I am sure at some point we have all experienced data loss of some kind. In some cases you may have been working on a large document and lost data or maybe even a corrupt hard disk has caused you loss of massive data. When hosting a server the data you have is all more important and if you are handling clients data they might even assume you have backups taking place. This article touches on your various
options and what FastServers.Net suggests as a viable backup plan.

Taking preventive measures against protecting your data is an equation that balances out with your monthly budget and critical nature of the data you house in your server. Almost all of the control panel software has
built in backup software making the process easy. Servers without control panels can utilize our customized scripts and applications to take advantage of backup procedures.

Two major type of backup available at FastServers.Net are widely available and what most clients use. These two choice offer the budget minded server owner flexible and secure option to protect data even in the event of the worst disaster. Using these two options together will protect your data in a secure manner from all threats involved.

D2D (Disk 2 Disk) Backup are the most cost effective strategy offered by FastServers.Nel. Adding a second hard drive to your server cost about $5.00 per month for 120GB IDE drive and backups are Quick and easy. While being a cost effective strategy the risks include hardware failure and less security than hosting the backups off your server. In the event that your server is compromised and the mission of the evil individual that compromises your server is to destroy data they will most likely delete the backups on the server.

D2N (Disk 2 NAS) Backups cost a little more and allow you to offload your important data to a Network Attached Storage Device that utilizes RAID. This keeps your backups in a safe place and reduces the risk of being comprised. With the security measures and overall server upkeep of the NAS device being handled by the FastServers.Net admins your data can live and breath in an environment that is less prone to
attacks and hackers.

Depending on your budget and needs one or both of the mentioned backup strategies is a great idea to implement. As we have witnessed in the course of 8 years of hosting “bad things do happen to good server” and the severity of the disaster depends on your prior actions and strategy. Prevention and having a solid game plan will help maintain the integrity of your servers data before disaster strikes!

Whether you are a new to Microsoft SQL Server or have multiple years of experience working with RDBMS, it is imperative to keep a close eye on your server. Believe it or not, there are still hundreds of servers on
the Internet at this time that are plagued by the Slammer virus that struck well over a year ago. Administrators discover that their SQL Server instance is hit only when either they notice a severe degradation in service or they have been contacted by other companies that recognize the attacks on their respective networks. It is imperative that Administrators take time to review their SQL Server instances to ensure that they have applied the necessary updates and hotfixes that are put out by Microsoft.

The recommended hotfix level for SQL Server at this time is: 8.00.878 or SQL Server 2000 SP3 + 0838166. All new installations of SQL Server that FastServers deploys to customers have this installed by default. As you already know, FastServers takes security very seriously and we want to not only educate our customers. but provide them with the tools/resources needed to successfully implement secure SQLutions for their clients and so on. FastServers would like to recommend the following:

* Subscribe to Microsoft Security: http://www.microsoft.comltechneUsecurity/signupldefault.mspx
* If you administer your SQL Server remotely, or on the server, change your default port from 1433 to something else.
* Develop/schedule routine maintenance for your server: patch management, continual updates for your server, etc.
* Limit administrative access only to those members of your staff that
need it
* Never give out your administrator account to any consultant, third party
vendor
* Implement routine SQL Server backups, integrity checks, scheduled
jobs to truncated unused transaction logs
* Review SQL Server Security for the latest information on SQL updatesfhotfixes:

Implementing these administrative tasks. ideas can save you timeenergy down the road — especially with the threat of new attacks beingdiscovered on a daily basis. To our customers that do not have a IT department, systems administrators, or the time to manage their solutions please speak to a technical associate about the benefits ofhow DEFCON support can alleviate some of the security burden from your hands. Take security seriously and take the time to know what yourSQLution is truly doing — inside and out.

The Obvious.
All payments are due the day of renewal and services are pre-paid. payments due on 12/1104 are for the pay period of 12/1/04-1/1105.

Ever met Grace?
Each client is allowed a 5 day grace period from the day there server(s) renew until the servers risk deactivation for late payment. Therefore using the same example as above, your server payment would have to be received no later than 1015/04 in order to avoid deactivation for nonpayment. Any package or service not paid for during the grace period is subject to deactivation at will. Once your server is deactivated,
payment will be required in full in order to reinstate the server.

Personalized E-Mail from your friends at Billing@FastServers.Net.
You wi!! always receive email notifications letting you know of an impending deactivation. These are sent to the contact email address on file. Don’t forget to keep this up-to-date via https://pentagon.fastservers.net.
It’s because we like to talk on the phone.

If you are within the US we will attempt to call the number on file for you as well. It is vital that you maintain accurate contact information in your online billing account in order to ensure that you receive all
notifications. FastServers.net cannot be held accountable for  deactivations that occur because we did not have correct information for contacting you. If you need assistance logging into your online account to update your contact information please contact the billing dept at HI66-753-3278 or by email at billing@fastservers.net

Doomsday.
Once a server is deactivated for nonpayment you have a maximum of 15 days to contact the billing dept with payment to reinstate the server. Payments not received during this time period will result in the
cancellation of the server.  When a server is cancelled all data will be wiped off of the hard drives and the servers will be reformatted. After the server has been cancelled there will be no way for to retrieve any of your data.

My Dog Ate my Credit Card?
If due to extenuating circumstances you know your payment will not be made during the grace period that is provided. it is vital to contact to billing dept to inquire into a payment extension. Payment extension will be granted only for clients that provide a reasonable reason as to the late payment and are granted at the discretion of each billing representative. If payment is not made by the agreed upon date the server is eligible for deactivation at will. Clients who are habitual late payers will not be eligible for a payment extension.