Frequently Asked Questions

• How does the ordering process work?
  • In order to get an account created and verify your credentials, you will need to select a cloud server to start with and pay for the first month's service. After the initial account is created, all additional cloud servers, and other services such as snapshots, additional data disks, etc, can by added directly through the cloud control panel. At the end of the month we will review your usage statistics and invoice your account for the resources you consumed.
• What is High Availability?
  • Each of our physical servers is called a "node" in the cloud. Your cloud server runs on one of these nodes. While it is extremely rare, sometimes a node will crash. With other cloud providers if a node crashes your cloud server remains offline until you login to restart it. Datarealm's cloud is much more intelligent than that -- if your cloud server is on a node that crashes, our management system will recognize this and automatically bring your cloud server up on a new node.
• What is Load Balancing?
  • Load Balancing is a key component for scaling your application and providing maximum system uptime. With our virtual load balancer, setup is as simple entering your cloud server details into a web form. For each incoming request for your application the load balancer uses an algorithm to forward the request to one of your application servers. As your user base grows, this method allows you to add additional application servers to handle the increase in traffic. It also allows for maximum uptime as the load balancer will not forward requests to application servers that are offline.
• How much storage do I get?
  • Each virtual machine includes a base OS on a 20GB system drive. Addtional data disks can be added at a cost of 20 cents per Gigabyte per month.
• How do data drives work?
  • Data drives are like additional hard drives you can attach to your virtual machine. When you create a data drive you pick how much storage you require, and you can resize a data drive at any time. (It must be detached from your virtual machine when resizing.) Data drives can be detached from a virtual machine and reattached to any other virtual machine in your account making it an excellent way to share data. Using LVM you can even merge data drives (or merge them with your root drive) to create a single large filesystem.
• What is a template?
  • A template is a copy of an operating system that can be used to launch new virtual machines.
• Can I create my own system templates?
  • Absolutely! This can be extremely useful in a wide variety of settings. If you are a developer, you can tweak out your system with the exact development tools that you like and then create a template to simplify your development process. If you are scaling an application, make a template from your existing application server and then scale your infrastructure in seconds!
• Have more questions?
  • We're available to help! If we're online click the 'live help' button on the left side of the screen. Like to hear someone's voice? Call us toll free at 866-WEB-HOST. Are you an email kind of person? Shoot a message to sales@datarealm.com and we will answer any question that you may have (preferably hosting related, but we are always up for a challenge!)