If you subscribe to our email newsletter, you received a longer than usual one in December. It contained a summary of things that went well, things that didn’t go well, and things that we are planning. A year of security and progress lies ahead…
WMS
The WMS has successfully undergone longer beta testing than originally planned. At the moment, there are still a few details to be fine-tuned and we can start full-fledged testing. We expect it to be up and running by the end of January, and we will be live from March.
We are toying with the idea of running the entire test operation in DC2. So far there are only two complete HPE Moonshots (90 physical servers) and on Tuesday (07.01.2020) we placed an order for four vans for 8 more Moonshots. In total, 450 physical servers will be available for testing.
WEDOS Cloud
WEDOS Cloud is a very demanding service that is designed for specialists. The first round of beta testing is successfully completed. Unlike the WMS, development is not yet complete. We decided to implement support for Terraform (Infrastructure as Code). It allows you to manage your cloud datacenter as code, making it easier to edit, move, or even version. So you have a lot to look forward to. We are also preparing kubernetes support.
WEDOS “CD”
This is the first of many services that we have not yet officially introduced. However, intensive alpha testing is already underway in our ranks and we hope to have it ready for beta testing among you soon. You really have something to look forward to.
The service, which we provisionally call WEDOS “CD”, offers you a huge storage space not only for data backup. It comes with its own app for both computers and mobile phones that allows you to easily sync data between devices. In addition, a set of online tools will be available for convenient viewing and editing of files.
As a bonus, we are also considering an extension that would allow streaming content to be downloaded directly to the repository, converted and played back. So you will be able to download your favourite content, for example, from YouTube via WEDOS “CD”, convert it to MP3, when you are on WI-FI, it will sync (download) to your mobile and play it offline on the go.
However, the whole service will do much more and is mainly designed for companies and their data. At the beginning of this article, we hinted that this year will be a year of security. The contents of the WEDOS “CD” can be encrypted both on the user and on our server. We’ll have your data, but no one but you will have access to it.
WEDOS “CD” is the ideal service for backing up sensitive company data such as accounting or data subject to GDPR. Whoever breaks through the 110 cm reinforced concrete wall and escapes with the hard drives would only get unusable encrypted data.
We have already prepared new 1 PB storage servers for the new service, which have been successfully tested. However, dedicated fast physical servers with 4x 4TB NVMe SSDs and 10 Gbps connectivity will also be available. The new WEDOS “CD” service can do much more than just backup data 😉 We will soon present the details…
We are still thinking of a name 🙂 and maybe you will think of something.
WEDOS Anycast or if you want WEDOS CDN
We have introduced the idea of WEDOS Anycast before. We have already obtained our own IP addresses and our own autonomous system from RIPE. Preparations are currently underway for the first test POP in Hluboká Nad Vltavou.
However, WEDOS Anycast, which by the way is also a provisional name, will not be just anycast DNS or an ordinary CDN. For example, it will extend our DDoS protection capabilities, encrypt communications across continents and open up more options for our customers. More about that next time.
Upgrade protections
Several improvements to our protections are planned for this year. One major upgrade of IPS/IDS took place in late December/early January. We have expanded our detection system to collect data across all servers. The result was the discovery of several attackers who were really careful not to let anyone know about them.
More improvements will follow soon. We will also start to filter HTTPS attacks across the board. It is currently deployed on a test sample of selected services that have been under fire literally around the clock. Not anymore 🙂
In January, we experienced a DDoS attack with a serial number of 800,000. Their intensity, power, and sophistication grows every year. Our protection is ready for virtually any scaling – it’s basically just a matter of computing power. We have enough connectivity (3x 100 Gbps). However, WEDOS Anycast will allow us to make some pretty major improvements.
Our DDoS protection is also gaining interest from customers, especially as we have been able to demonstrate its effectiveness. In 2019, one of our customer’s VPS was attacked with 37 Gbps. We detected this attack in 5 seconds and started filtering. The customer didn’t even recognize anything. We are currently considering offering comprehensive protection for corporate networks as part of our VIP/B2B offerings.
We can and will soon offer IDS/IPS protection for HTTPS traffic. This is a completely unique solution that not many providers have 🙂
WEDOS will become an accredited registrar
In December, we published an article We’ve embarked on our own ICANN accreditation, where we let you know our intention to become an accredited registrar for all the domains we offer. For our customers, this will mean shorter troubleshooting times and, most importantly, we will do everything ourselves.
At the same time, there have already been some negotiations with the big registries and we have even signed our first contract. Once we complete ICANN accreditation, you can look forward to expanding our domain offerings. At unbeatable prices, of course 😉
Datacentre WEDOS 2
DC2 is already built and practically ready for the start of test operation. This must be prepared and planned. By the beginning we would like to have 4-5 vans for 8-10 fully equipped HPE Moonshot server cabinets. This means up to 450 physical servers in total. We are considering starting a WMS test run on them at great prices. This would essentially be a fully functional service on dedicated hardware for a fraction of the price in a datacenter where certification to the highest TIER IV is underway 🙂
When we finish the last little things, then it will be time for the approval. And with it, the big event of the opening of the new datacentre. And you know very well that we can organize very cruel events 😉
Since DC2 is such a minor technological marvel that will demonstrate one of the most efficient server cooling in the world and furthermore the use of waste heat, the theme of the accompanying conference will be future technologies at your fingertips, which will be presented by our business partners and of course we are forging something too 😉
Datacentre WEDOS 3
While DC 2 will have a rather specific purpose (a cloud of 36.72 Thz, up to 172.8 PB of space and 691.2 TB of memory) and is designed as a datacenter of the future, even the first of its kind as far as we know, we still need, shall we say, more conventional technologies for new services.
Unlike DC 2, we want to build DC 3.1 quickly and efficiently. It’s gonna be a lot bigger. It is a two-storey building, less than 500 square metres of built-up area. We are counting a little over 2×200 sqm server room alone.
And why 3.1? We have a giant plot of over 11 thousand m2, where we can literally build several of them side by side using the CTRL+C and CTRL+V method. In this way, DC 3.2, DC 3.3 and DC 3.4 will be created gradually according to the needs.
Although we refer to DC 3 as a conventional datacenter, it is designed to be built and ready for operation incredibly quickly, while being secure. The internal infrastructure is fully redundant and with attention to details so that the individual branches (electricity, connectivity) do not cross anywhere. As with TIER IV, one branch will run under the ceiling and the other under the floor.
And our bold plan? By the time the summer holidays are over, the building has to be finished and we have to start installing the technology 🙂
Conclusion
Of course, this is far from everything we have planned. Rather, it is a collection of large projects that are nearing completion or are already being actively worked on.
In addition to these projects, a lot of internal things are in the pipeline. For example:
- moving all web hosts from older servers to new HPE Moonshot
- transfer of customer support and technicians to DC2
- improvements to the billing system
- completion of the modernisation of DC 1
- extension of VIP/B2B offers
- new central search for help, kb, web, services and blog
- launch help.wedos.tld for other languages
- extension of help.wedos.cz with discussions, job offers, which we don’t do
- automated shutdown and outage system
- Route 4 via České Budějovice, which will lead outside Prague
- Open Days
- at least two more new services
- new payment system
- extension of customer support for VIP/B2B