WHDb

This is the first article in a series of six that will feature the top 10 web hosts for 2009 across six different categories.

Never mind the number of social media Web site memberships you have. Think about what it takes to support the viewers on a site like Twitter or YouTube. What if you needed that type of traffic support for your site? Even if you don’t plan for massive viewership, one day the New York Times may deride one of your comments, or Oprah might recommend your insights to her army of viewers. Can your current host withstand the traffic spike?

If you have doubts about whether your current Web host provider can handle massive traffic spikes or if you’ve already experienced down time because of a database overload from your blog, then you need more support. One answer to your dilemma includes grid or cluster hosting. One of the key benefits to both solutions is the ability to balance workloads while enabling recovery from inevitable hardware failures. When hardware or software is overtaxed, another server can pick up the burden. These systems are designed to pumping the juice. The difference between the two types of hosting is that grid hosting may not contain all servers in the same location, whereas all servers are in one location with cluster hosting.

If you’re looking for a reliable hosting system and you don’t mind paying a bit more for that reliability, the following ten host providers are worth your inspection. This Web host list, which focuses entirely on grid and cluster services, is compiled by price, from most to least expensive. This methodology does not mean that we value one host over another, either by price or by service.

1. Layered Technologies: Layered Technologies (LT) offers The Grid Layer (TGL) based on grid or utility computing. LT also can help with disaster recovery. They use 3.84 Tbps of switching and routing capacity designed for the needs of enterprise and carrier-class customers, multiple gigabit Ethernet backbone trunks, core network is designed for “zero” packet loss, embedded sFlow port supports scalable hardware-based traffic monitoring across all switch ports without impacting performance and multi-homed Internet providers. additionally, LT offers 24×7 knowledge base, forums, tutorials, FAQ and more to clients for technical support. The current price for the basic Grid Service Layer is $1696.00 per month with a $349.00 setup fee.
2. GoGrid: GoGrid is a division of ServePath, a company with extensive expertise and experience in web hosting infrastructure. GoGrid, the first multi-tier grid hosting platform, allows you to manage your Internet infrastructure completely on demand through an intuitive Web interface. You manage your servers through a multi-server hosting control panel and you scale your web applications or networks quicker and easier than ever before. The click-to-add interface allows users to add a “Load Balancer” is just as easy as adding a Web or database server. You are in charge! But, you also can expect 24×7 support. This is a beta site, and prices are “pay as you go” by “RAMhours.” 720 Server RAM/hours are equated for a month in one example, which - at $0.19 per RAMhour - would come to $136.80 per month.
3. Mosso: This host provider serves up scalable hosting and additional “capacity kicks” in as you need it. There’s no hardware to buy and you only pay for what you use. They used RackSpace’s expertise to develop this business, their engineering and platform of cluster servers. As a result, Mosso’s ‘Hosting Cloud’ is deeply integrated to avoid system failure. They own and develop everything from the systems to the control panel software. And, their developers are part of their 24×7 support team, so you’ll receive expert help when you need it. Additionally, Mosso, in partnership with Native Energy, is countering their environmental impact by offsetting the power they use from fossil fuels with renewable energy credits. Currently, a hosting ‘cloud’ account at Mosso is $100.00 per month.
4. Media Temple: Media Temple (mt) hosts some of the largest companies in the U.S., including Adobe, NBC Universal, Starbucks, and Time Inc. Their basic grid service supplies room for up to 100 sites along with a 64 MB Ruby/Mongrel container, their ‘MySQL GridContainers,’ and MySQL SmartPool v.2 with load-leveling technology, burst-able database resources and more. Their upper-level services include a dedicated virtual server geared toward resellers, their (dpv) Nitro with quad-core processing and SAS hard drives, and their (cx) Complex Hosting plan. All plans offer instant scalability, which supports any site that experiences traffic spikes. Current basic grid hosting service runs $20.00 per month.
5. Infrenion: Infenion’s servers are physically located in the U.K. and this company serves a U.K. and U.S. client base that seeks affordable hosting solutions. Infrenion.com recently has launched video-sharing hosting, which also is known as FFmpeg hosting or “YouTube hosting”, and this company gradually is growing into a leadership position in the online video sharing hosting industry. As a growing leader of video sharing hosting, Infrenion.com offers the most solid network foundation possible. All servers are dual Xeon 2.4GHz processors with minimum 2GB to 4GB of RAM. Specializing in datacenter and hosting facilities, INFOMART is home to multiple datacenters including MCI, Level 3, Equinix, Verio, Switch & Data, Verizon, DataSides, and more. Currently, Infrenion’s FFMPEG YouTube Clone hosting is priced at $14.99 per month.
6. GridLayer: GridLayer is a “daughter” of Layered Technologies (mentioned above). Using 3tera’s award-winning AppLogic OS, Layered Technologies is able to provide grid computing solutions by harnessing the power of their data centers and making it available to you on-demand - processing power, bandwidth, and storage capacity. With their Web-based grid solutions, there’s never any hardware to deploy, configure or maintain. The grid assembles all the infrastructure pieces needed on-demand, configures them and runs your application on top. Although GridLayer is only a year old, it has managed to garner an impressive list of clients. And, GridLayer is much less expensive than its parent. Current prices begin at $49.00 per month.
7. Concentric: Concentric provides businesses with scalable and affordable messaging, collaboration, and web hosting services uniquely delivered in a single account. Don’t let this focus on business intimidate you, however, as Concentric hosts domains for companies of all sizes ranging from one employee to organizations with high-traffic, large-bandwidth needs. They’re the only service to hold a patent for Clustered Hosting architecture. Leveraging this unique technology configuration, Concentric “offers a virtually inexhaustible server resource with built-in redundancy, and delivers superior performance and reliability on demand.” Currently, Concentric offers $9.95 per month hosting with a twelve-month prepay.
8. FastNext: FastNext offers a cluster solution for your Web hosting needs, among several other options. They own all their servers, and they recently upgraded those servers to AMD Opterons that use 64-bit Linux operating system to provide customers with the fastest platforms available. The servers have at least 2GB RAM and multiple hard drives in RAID 10 configuration. This equipment allows for the fastest data restoration possible should an operating system or server failure occur. They also deploy backup servers attached to 3.6TB or greater disk arrays over a private Gigabit Ethernet network. Current cluster hosting plan prices begin at $9.95 per month, but if you pay in advance, the prices drop.
9. NetFirms: NetFirms offers cluster Web hosting, among various other options. They offer separate server grids that are tasked to Linux and Windows HTTP processing, database processing, file storage and e-mail processing. All of these services are managed through a single control panel interface, FTP or Secure Shell (SSH). Load balancers seamlessly direct requests to the appropriate cluster. As traffic to your website increases, more and more servers are automatically added to each server cluster. Your website will be up and running fast - even when it’s featured on a busy news site like Slashdot or CNN. Current prices for NetFirms’ cluster hosting option start at $4.45 per month.
10. PowWeb: PowWeb provides state-of-the-art “load-balanced” Web hosting platform to ensure maximum uptime for its customers. PowWeb uses its own equipment, and their backbone includes high speed OC12/48 connection for efficient and reliable high-speed performance. They have teamed up with a major connection tier 1 provider to bring customers reliable services. In addition to the company supported software and services, customers can grow their online presences through added applications and upgrades to current products. Additionally, PowWeb provides one play with many different options and with three ways to pay. Customers can pay their bills monthly, for three months, for one year or for two years. Current prices begin at $3.88 per month with an online special (six months free when you pay for six months).

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