As the Emperor has foreseen.
And we're talking about our favourite corrupt Senator or Pope Benedict, whatever suits your fancy at this point... why? They look the same. So you want proof. O_RLY. Well, fortunately my archive of vastly incredible trinkets includes this particular exhibit, BEHOLD:
http://www.feanor.net/z0r/palpaPOPE.jpg
Winner winner chicken parm dinner. But who, praytell, is wise? Drew. He works here. Why is he worthwhile, you'll ask? Because previously he mentioned "keeping your operating systems updated to the latest 'n' greatest releases"... I'll explore this, whilst clarifying from my omnipresent throne, as this dispatch continues...
Ah yes, the battle that never really ends, regardless of how many years you contribute to the hosting realm! Fortunately, the FastServers Technical Group *wants* to help migrate your legacy linux or windows system(s) to our officially supported, *current* releases. Thankfully, that list has never been so straightforward. What’s considered current in the parallel-dimension that we call FastServers? CentOS or RHEL 3.x and 4.x, and all flavours of Windows 2003 Server.
Say what? Ahem, Fedora Core. And isn’t RedHat 9 still receiving support errata?
It’s true, Fedora Core does exist, and we’ll have a stable FC 6 before too long- but the window has closed on the limited “stop-gap” status that we allowed for this family of linux operating systems in the aftermath of RedHat’s decision to pseudo-commercialize a few years back. The push of Fedora Core has been increasingly “cutting-edge” as opposed to “stable”, as both aspects are mentioned officially in their mission statement. This developmental approach is not a sane solution for mission critical webserver environments… the Enterprise-level releases that RedHat and CentOS (the cloned, free, and perfectly legal spin-off) provide aim to extract the absolute best performance out of your server’s hardware while enjoying the stability of a rock-solid linux operating system. Let our expertise in automation and panel environments here at FastServers provide the extra bells and whistles you require: you don’t need the core OS that drives your linux webserver to be overburdened with “advances” that bog down the environment and open up a plethora of potential headaches elsewhere.
FastServers’ goal: Phase out remaining, dangerously underpowered (and increasingly vulnerable) legacy RedHat (7.3/9) systems by the end of 2006. Fedora Core family systems (regardless of legacy or current status) will be phased out by the end of the first quarter in 2007. DEFCON-ranking will likely have no bearing here: though we’ll deal with our “Managed” clients first of course, we will not allow for elderly, exploitable entities (that’s E-cubed, haha…) to exist within our critical hosting networks. It’s time to *get current* people! Did you realize that RedHat Enterprise 5.x family’s first official release is only a couple months away?
Elsewhere, any incarnation of Windows 2000 is a legacy product. If you’re using it at home or for any type of hosting you’re living quite dangerously. Sure, Microsoft is still pushing updates your way, but these attempts are the very definition of the bare minimum… multiple hotfix rollups and service packs have been cancelled over recent years and any machine driven by this OS is essentially a sitting duck *especially* if a webserver, mailserver, or related services are inhabiting said system. Migrate to 2003. We can help. Seriously.
FastServers’ goal: Phase out any remaining 2000-ish filth by the end of quarter #2, 2007. No job is too big, no fee is too big. And I’m done channeling Venkman. Google it if you need to.
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Basically, we’d like our networks as airtight as possible, and we’re only as bulletproof as each webserver hosted within our jurisdiction allows! Do your part by being proactive: when you have a window of opportunity for an upgrade, get in touch with our Technical Group and make it happen. Your customers will enjoy the added peace of mind and performance boost, and you’re likely to get more out of your hosting applications and related functionality (did I mention efficiency?) by sporting a *current* release of your favourite OS genre.
We’re standing by to assist. Always. Especially when it makes the whole of us safer.
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