Technical Bulletin - May 29, 2014

Server and Internet Service Provider (ISP) Upgrades

What Did We Do?

We recently upgraded the hardware that the StratusVue System runs on, and also changed the service provider that connects StratusVue to the Internet.  In order to keep things running seamlessly for our users, this was accomplished over the course of a weekend, and all the data that had been stored on the old equipment since PlansandSpecs was initially launched in 2001 was successfully migrated to the new servers.  We are now using state-of-the-art hardware, and a top-notch service provider to transfer our data.

(Additional details on the changes are included below)

Why Did We Make These Changes?

The reason we did this comes down to two primary reasons: customer satisfaction and security. 

From a customer satisfacion standpoint, when using our previous equipment it would occasionally take too long to load pages, and it was running out of space for all the data we now store.  In addition, our previous ISP was providing inconsistent service levels, which would cause everything on the StratusVue System to execute more slowly for users.  Over time these issues could be frustrating.

In addition, there are more sophisticated security threats on the Internet that require additional diligence.  We take our responsibliity as curators of our clients' data very seriously, and needed to make these upgrades to more adequately protect it from harm. 

As our President, John Goecke, said "Upgrading our solutions at this point was imperative to address the growing threats that are ever present on the web. The hardware upgrades are very consistent with making scalable servers and solutions that allow for a more robust rapid deployment and expansion capability."

Will Users Notice A Difference?

The only changes for users should be positive!  You should see pages loading faster, and your file transfers to/from the system should be more consistent and take less time.

We hope you enjoy the improved performance!  But if you have any questions about the changes, or if you think that you have experienced a negative impact from them, please let us know.

The Specifics

Here's specifically what we did:

• Upgraded our solution to an HP Enterprise Virtual Server Environment
• Moved all existing data from previous servers to the new equipment
  • Upgraded SANS ( Storage Area Network ) to enable more scaleable growth
• Switched Internet Service Providers from Comcast to Level3
  • Migrated to Checkpoint Advanced Firewall and Routing Solutions