Network I/O volume

Both incoming and outgoing data together. Note that due to the overhead involved with TCP and UDP network protocols, especially with the small data packets typical for the HTTP protocol, this value will always be considerably higher than the data volume the web log statistics show. Network traffic between server boxes assigned to the same customer number (additional boxes) will not be accounted for and is therefore free.

Reference customer rebate

In a competitive marketplace, everybody promises to provide outstanding service and quality, although certainly not all deliver on it. In this situation, satisfied reference customers help underpin that claim by openly endorsing the service provider of their choice.

In our case, we reciprocate by granting reference customers an additional 50% free network I/O volume (by means of a rebate). For instance, users with at least one entry in our public customer gallery may choose to become reference customers and benefit from this arrangement, instead of opting for the free web server health monitoring. Other forms of support can make you eligible for this rebate, too. Please contact us for discussing your ideas.

Please note that the reference customer rebate applies to a billing period as a whole, and therefore becomes effective the following month.

CPU time

This is actually a normalized value. Since due to progress in technology we have server machines of different CPU speeds, the real CPU time is converted into a normalized CPU time by a speed factor associated with the respective hardware class. This means that users pay the same amount of money for a given CPU workload regardless of which hardware their server box runs on. The reference equipment for factor 1.0 is an Intel PIII-S 1.266 GHz CPU on a dual-processor mainboard utilizing ServerWorks' high-performance ServerSet III HE-SL chipset.

Disk I/O operation

This value is a count of I/O operations that actually caused physical disk access. Since our servers are equipped with an ample amount of RAM, under real-world conditions most I/O operations get satisfied from the disk cache in memory and are therefore not counted as real disk I/O. Users, on the other hand, who do recursive scans over the entire filesystem all the time will have to pay their due share for disk I/O.

Peakboost level

As we aim primarily at the business market we generally run our server machines with plenty of performance reserves, the more so since we do not tolerate misuse, such as Seti@Home etc. Nevertheless, in the rare event of a resource shortage the system can do little more than run all server boxes in a round robin fashion, as fast as it possibly can. This is the standard behavior of UNIX multitasking systems. Now, by adjusting the peakboost parameter of your box you can buy additional priority for these situations. This can be done from within the box, as described in the "Box Docs".

A value of 0 means your box gets all CPU and disk I/O resources currently available (at the least its due round robin share), at no extra cost. On the other end of the scale, 10 gets you max priority for 100% of the CPU time and disk I/O amounts detailed in the "Usage rates" table above. Peakboost values in between constitute a linear trade-off between strength of the effect and costs. Note, however, that even at peakboost level 10 a box cannot monopolize the whole server machine. It just gets more responsive.

With this unprecedented feature you can decide for yourself how much predictable snappiness you want for your box. New boxes come with a peakboost level of 10, for best performance, but you can alter this setting at any time. It has a direct effect on the resource usage diagrams in your "Server Box Information Area", so you can check the results of a change almost immediately.

Diskspace

This is the overall size of the disk container the user filesystem lives in. The default is 200 MBytes. How much of the disk space inside this container is actually used is up to the user and of no relevance for billing purposes. The user can resize the disk container from within his server box, as described in the "Box Docs". We offer user resizeable disk space in a range from 200 to 2000 MBytes, or up to 10000 MBytes on request.

Note that this disk space is only for the data unique to a server box. You do not pay anything for the voluminous shared base system with all the preinstalled software.

Disk resize operation

While we provide our users with the means to resize their disk containers on their own, resize operations put quite some strain on our server machines. This is why we cannot offer it for free.

Netspeed class

Each server box is in one of three netspeed classes. The netspeed class determines the network bandwidth per direction (in and out) reserved exclusively for that box. Netspeed class 1 means 512 kbit/s, class 2 is 1024 kbit/s and class 3 is 2048 kbit/s. This minimum value is meant for planning purposes, where predictability is called for. In practice, the available network bandwidth can be expected to be significantly higher under normal operating conditions.

The default netspeed class is 1. If you choose a higher one, you indicate to us that you anticipate an increased resource demand. We can move boxes from one server machine to another, including IP address and all. So in turn we put your box onto a less populated machine, which has more reserves. Running a box there, however, is more expensive (less boxes per machine). For this reason we multiply the required minimum monthly turnover (not the usage rates!) of the respective package type with a factor of 1.0 for netspeed class 1, 1.5 for class 2 and 2.0 for class 3, beginning with the month after the one where the change took place.

The user can change the netspeed class from within his server box, as described in the "Box Docs". However, our accounting system just looks for the highest netspeed class it can find within the billing period. It is not relevant for how long you ran your box in that class. So if you are not sure whether you really need a higher netspeed class we suggest you leave this feature alone.

Setup fee for server box

We require a setup fee for a server box to cover our initial costs. However, while we are convinced that we provide an outstanding product, in the event that you do not like it and make use of your right of termination within the first 30 days since activation of the server box, the setup fee charged for it will be refunded to you. So, as long as you remember to notify us in time, trying out a box will cost you only the normal usage rates.

Also, there is a voucher for a 1-year domain registration/transfer (.com, .net, .org, .de) included in the setup fee. In case you do not register/transfer your domain(s) through us and inform us about this decision within the first 30 days since activation of the server box, we will refund you the respective domain registration/transfer fee.

Fee for plan switch

In case you change your mind at some point and would like us to run your server box under a different plan (package type), we can make this change once per billing period (1 calendar month). However, please notify us at least two weeks ahead of time. Part of the switching process is that the old contract for the server box will be replaced automatically by a contract based on the current conditions for the new plan, with the exception that there is no setup fee since the box already exists. Note that while you may start with the entry plan you cannot downgrade to it.

Canvassing bonus

If you like your server box and recommend us to your friends, colleagues etc., we will credit you a canvassing bonus for each new customer staying with us for at least two full billing periods (2 calendar months). Just make sure they mention your name.

Listing in customer gallery

We provide this gallery as a free promotional service to customers running public web sites in their server boxes. In today's search-engine-centric Internet, being referred to by a well-established, frequently scanned site like ours gives you an advantage right from the start. It helps improve the ranking of existing web sites and considerably expedites the seeding of search engines for new domains. Both commercial and non-commercial sites are welcome. Participation is voluntary.

Also, since by means of these list entries we know that there must be a web server running in the respective box we add it automatically to our server health monitoring. In case of an outage we will investigate the problem, and if we cannot resolve it we will notify the box owner by email to the address we have on file. All free of charge, in contrast to commercial monitoring services. Alternatively, you can opt for becoming a reference customer and get a rebate on network I/O volume instead.

Domain registration/transfer

.com, .net, .org and .de domains can be purchased through us. We charge you on a yearly basis since domains have to be registered for at least a year. Our price includes registration/transfer and handling.

You can also buy a domain on your own. Please see our domain registration page to learn more about your options.

To find out whether your favorite domain name is still available, check with the InterNIC for .com, .net and .org, or with the DENIC for .de.

Subdomain

If you registered your domain 'mydomain.tld' with us, but you also need 'www.mydomain.tld', that is, a domain name within your base domain, we can provide this in the form of a subdomain. Besides 'www', any number of valid domain names is possible, even nested subdomains.

Also, if you bought and registered your base domain elsewhere, we can still host the zone files for it (and its subdomains) on our DNS servers. This would, from a technical point of view, qualify as a subdomain, too. However, you will have to deal with the administrative side of your domain registration on your own.

GlobalSign DomainSSL Standard certificate

This is a business-grade 256-bit SSL certificate, signed directly by a root certificate built into 99% of all browsers. Please note that it also includes the GlobalSign "Secure Site Seal" for your web site as an added value, for your visitors' peace of mind. We use one of these certificates on our own web site.

These certificates are domain name verified, that is, no complicated, time consuming identity check is required. So we can usually issue them within 24 hours. Also, since we sell new certificates already at the price of renewals elsewhere we do not have extra renewal conditions. You would just order a new certificate when the old one is about to expire.

Consulting

The detailed documentation combined with our quality support enable you to deal with most aspects of the server box operation yourself. However, in cases where advice alone is not sufficient we offer additional help in the form of consulting.

Making use of our consulting service is straightforward. If you send us a detailed description of the task at hand we will give you an assessment of the time we would need, which translates directly into the price. At the point you order the consulting both the task definition and the conditions agreed on become fixed.

So if there are things to be done in the context of your server box that you do not want to get too involved in yourself, or if you would like to tap into our experience in the IT sector in general, please do not hesitate to contact us.

Full management

Apart from the centrally performed maintenance that is built into each of our server boxes we can also provide full management where we would take care of the user's individually installed application software in a way similar to how we deal with our shared applications, and under the same rules as pointed out in our business terms.

The price for full management quoted above covers up to two hours of maintenance work per month, averaged over the last three months. We also offer full management for server boxes that require substantially more work each month. However, in this case the price will be subject to individual negotiations. Also, please note that initial software installation and other non-recurring tasks performed by us do not count as full management but instead fall into the consulting category.

Remote data backup

In addition to the daily data backup that is meant as a desaster recovery tool we also offer a weekly remote data backup. This data copy is guaranteed to be stored on a property different from the one the respective server box is located on. Please note that restoring data from this copy is a manual procedure that we perform on request.

     Quantity Unit    Designation              Each USD  Total USD
    ---------------------------------------------------------------
       919.48 MByte   Network I/O volume        0.00250       2.30
        83.95 Minute  CPU time                  0.01000       0.84
        36.09 kOp     Disk I/O operation        0.00500       0.18
       500.00 MByte   Diskspace                 0.00500       2.50
         1.00         Minimum usage surcharge  25.00000      19.18
                                                         ----------
                                       Subtotal (usage)      25.00

     Quantity Unit    Designation              Each USD  Total USD
    ---------------------------------------------------------------
        91.21 MByte   Network I/O volume        0.00250       0.23
        17.94 Minute  CPU time                  0.01000       0.18
        79.97 kOp     Disk I/O operation        0.00500       0.40
      1000.00 MByte   Diskspace                 0.00500       5.00
         1.00         Minimum usage surcharge  25.00000      19.19
                                                         ----------
                                       Subtotal (usage)      25.00