Q. What is TLN Mission Critical Hosting ?

A. When you're with The Living Net® you're already in one of the best datacentres in the country and with one of the top performing hosting services (independently verified). Now, how about all this coupled with a secondary network that will substitute your site on the web in real-time, as and when needed?

Inevitably some online projects and businesses, require a level of protection of site and reputation and a level of ultimate survivability that goes beyond what any single server solution can deliver. The answer is the addition of a geographically separate secondary server that contains a hot standby copy of the site, that will automatically become available on the web if ever required.

With technology prices constantly falling, such a service, once the preserve of Blue Chip / Fortune 500 companies, can now be afforded by virtually any business or project requiring complete protection of their brand or online operation. You will essentially be making use of the same design features that were built into the original unsinkable conception of the internet itself, at a previously unthinkable and uniquely affordable price.


Q. What facilities are included?

A. Just refer to our standard plans for your main server details. The facilities, control panel etc. are deliberately similar with a few minor variations. In fact, because the server software was selected specifically for this purpose, updating a backup version is a question of a few mouse clicks.


Q. Can I upgrade my existing TLN hosting account to include this feature?

A. Yes, we will simply credit you for any remaining months. That means that our Business Standard Plan, already as reliable as single network hosting gets, can be made dual network resilient and geographically redundant for only £49 extra per year.


Q. Who can benefit from this service?

A. All webmasters who require that their planned or existing site be virtually unbreakable at a uniquely affordable price. The kind of rigorous solution developed for and used regularly by mission critical applications, is now available from TLN at a fraction of the cost. The few providers that offer it, are still charging much more for the very same technology.


Q. Are there any restrictions?

A. The service is suitable for any Linux-based web site requiring the facilities provided for in our standard accounts, including Cgi, PHP, Zend Optimiser, and MySQL databases. As with any other hosting plan the customer has full control over the backup version and its functionality. This allows either a replica site or a notice to users. If your site has special script or database requirements, please let us know before you place your order. The same terms and conditions apply, as per all TLN hosting plans with a special warning relating to spam. If the service is used in conjunction with any site advertised in any way by unsolicited commercial mail it is liable to be suspended without warning at name server level. Similarly the service cannot be used in conjunction with any kind of activity liable to elicit a deliberate security attack or threat, neither is it designed to protect against targeted deliberate acts.


Q. Does it cover my mail server and e-mail?

A. Yes, the backup server includes full e-mail facilities and web mail.


Q. Is the service reliable?

A. The name servers fitted out with this technology are all on top-tier operation centres, with diesel backup power and multiple fiber lines to backbone providers; the network is failsafe, In the event of a partial outage, the DNS system automatically fails over to another network - without losing a query. Typical switchover time from backup to main site is currently just 4 to 5 minutes, though in some circumstances, it may be longer. The backup servers are housed on a separate network with a reliability comparable to TLN business-level hosting plans. The backup network relies deliberately on entirely different core resources, to cover for even the most extreme and unlikely events.


Q. How much is it?

A. Please refer to the TLN Hosting tables for current pricing. Set-up is currently free for a limited time (normally £20). If you have more than one domain name pointing to your site, you can choose to have the other domains remain as standard (free) or have them also covered by the same technology, which works out at £14 per domain for the first year, when they are set up at the same time as the original package creation, or £18 at a later date, and just £8 per year thereafter.

Q. I have further questions or wish to order, what next?

A. If you have any further questions, or would like to place an order, just get in touch via the Sales Enquiries interface, an advisor will be pleased to handle your enquiry.