Hosting services

When assessing the technical requirements for Hosting Services, consider the following factors:

Hosting options

Fully hosted or co-located
Dedicated or shared platform

Location of hosting computer

At Perceval
Multiple locations (geographic distribution)

Domain names

Registering
Hosting in DNS

Web site

Static or Dynamic content
Designing the content
Publishing and updating the content

eCommerce portal

Scripting language, Perl, PHP, Java, JScript, etc.
SSL encryption and key length
Connection to payment transaction service
Maintaining user state/shopping baskets
Location of database -

Hosted
Maintained on company premises

Workflow/Custom Applications

Complexity
Programming application
Supporting business logic

User Activity

Number of users (also users per service type)
User activity type (low, medium, heavy)
Peak activity (timing, causes)
Timing (24 hour access or only certain hours)

Data Volume

Data storage
Monthly traffic

Maintenance

Patching
Upgrades
Security patches

Hardware

Platform
Processor
Memory
Physical size

Reliability/Redundancy

Availability requirements
Load balancing
Redundant components

Network
Hard disk (RAID)
Server mirroring (geographical mirroring available)
Routers (router redundancy)

Software

Operating System
Web server software
Application software
Database (size, redundancy, access)
Programming language type
Development environment type
Search engine support (update frequency, full text or keywords)
Web server
Streaming media servers (audio and video)
Ecommerce application

Scalability

Ease of upgrade
Platform suitability
Time to upgrade

Backup and Restore

Backup frequency
Protected storage (in fire safe or offsite)
Online or offline backup
Time to restore

Security

Encryption and authentication
Obtaining certificates
Links into company network and data
Virtual Private Networking

Service and support

Hardware support
Support reaction time

Monitoring, Reporting and Analysis

Monitoring levels
Statistical reporting
Reporting metrics
Reporting period

Contractual Implications

Contract length
Time to delivery
Time to upgrade/downgrade
Service guarantees