications.
Does ConnectOS support FrontPage Extensions?: Yes, ConnectOS supports both FrontPage 98 and FrontPage 2002.
I am using FrontPage 98. Will it work with FrontPage 2002?: Earlier versions of FrontPage are fully compatible with FrontPage 2002 Server Extensions. Although earlier versions of the client software cannot use the FrontPage 2002 features, all the functionality of the earlier versions is supported by the FrontPage 2002 Server Extensions.
What is the difference between uptime and availability?: "Uptime" refers to the ability to conduct business in the event of partial system failure or unexpected demand. Organizations can prioritize, modularize, and segregate their business functions, provide redundancies, and establish processes to turn on or off pieces of their system and still continue to function.

"Availability" is a measure of the ability of clients to connect with and use a resource at any point in time. If a resource is not available, clients cannot use it. One way to understand high availability is to contrast it with fault tolerance. These terms describe two different benchmarks measuring availability. Fault tolerance is defined as 100% availability 100% of the time, regardless of the circumstances. A fault tolerant system is designed to guarantee resource availability. In contrast, a high-availability system is concerned with maximizing resource availability. A highly available resource is available a very high percentage of the time and may even approach 100% availability, but a small percentage of down time is acceptable and expected.

High availability can be defined as follows:

A highly available resource is almost always operational and accessible to clients.
Security is important to me. How secure is the data center?: The Internap data center at Fisher Plaza is very secure. There are several layers of security beginning at the building perimeter, the sign-in counter, key-card interior doors, bio-metric scans and locked cages and cabinets. There will be no access to your server except for ConnectOS engineers and authorized Internap support personnel. .
Can I drop in and check on my server now and then?: No. Clients are not permitted to enter the data center without ConnectOS staff.
We're planning for dot-com growth. Is there room to grow at the Data Center?: Yes. ConnectOS has room to grow and will contract additional space as necessary.
What steps does ConnectOS take to protect my data from unauthorized access?: ConnectOS engineers follow Microsoft "best practices" for server security. We stay informed about late breaking issues regarding security issues and are prepared to implement Microsoft patches and hot fixes when necessary.
I know I'll need technical support on a regular basis. How can I lower my cost?: Our managed support agreements are an economical way to purchase technical support at a discounted rate. You'll receive the expertise of an experienced MCSE without the cost of hiring full time technical support.
Does it matter that I don't live in Seattle? (Not everyone can!): ConnectOS serves web and database developers, on-line retailers, and corporate web sites of companies located in cities all over North America. The internet has removed most of the geographic factor from your decision on selecting an internet host. ConnectOS uses internet technologies to serve distant clients as if they were partners just across the hall.
How will I remotely administer my server?: Our clients use terminal services to administer their Windows 2000 servers, and pcAnywhere or VNC to manage their Windows NT 4.0 servers.
Just how many kinds of monitoring can be set up for my server?: Practically any type or configuration of monitoring can be set up for your server. We do the basics like http, service, or connection monitoring. We can also create specialized monitors to look for specific content in your web pages or to identify specific server conditions. ConnectOS engineers have a great deal of experience and turn monitoring into an "art". Our continuous monitoring is the first line of defense against down time and we take it seriously.
What do to the Microsoft certifications (MCSE, MCP, MCSP) mean anyway?: There has been a lot of "buzz" about the MCSE and MCP certifications. Frankly, they don't mean much unless combined with experience. ConnectOS engineers have developed a great deal of experience over the last ten years with Microsoft products. We combine this expertise and professionalism with the close relationship ConnectOS shares as a Microsoft Certified Solution Provider to help our clients get work done.
What expertise can ConnectOS offer beyond what I already know?: ConnectOS specializes in technical solutions to help small businesses focus on running their business. You don't need to reinvent the wheel when it comes to developing your on-line presence. We can recommend and implement advanced solutions such as server clustering, content replication schemes, SQL database design, and server optimization.
Can I talk to a real person?: Absolutely! You can talk to a real person at ConnectOS during business hours weekdays. Clients with managed support agreements can reach an engineer 24x7 and will receive a call back if requested.
Why partner with a Microsoft Certified Solution Provider?: Because we are experts. We focus on Microsoft products because that is what we do best.
What are the advantages of hosting with ConnectOS?: ConnectOS hosts its servers (the computers which provide access to the Internet) directly on the Internet backbone in an industrial-strength data center. This allows us to provide unparalleled speed, security, and dependability to our customers that other hosting companies do not come close to matching.
How do I switch over from my current provider with the least amount of downtime possible?: Switching over from another provider is no problem. As soon as the domain name is pointed to ConnectOS, (you will get confirmation from you domain registration company) cancel services with your old provider. We can transfer your site with no downtime.
How does ConnectOS calculate "throughput?: On the Internet, throughput measures the speed of a communications channel or connection. A connection's throughput is the number of bytes per second it can transfer.
How does ConnectOS calculate "bandwidth"?: Bandwidth is the amount of information (usually measured in bits-per-second) that can be sent through an Internet connection.
Why do some web pages take a long time to load?: A number of elements may affect the loading speed of Web pages: the amount of text and graphics on the page, the speed or quality of your connection, the traffic on the Internet and the technology behind the Web site you are visiting.
How will my server be connected to the Internet?: ConnectOS has all server housed at the Internap Fisher Plaza data center. This datacenter provides optimized, redundant connections to nine major backbones. ConnectOS is served by redundant 100Mbps feeds. ConnectOS is committed to providing excellent speed and bandwidth, and will add additional hardware as needed to provide the fastest possible connection to the Internet.