One crucial area of focus for Idologic Networks is uptime. We prefer not to pat ourselves on the back all too often, but we do possess quite the track record when it comes to keeping our servers online. Uptime is a function of many variables and it begins on a stable datacenter foundation which is supplemented by true server-grade hardware. (IE: We don’t stuff a glorified desktop processor in our servers!) The aspect of uptime that any good System Administrator – whether he or she oversees Linux, Windows, or UNIX – grapples most fiercely with is the software side.

If you ever updated your home desktop or laptop, you know exactly what we are talking about. Upgrades to the Operating System (OS) core virtually always require a reboot. If, as with a server, your object is to stay online as much as possible, this clearly becomes counterproductive. Contrary to the advice of your Uncle Al who refuses to update his Service Pack 1 installation, good security practice requires that a high-value target like a server be up to date. Your customers demand that security from you, you demand it from us, and we demand it from ourselves.

At the very core of Linux is something called the kernel. To keep this blog post short, think of the kernel as the brain and nervous system of Linux that tells it how to operate on the server. Patching this kernel with the latest security releases has always been a source of downtime. It requires a server reboot to apply the changes, and it seems like there is always a necessary update right smack in the middle of your busiest week or newest promotion. It’s not so much a problem when the reboot can wait for late at night or off hours, but it becomes a major issue when the reboot is needed quickly.

Ksplice Uptrack is the advent of rebootless kernel upgrades. This technology has been in the pipes for some time, and the good folks here at Idologic Networks maintained a watchful eye, ready to adopt it when the technology matured. This is a capacity that Linux possesses which really gives it a major advantage over Windows servers right now.

The basic synopsis on how Ksplice works is that it takes the vendor releases and converts them into hot updates (in laymen’s terms, you could think of it as a live update). The MIT minds behind the project put out a whitepaper on the subject if you would like to go into further detail, but this is the brainchild of a couple excellent observations. They realized that the vast majority of kernel upgrades simply did not need any need code and therefore required no reboot to be applied. To make a long story short, they came up with a system where they could apply the hot updates and forego the once-required server reboot for a very long time.

This technology, Ksplice, is coming to Idologic, as we’ve already begun implementing it on many of our customers’ servers. We look forward to entering a new era of uptime sans the annoying downtime that accompanies kernel upgrades. With Ksplice, we can schedule our maintenance and begin to do away with unscheduled reboots for kernel upgrades. As always, let us know at the helpdesk if you have any questions!

In lieu of the tired old press release, Idologic is rather pleased to announce the introduction of MailFoundry to its awesome lineup of services. MailFoundry is the name for a new anti-spam and anti-virus solution that will indeed keep your inbox clean. We noticed that many of our customers were running into various issues with the existing cPanel software. These issues resulted in missing emails and general frustration with spam-fighting capabilities. We decided to find a solution and we think we’ve found the best!

So what makes this tool any different from other (non-working) solutions? As you may know, cPanel and DirectAdmin both use a combination of ClamAV and SpamAssassin to fight spam. The latter name gives you a good idea as to how the software works, it kills. Traditional spam fighting literally seeks out and destroys spam. The software relies basically on guesswork and a complex scheme of scoring to determine the “spamminess” (pretend it’s really a word) of an email. The obvious issue is that artificial intelligence concepts like this remain rather simple-minded; that’s not to say the existing software is ineffective or poor by any stretch. However, the existing software is made to handle the average shared account as opposed to handling larger amounts or particularly critical email correspondence. It will miss spam, and it may land a few false positives.

This is where MailFoundry steps in. The software is actually hosted on hardware exclusively devoted to MailFoundry, so this literally takes some of the load off of your server and frees it up for things like processing website pages. Beyond that, though, MailFoundry uses a system called MessageIQTM which is basically a system of real people who monitor global email. These folks staff a datacenter 24×7x365 simply looking at email and finding spam. (Good times!) This makes this setup pretty darn effective against image spam and other devious spammer tricks. In fact, the software catches 99% of all spam and 100% of all viruses. Those are pretty good odds for you non-gamblers out there. The really nifty aspect of the software is that it updates roughly every 5 minutes. As you can imagine, these details make it quite effective. It further boasts a one-in-a-million shot of a false positive!

This new MailFoundry service does come at a cost. We’ve managed to make it a very small one, though. Right now, you can protect 10 mailboxes (per domain) for just $1/month! We’ve created a handy PDF reference sheet for the software that you’re welcome to peruse. If you’re interested in signing up, please contact our helpdesk, which is available 24/7 for help and information! Feel free to ask questions in our forum community as well.