What does 'Committing' mean? If I'm paying for RAM and CPU don't I get it?
What are 'Leases?' Does it mean my vApps will automatically be deleted?
What happens if I accidentally delete a VM or vApp? Is there a recovery option?
Do I need one vApp for every VM?
Do my inactive VMs still take up storage space?
Do my idle VMs still take up resources?
What Windows licensing is available?
Will I be able to keep my licenses if I switch to unmanaged?
Will I be able to keep my Windows licenses if I export my VM and run it on another provider?
How do I share files between my VMs?
Can you manage my servers and/or vmForge VDC?
How do I allocate bandwidth to a vApp?
Is there a limit to Authorized Contacts for Management?
How much for a base setup?
If I have an unmanaged vmForge VDC, how much support do I get?
Will you monitor my vApp/VMs?
Can I get a price reduction if I disable HA/DRS?
Is my vmForge VDC HIPPA/DSS/PCI/etc Compliant?
Can you read my data?
How are you better than 'The Cloud?'
Can you move multiple VMs to another vApp?
What kind of Pager or Remote Hands and Eyes service do I get with this?
How much email can I send from this?
Will you import a Virtual Machine for me?
Do you do backups?
Will you install my new machines' operating system?
Can I get a cross connect to my colo with you, or my MOE connection, or my t1 (etc)?
How does this work with hardware dongles?
Is Near Archive available?
Can I use my vmForge VDC for resale?
Can I use my vmForge VDC for disaster recovery?
Where is my vmForge VDC located?
How many locations is it in?
What CMS/Panel software do you have available?
How long does it take to provision a vmForge VDC
How long does it take to install a VM?
What's the maximum CPU, RAM, Storage I can buy?
How often can I change my allocation?
What kind of performance can I expect compared to a physical machine?
If someone maxes out their allocated resources, will it affect me?
How do I check and see what resources I'm using?
Will you notify if I hit my limits?
I have a Mac, why isn't the console or upload working? I downloaded the plugin and loaded the java applet.
I have a CD, how do I put it into one of my VMs in my vmForge VDC?
I have a 240GB VM, How do I import that before keeling over?
What are my options for importing a VM?
What kind of redundancy is built into this product?
How do I know this will be around in five years?
Does my virtual server use virtual power?
What does "Committing" mean? If I'm paying for RAM, CPU, don't I get it?
Think of the resource allocation as access to x amount of resources. Your organization can access x amount of CPU or RAM at any given time from the global pool. Once it's done using those resources, they return said resources back to the global pool for use by other organizations. If you purchase committed resources they are reserved from the global pool and assigend to your vmForge VDC for your exclusive use. Whether you use them or not, they are NEVER available for any other organization to use.What are "Leases?" Does it mean my vApps will automatically be deleted?
Leases are a way for you to control how long a VM or vApp is active, and what happens to it when the lease expires. One of the options is automatic deletion, the other is to put the VM or vApp in to the "Lost and Found."What happens if I accidentally delete a VM or vApp? Is there a recovery option?
If you accidentally delete a VM or vApp, there's nothing that we can do. Our storage is designed for live systems, and we do not have any sort of automated back up. There are services out there that you can use to back up your data, and we recommend you do so regularly.Do I need one vApp for every VM?
No, vApps can contain multiple VMs. A vApp is a logical/administrative container that allows you to start and stop multiple VMs at once, or in a particular order. A vApp, for example, might contain a front-end webserver and a backend database server.Do my inactive VMs still take up storage space?
Yes. Inactive VMs and templates still take space out of your storage allocation. They no longer use CPU or RAM, though.Do my idle VMs still take up resources?
Yes, a VM that is powered on still uses CPU and RAM and Storage. The VM itself is running. Any CPU not in use will be available in the pool for other virtual machines to use. On the other hand, all vmForge VDCs have constraints on them for the amount of CPU, RAM and disk storage available. A running vApp still has those items allocated even if they are not using the full amount you had configured into the vApp or virtual machine. A powered off VM (or vApp) will only consume resources from the storage allocation and do not use any RAM or CPU.What Windows licensing is available?
We have licensing available on our managed products. Contact your salesperson for more details.
Will I be able to keep my licenses if I switch to unmanaged?
It depends on the product licensed. Contact your salesperson for more details.
Will I be able to keep my Windows licenses if I export my VM and run it on another provider?
This really depends. If you provided your own Windows licensing keys, then there is a chance this will continue to work at your other provider. If you are using licensing provided by ipHouse, then no, they will not work and you will need to relicense the VM.
How do I share files between my VMs?
Create and use an internal network, then you can share files via NFS, CIFS or any other method you would use on an internal network.
Can you manage my servers and/or vmForge VDC?
We can manage your vmForge Virtual Data Center and the servers within it. ipHouse server management includes operating system installation and timely updating and patching. Under your direction, ipHouse will administer all user accounts, directories and permissions.
We will not share management of the vmForge VDC, however, within a managed vmForge VDC, you can have some servers managed by ipHouse and some that you manage yourself. Please keep in mind that within vmForge VDCs that are managed by ipHouse, console actions and the ability to use the vCloud Director interface will not be allowed. Customer administration of servers within ipHouse managed vmForge VDCs requires working and configured RDP or SSH access to the servers themselves. OS installation will need to be done by ipHouse engineering staff as you (the customer) won't have acess to the console interface.
Pricing is per VM within the managed vmForge VDC.
How do I allocate bandwidth to a vApp?
Bandwidth is controlled at the vmForge VDC level, there isn't any further granularity with the tools provided by VMware. You may be able to do some of this with a firewall VM you create and manage to handle your networking. You can also do this within a vDom via our customer managed firewall service.
Is there a limit to Authorized Contacts for Management?
Yes, we would prefer a maximum of two authorized contacts, three if the third is a person involved with billables only.
How much for a base setup?
$200 per month. Please see our vmForge Pricing page for full details.
If I have an unmanaged vmForge VDC, how much support do I get?
If you have trouble with vmForge, or need help with a particular task, our support staff is available to help you. If you need help with guest OS problems, or configuration, we will be unable to assist you.
Will you monitor my vApp/VMs?
We offer affordable, easy and effective monitoring services utilizing LogicMonitor.
Can I get a price reduction if I disable HA/DRS?
No, you cannot disable HA/DRS as it is built into the product.
Is my vmForge VDC HIPPA/DSS/PCI/etc Compliant?
vmForge does not have any compliance built in. It's up to you to ensure that your practices are compliant with various statutes.
Can you read my data?
No. Not without a lot of effort that we would never do.
How are you better than "The Cloud?"
Our product is more in line with traditional colocation than most "cloud" services, but is much more flexible than having physical space. Like colocation, the pricing will be consistent month-to-month. However, the service can easily scale as your needs grow. The current cloud mentality is to spin up virtual machines and have them run for short periods of time - paying for the time you used. Long running servers are actually more expensive 'in the cloud' than via the vmForge service offering. If you want something that combines the best aspects of traditional colo and virtualized services, vmForge is the product for you.
Can you move multiple VMs to another vApp?
Yes. Each VM would need to be shut down (in a powered off state), you can then move the shut down VM to a different vApp.
What kind of Pager or Remote Hands and Eyes service do I get with this?
You will have access to the ipHouse emergency pager. The charge for after-hours emergency support will depend on the emergency and whether you or ipHouse manage your vmForge VDC.
How much email can I send from this?
By default, port 25 (SMTP) is blocked either by the router filters we have in place, or via discrete firewall rules. To send email from your vmForge VDC, we will need a request in writing (email is fine) requesting this filtering be removed. Please keep in mind that, as with all ipHouse services, you must follow our Service Agreement and Acceptable Use Policy.
Will you import a Virtual Machine for me?
No. Though uploading a virtual machine from your home or place of business may be slow, we are looking at options where you could bring in your laptop and USB connected storage and do the upload from our network over 1Gbps connectivity.
Do you do backups?
We will soon be offering backup services utilizing CrashPlanPro backup software on dedicated hardware owned and managed by ipHouse.
Will you install my new machines' operating system?
We can help with this based on per hour charges. Other charges may be required if you need us to upload your ISO images.
Can I get a cross connect to my colo with you, or my MOE connection, or my t1 (etc)?
No, this is technically infeasible. A site-to-site VPN setup can be used to help combine your networks.
How does this work with hardware dongles?
It does not necessarily. One option is to colocate a virtual dongle device and use built in drivers to access this device over the network. Please talk with your sales person for full details.
Is Near Archive available?
No, this is technically infeasible.
Can I use my vmForge VDC for resale?
Yes! We anticipate this will be a very popular product with web design companies that want to provide hosting for their clients and companies that provide Software as a Service.
Can I use my vmForge VDC for disaster recovery?
Yes. You can use site-to-site VPNs via our various firewall services or via the vShield Edge Device to facilitate this. You can also allocate a minimal amount of CPU and RAM, and have us allocate more when you need it. *Note* there may be setup and emergency costs involved.
Where is my vmForge VDC located?
Your vmForge VDC is located in our Datacenter in downtown Minneapolis, MN
How many locations is it in?
Currently, vmForge consists of one cluster of servers in our downtown facility.
What CMS/Panel software do you have available?
We do not provide one automatically for customers, freeing you to install the one of your choice on your customer-managed VMs.
How long does it take to provision a vmForge VDC?
One business day. Once we automate the process it should go much faster for customer-managed vmForge VDCs.
How long does it take to install a VM?
From an ISO? Anywhere from 5-30 minutes. From a templated vApp? Anywhere from 2-15 minutes depending on the storage size of the vApp you are cloning.
What's the maximum CPU, RAM, Storage I can buy?
128 Ghz of CPU 384 GB of RAM 5 TB of storage
How often can I change my allocation?
As often as you would like. Please keep in mind a change fee will apply for each change request.
What kind of performance can I expect compared to a physical machine?
Performance for servers within your vmForge VDC should be very comparable to performance on dedicated physical servers. In fact, many items will, at times, feel faster when running on servers within your vmForge VDC than on many whitebox physical servers. Disk I/O is one area where you should see better performance. This is because the backend storage is handled by many spinning hard disks in a dual-head NAS instead of just one or two local storage disks.
If someone maxes out their allocated resources, will it affect me?
No. Basically the only way you would be affected by someone maxing out their resources is if we don't plan well enough for growth and run out of resources on the physical side of things. We have monitoring and growth plans in place to ensure that the physical vmForge platform will expand ahead of the demand for those resources.
How do I check and see what resources I'm using?
We have been working on exclusive ipHouse vmForge VDC tools to allow you to better understand and track resource usage within your vmForge VDC. Our vmForge support team can give you more details on these tools and how to access them.
Will you notify if I hit my limits?
Right now we do not have an automatic alerting system to warn customers when they are reaching the maximums in their allocated resources. We do have some tools that you can use to track your resource usage and, in the future, these may also be able to alert you to certain conditions. Please contact our vmForge support team for more details.
I have a Mac, why isn't the console or upload working? I downloaded the plugin and loaded the java applet.
The console only works with a limited set of operating systems and browser configurations. VMware isn't Mac compliant...today.
I have a CD, how do I put it into one of my VMs in my vmForge VDC?
Make an ISO image of the CD, then upload that image to your catalog in the media area. From there attach the ISO to your virtual machine.
I have a 240GB VM, How do I import that before keeling over?
Talk to your sales agent about scheduling time to come to our office with your computer and storage device so that we may allocate a conference room or 1/2 rack so you can upload at much higher speeds.
What are my options for importing a VM?
VMware has a free vCenter Converter tool that you can run on your existing physical or virtual machine to convert it into a server that can be imported into your vmForge VDC.
What kind of redundancy is built into this product?
The platform is comprised of multiple, high-end Dell enterprise servers and all storage is on a dual-head NAS. High Availability and Dynamic Resource Scheduling is automatically built into every vmForge VDC.
How do I know this will be around in five years?
ipHouse and VMware are both here for the long haul. This technology is just going to keep getting better over the next 5 years.
Does my virtual server use virtual power?
No, this hasn't been invented yet. But do you know what it doesn't use a lot of? Real Power