Dialtone Internet and Sphera release new Linux-based dedicated solution

January 16, 2001 -- (WEB HOST INDUSTRY REVIEW) -- Web hosting resellers and second-tier hosting firms will benefit from the new partnership forged between Sphera, the Israeli-based software company that develops advanced hosting platforms and Dialtone Internet, a leading provider of dedicated hosting solutions.

The two companies recently teamed up to create a new dedicated Linux server line specifically designed for premium Web hosting. Entitled "AutoHost," the new line of severs will leverage Dialtone Internet's robust network infrastructure and Sphera's proprietary hosting automation system to create an incredibly powerful solution for second-tier hosting companies.

This solution will allow hosting firms that lack in-house infrastructure investments to extend the value of managed services to their own clientele. The AutoHost server will allow hosting companies to exercise complete control over front-end administrative tasks and back-end billing functions. Any hosting company that uses AutoHost servers will benefit due to the advantage afforded by the platform's central management and usage-based reporting and billing system.

"HostingDirector is by far the best solution for high-end hosting," says Al Albarracin, CEO of Dialtone Internet. "It allows our customers to streamline management tasks without any specialized equipment or steep learning curve."

With HostingDirector enabled on customized Dialtone Internet Linux-based servers, resellers and third-party hosting companies will be able to centralize management of all the Web sites they host, and control other ancillary functions such as domain name management, billing and customer care with ease.

Further, the platform allows resellers and third-party hosts to provide customers with effective self-management tools via a control panel. Indeed, the product provides a Web-based interface that empowers customers to easily administrate their own Web sites and hosting accounts. Placing control of each hosting account in the hands of customers allows resellers and third-party hosts to grant them the power and flexibility of instant Web site management, which lowers the cost of customer care. The control panel enables customers to exercise control over their e-mail, FTP access, CGI scripts and account monitoring.

On the administrative side, the platform simplifies routine back-end tasks, allowing administration of large Web site portfolios from a central, hosting control panel interface. Sphera’s platform also allows hosts to fully customize their control panels with their own brand names and identifiable look and feel. But mostly importantly, an AutoHost server enabled with HostingDirector dramatically enhances a Web host's ability to provision higher levels of scalable hosting services to their end-users.

"The performance advantages of the AutoHost class of servers is exemplified by the fact that each machine can be partitioned into what appears to be fully-fledged individual servers," states Dr. Zvi Grauer, Dialtone Internet's vice president of product development.

"This technology in effect simulates multiple servers on a single physical machine, each of which serves a single customer."

To a reseller's customers, such a virtual dedicated server will be indistinguishable from a dedicated server and will offer all of its benefits, including integrated control panel functionality. According to Grauer, each AutoHost sever will be divided into 200 virtual dedicated solutions and will provide greater customization of a hosting company's roster of packages, allowing them to deploy individualized software and e-commerce services to high priority customers.

"HostingDirector thus dramatically enhances Web hosts' ability to provision proven, optimized software on demand to their end-users, while controlling costs," adds Albarracin in an exclusive interview with the Web Host Industry Review. "Sphera will have a significant, positive impact on the hosting providers' bottom line."

Indeed, the AutoHost server, enabled with the full Sphera hosting suite will allow resellers to save money through centralized DNS management and a more efficient billing process.

HostingDirector’s central DNS manager handles all internal registration details. Minor changes in Web site domain names typical require costly re-registration and a 24-hour waiting period for changes to take effect. Using HostingDirector's simple graphical user interface (GUI), the DNS is updated once and changes do not require re-registration of sub-domains.

Further, the integration of HostingDirector on the AutoHost servers will provide resellers and third-party hosts access to an extensive multi-level reporting mechanism that enables precise usage-based billing information to be exported to any third-party billing system. The data monitored is comprehensive and customer definable, allowing the hosting company using it to more effectively monitor, analyze and report on application usage, sites and applications development and therefore bill more accurately based on the information.

These features which add greater functionality and choice to second-tier Web hosts are the reason why the software and hosting companies joined forces respectively to develop the AutoHost server.

"Both Sphera and Dialtone Internet understand the challenges faces by Web hosting providers, and we've developed solutions that face them head on," says Tamar Naor, CEO of Sphera Corporation. "HostingDirector's highly scalable architecture will give Dialtone Internet's AutoHost customers the cost effective solutions they demand for their growing businesses, making this an ideal partnership for both companies."

The AutoHost solution is meant to supplement Dialtone Internet's highly recognized Server Interface application, making Dialtone Internet one of the only companies to offer a myriad of consumers a choice in the area of hosting automation. While the Server Interface is meant to assist individual small and medium-sized enterprises in managing their single, dedicated Linux server without the knowledge of complicated UNIX commands, the AutoHost system is devised to assist knowledgeable resellers and Web host providers to more efficiently multiplex and manage their hosting systems.

The company intends to release a fourth iteration of the Server Interface package for its small to medium-sized enterprise (SME) customers, but widely expects third-party hosting companies to embrace the new, laudable AutoHost servers. With the fast-growing company adding more than 200 servers to its network each month, we can expect the AutoHost solution to take off fast and furiously.