FAQ

What is FlexiScale?

FlexiScale is Europe’s first public cloud computing service. This highly acclaimed product offers Linux and Microsoft Windows servers on-demand on a pay-as-you-go basis.

When would I want FlexiScale?

Whenever you want a server with internet connectivity. FlexiScale is particularly suitable if you’re looking for computing resources on a short-term basis, if you need a server at very short notice, if you’re looking for a solution that can grow with your business, if you’re looking to avoid a long-term commitment, or if you’re looking for a high-quality service with built-in high availability that doesn’t break the bank. FlexiScale offers an unequalled set of benefits that apply in all these circumstances.

Who uses FlexiScale?

Anyone can – it’s that simple! Our customers include everything from famous football clubs to technology start-ups.

How do I get started with FlexiScale?

Getting started is very easy and it only takes about 5 minutes. You create your own account, put in a minimum of £11 credit and off you go. Come on, try it, you won’t be disappointed! Click here for the sign-up page.

Can I test FlexiScale?

Of course. You can test the product for as little as £11. This will provide you with enough credit to keep a server running for a month running continuously. There is no commitment beyond that.

Is FlexiScale a grid, a utility or a cloud? What does cloud computing really mean?

There is a lot of confusion out there as these terms are often used interchangeably. Grid computing can be defined as a form of distributed computing whereby a ’super and virtual computer’ is composed of a cluster of networked, loosely-coupled computers, acting in concert to perform very large tasks. Utility computing can be defined as the packaging of computing resources, such as computation and storage, as a metered service similar to a traditional public utility such as electricity and autonomic computing (computer systems capable of self-management). Cloud computing can be defined as on demand self-service Internet infrastructure where you pay-as-you-go and use only what you need, all managed by a browser, application or API. FlexiScale uses a utility pricing model because we charge on a pay-as-you-go basis, but as a service it is a cloud and not a grid.

How many servers and terabytes of storage can I request at once?

You can request as many servers as you like. We currently assign a /29 network to customers when they sign-up for a FlexiScale account which means you can immediately provision five servers with public IP addresses. If you require more, you will need to request more IP addresses through the control panel.

You can request storage disks up to 500GB in size. If you need more than this you can add multiple disks. We will be adding larger disk sizes in the future.

What are the benefits of FlexiScale over a dedicated server?

First of all, there is nothing wrong with dedicated servers and there are circumstances where ‘bare metal’ is still the best solution. However, dedicated servers are lacking in flexibility. So FlexiScale is a better bet if you are looking for:

• A solution that can provision resources instantly.
• A solution where you only pay for what you really use.
• A solution that does not lock you into a long-term contract.
• A solution that that can grow and shrink with your business.
• A solution that automatically recovers from hardware failure

In these situations FlexiScale is most definitely the answer for you.

Can FlexiScale fully replace a dedicated server?

Absolutely! We have many customers who have replaced an entire multi-tier architecture sitting on dedicated servers and migrated everything onto FlexiScale. It is important to understand that once a FlexiScale server is started, either Linux or Microsoft Windows, it appears exactly the same as a ‘bare metal’ machine.

What virtualisation technology do you use?

FlexiScale is based on the open-source implementation of Xen, with our own additions. We intend to support additional hypervisors in the future, depending on customer requirements. So if you have a specific requirement, please do let us know!

Will all my applications run un-modified?

Yes! So far, we have not come across any application that would not run on top of a FlexiScale Windows or Linux server.

Can you support a hybrid environment – a mix of cloud and dedicated servers?

We have a number of customers who successfully run hybrid environments e.g. front-end web servers on FlexiScale with backend dedicated database servers.

How long has FlexiScale been in operation?

FlexiScale was in Beta from June 2007 until being formally launched in October 2007 and had its v1.5 release in May 2009, and the 2.0 release in March 2010.

Where is the FlexiScale infrastructure located?

FlexiScale is hosted in a data center in the South-East of England.

Is my data located in a secure and well protected data center?

All the data is secured in a tier 3 data center.

What happens if you detect a hardware node failing? Will you automatically re-start my server?

Our entire FlexiScale environment is fully monitored. Should a physical server fail, we will detect that within seconds. Such a server will automatically be removed from the cluster configuration and servers that were running on this server will automatically be re-started on other servers. This process is fully automatic and is achieved in a matter of minutes.

How quickly will you recover from a hardware failure?

Should a physical FlexiScale server fail (unlikely as that is), we will re-start your server within fifteen minutes or less on another server.

Does FlexiScale run over a redundant network?

Yes. All network connections are redundant. Additionally, we have multiple IP-transits into the public internet that protect you from one of our suppliers having an outage.

Can you cope with a sudden increase in Network traffic?

We provide a peak network capacity that is several times over our average network load. To keep abreast of FlexiScale growth, we monitor general bandwidth requirements and peaks on an ongoing basis and use this information to increase capacity accordingly.

Do you have experience in dealing with Denial of Service (DoS) attacks?

FlexiScale’s origins lie within a hosting provider that started providing services in 1997, so we have plenty of experience of dealing with instances of DoS attacks against our customers.

How secure is FlexiScale?

FlexiScale is very secure as every customer has their own VLAN. Servers are separated from each other by our own Xen implementation and the customer data is stored on a secure Storage Area Network.

Can I request my own VLAN?

Every customer automatically gets their own VLAN. This is included as standard within the platform. You can add further private VLANs using the control panel.

What happens to my data when a server terminates or stops?

FlexiScale’s storage model is persistent. Our physical servers do not store any customer data on their local disks and everything comes from a centralised storage back-end. When a server stops or even aborts, all our data is safely retained and will be fully available the next time your server boots up again.

Do you provide an SLA?

Yes. You will find it here.

Is FlexiScale PCI compliant?

Not yet. We are currently working towards full PCI compliance, however the current PCI regulations aren’t suited for cloud environments, as they work through logical rather than physical security.

What boot image formats does FlexiScale support?

FlexiScale servers will boot from any bootable image with an appropriate boot loader. That includes ISO9660 format CDs and hard disk images.

What OSs can I get as Golden images directly from FlexiScale?

Currently we support:

• Windows Server 2008
• CentOS Linux 5.4
• Debian Linux 5.0
• Ubuntu Linux 9.10
• Ubuntu Linux 10.04 LTS

There are more in the works.

Of course you can also download an ISO with an operating system of your choice on (either 32 bit or 64 bit) and boot from that. That will let you install most common operating systems including previous versions of the operating systems listed above. Note that we can’t provide you with support for servers running operating systems that we haven’t provided an image for.

Do I have to change the OS to make it run in FlexiScale?

There are no OS changes required to the core OS. For optimum network performance and available cloud management functions, we suggest you install some virtualisation drivers we supply.

What applications will FlexiScale support?

Any applications that run on the above operating systems. If you have concerns about the suitability of FlexiScale for a very specific type of application, please feel free to talk to our support or sales team on 0870 050 0080 or +44 1506 606 000, or by e-mail to info@flexiscale.com

Can I create my own boot images? Do I need any special tools to do so?

Yes, but you will need to know how to build boot images, in ISO format or otherwise. Since this a well understood industry task, you will not require any special or proprietary tools to do so.

What things do I need to consider if I want to build my own boot images?

All you need to remember is that you may wish to install our virtualisation drivers. We also have a ‘firstboot’ package will allow you to set the initial password.

Where can I get the source code for the drivers?

Please contact our support team 0870 050 0080 or +44 1506 606 000, or by e-mail to info@flexiscale.com and we can provide you with the latest drivers for Linux or Windows.

How can I make my own golden images?

You can either convert a snapshot of a disk into a golden image using the images tab on the control panel, or upload your own image.

Once I have created a server, will you be maintaining my OS patch level?

No. FlexiScale is only offered as an unmanaged product and OS patching is therefore a customer’s responsibility.

Can I change my Linux kernel version?

Yes you can. However, we advise you to contact our support team on 0870 050 0080, or +44 1506 606 000 or by e-mail to info@flexiscale.com and we will provide you with a step-by-step guide to ensure a successful upgrade.

Can you take snapshots of an existing server?

Yes. See the snapshots pane of the Control Panel. Note that if you take a snapshot whilst a server is running, the data may not be consistent because it may not all be written to disk; some may be in the server’s RAM. So if you restore from such a snapshot, the disk may not be clean (i.e. will require a fsck or chkdsk). Such a snapshot is the same as you would get if you switched the power off without shutting down and then copied the disk. As you can imagine, restores might not work perfectly. Therefore, we suggest that you always shut the machine down before taking snapshots if you want to ensure a restore will work correctly.

Do you support Golden image cloning?

Yes, you can create an image from a snapshot using the image pane of the Control Panel. Once again, we strongly recommend you only use a snapshot you took whilst the machine was shut down.

Do you provide Golden images with fully configured LAMP or IIS setups?

No, this is currently not offered. However, once you have configured the LAMP stack or IIS to your satisfaction, you can shut down the server, make a snapshot, and then convert that into your own image.

What performance can I expect from my server?

We believe that customers will typically get results similar to a 2GHz processor, but it can vary depending on the applications requirements. We recommend that you benchmark it to work out your exact requirements. Please do let us know your results though!

How does it compare to physical hardware?

Once a FlexiScale server is fully booted up, only somebody with a deep understanding of the underlying hardware will be able to tell that this server is actually running virtualised. A FlexiScale server is a high-quality product that compares very favourably against ‘bare metal’.

How quickly does a server boot up?

Depending on the Operating System installation a typical boot up time is around 15-50 seconds from asking for the server to start.

What kind of hardware do you use to run servers?

We use high-end Dell servers to host FlexiScale.

How contended are your physical servers?

In principle, we use low contention compared to many cheap VPS products out in the market as FlexiScale is a high-quality product. However, there are no set limits on how many servers a single physical server can run. This has to do with our dynamic cluster management software that re-configures our cloud in real-time and will manage individual server contention based on the actual workload of each server. This is far superior to a statically set contention factor that does not take external factors into account.

How much bandwidth in/out of a physical server do you provide?

Each physical server is connected at 6Gb/s to the internal network. Each FlexiScale server you create can use up to 1Gb/s of network bandwidth.

Can I have multiple CPUs?

Yes you can. These virtual CPUs will be presented to the host OS as physical CPUs.

How much memory do you offer as a maximum?

We offer a range from 0.5 Gb to 8.0Gb of RAM.

How does the FlexiScale charge model work?

FlexiScale uses a unique unit based billing model. We charge you only for the resources you use. There is no minimum term commitment, and no minimum monthly fee. Simply charge up your account with FlexiScale units which you can purchase through the Control Panel, and use them on whatever computing resource you need, as you need them. Recharge your account only when necessary.

What can units be used for?

Units can be spent on four main types of service: servers, disk, network and software images. Each of these is priced in units per time period. Your unit use is calculated per hour (or part thereof) that you use the resource, so if you use a service for part of an hour, you will be charged for a whole hour.

What is the minimum contract commitment?

None. There is no minimum contract period. The minimum billing period is 1 hour.

Is there a sign-up cost?

No. When you sign up, we will check your credit card is valid by authorising a £1 charge to it, then de-authorising it. Note this is an authorisation, not a charge, so it won’t appear on your statement. However, you won’t be able to start any servers until you have bought some units; the smallest package is 1,000 units, which will cost £11, but note larger packages are better value.

How often do you debit my FlexiScale unit balance?

The FlexiScale billing engine will debit your account on an hourly basis.

Where can I find my billing details of my FlexiScale account?

If you login into the Control Panel, you will find details in the ‘Billing’ section.

Will you warn me before I run out of credits?

Yes. We will warn you once a day when your credit level drops below around 20% of the number of units you last bought. Once you hit the threshold, you will be sent a daily warning. To avoid even running the risk of being shut down, we highly recommend that you configure automatic top-ups (see below).

What happens if I am running out of FlexiScale units?

If your unit balance reaches zero, we will automatically shut down your server(s). All you need to do is top up your account and you can start your server(s) again. After a time, we may delete your servers and data if no top up is received.

How can I top up my FlexiScale unit balance?

Simply select “Buy units” from the billing section of the Control Panel. If you buy a package with automatic top up, you won’t need to do this.

I want to avoid having my server shut down due to lack of credits, so can I set automatic top-ups?

Yes. Buy a package of units with automatic top-up, and when your credits are running low, another package of units of the same size will be bought automatically. It is essential that you keep your card details up to date to ensure this works reliably.

What happens if an automatic top-up fails?

We will try again the next day. If you reach zero before a card transaction goes through successfully, we will stop your servers.

Instead of using credit card based top-ups, would it be possible to be sent a monthly invoice?

Yes, depending on credit status. Contact our accounts team on 0870 050 0080, or +44 1506 606 000.

What happens if I stop my server?

Whilst your server is stopped, you will not be billed for CPU or for bandwidth (except in respect of images or disks you upload through the control panel) or for disk I/O. However, your disk storage costs will not stop because we have to retain your data regardless of whether your server is running or not. If you want all charges related to a server to stop, you will have to delete it.

How long can I put a server to ‘sleep’ before you delete my data?

As long as you have enough credit in your account to cover the monthly storage costs, you will keep your data forever. However, if you run out of credit and don’t respond to our reminders to top up your FlexiScale account, we will, after a while, delete your data.

Why is a Windows server more expensive than a Linux one?

Linux is an open-source operating system and therefore does not require customers to pay for licensing. This is not the case for Microsoft Windows server. FlexiScale takes care of the OS licensing of Microsoft Windows server and allows the customer to license on an hourly basis.

Can I license Windows myself?

You can run any operating system on our servers that is lawfully licensed. Note, however, that a standard Windows license is unlikely to cover running it in our cloud environment.

How can I access the FlexiScale Control Panel?

You can access the FlexiScale Control Panel at https://cp2.flexiscale.com/.

What does the Control Panel let me control?

The Control Panel provides a lot of functionality. Amongst other things, it allows you to:

• Create or delete servers;
• Start or stop a server, or kill it if it is unresponsive;
• Reconfigure a server (when it is stopped), including change its memory or CPU configuration, and the disks and network interfaces attached to it;
• Open a console session to the server through your web browser (if the server is running);
• Create, delete, or resize disks (when they are not attached to a server);
• Take snapshots of disks, and manage your snapshots;
• Clone a snapshot onto a new disk;
• Make a new image from a disk that can be used for deployment of new servers
• Change your firewall settings;
• Add and remove VLANs and IP addresses;
• Change your password, email address and contact details;
• View your usage and recent billing;
• Buy more units; and
• Change your credit card details.

Why can’t I change the configuration of a server whilst it is running?

As you can’t alter the configuration of a physical server whilst it is running, the operating system you are running cannot handle changes in hardware configuration whilst running. Therefore you need to reconfigure the server whilst it is stopped (just like a physical server).

Is there an API to control and manage FlexiScale?

Yes. FlexiScale can be controlled via the Control Panel or using an API.

Where do I find the API’s documentation?

You can find API documentation here: https://api.flexiscale.com/

Am I charged for the use of the API?

The use of the API is just another way of controlling your infrastructure. You will be charged exactly the same as you would be for the equivalent operations using the Control Panel.

What standards does the FlexiScale API follow?

Our API presents a SOAP/XML Web Service interface.

Does FlexiScale provide fully static IP addresses?

Yes. All addresses used in FlexiScale are static.

How many IP addresses do I get assigned?

Every new customer is automatically assigned a /29 network which gives you five usable IP addresses. Should you require more, we can quite simply assign more blocks to you. You are also able to use internal address numbering if you wish.

How long can I keep my static IP addresses?

Your IP addresses will normally remain yours whilst you still have credit in your account; under exceptional circumstances, we reserve the right to require you to renumber your server, but we will try to provide you with assistance in doing this. If you run out of credit or your account is deleted, we may reuse the IP addresses.

Are my IP addresses on a shared LAN? Can I have a VLAN for myself?

We provide each customer with their own VLAN which provides them with their own Virtual network.

Are all the IP addresses publicly routable?

Yes, as long as you assign addresses from the IP blocks we assigned to you. If you set-up networks with private addresses to create a private network between multiple FlexiScale servers, those addresses won’t be routed.

Can I use multiple IPs on one server?

Yes.

Am I charged for traffic between my servers?

You are not charged for traffic on a private (non-routable) VLAN. If you pass traffic between servers on the public VLAN, you may be charged.

Do you store any of my data on the node hardware that my server runs on?

No. The physical servers hosting the servers do not store any customer data. All the storage is on a separate Storage Array Network.

How do you store my data? How is it protected?

All customer data comes from a high-end redundant storage back-end and is fully protected.

Can your storage back-end cope with I/O intensive applications like MySQL or other databases?

Yes. The storage architecture was designed to support heavy applications like databases.

Can I mount the same disks on multiple servers simultaneously?

This is not possible with the standard virtual disks we provision with each FlexiScale server. The reasons for this are not related to FlexiScale but rather with file system data integrity if more than one server can write to the same disk. However, if you wish to share data between servers, you can either NFS-mount between your own servers, which takes care of proper file-locking, or you can use a database infrastructure.

I am going to run out of storage space on a VDS, what can I do?

You can mount a second virtual disk, or you can resize your current disk. Note that you are responsible for resizing the filing system within the virtual disk (resize2fs under Linux).

Can I shrink the size of a virtual disk?

No. Your operating system would be unlikely to support it anyway. If you need to do this, create a new smaller disk and copy the data over.

Do you back up my data? Can I request a data restore?

No. Whilst we do operate backup procedures to guard against our own errors and for disaster recovery of the platform as a whole, we do not provide customers with the ability to request a data restore of an individual virtual disk or even a specific file. Data backup is each customer’s responsibility. You can take backups using snapshots, or by installing a backup agent into your server.

What is the best way to import large amounts of data onto FlexiScale?

It really depends how much data we are talking about. In instances where the amount is simply too large to upload via the public internet, you can send us a USB or network attachable storage device and we can locally upload the data into your server. We will charge you an administrative fee for this, but you will not incur bandwidth charges.

What support options do you provide for FlexiScale?

Please have a look at http://www.flexiant.com/products/flexiscale/support for more information.

Will you help me install or configure my 3rd party application?

We always try to help customers as much as we can. However, we cannot guarantee that we have enough internal know-how to assist you with your application. Please contact our sales department on 0870 050 0080 or by e-mail to sales@flexiscale.com and discuss your needs with them. More often than not, we have found a way to assist our clients.

What support do you offer?

Flexiscale does not come as a managed service, we will however support the infrastructure itself.

What if I wish for my servers to be monitored?

There is a wide range of companies offering management monitoring and other bespoke services that will fulfil your requirements.