How is network usage charged?

All non-internet facing network traffic is included in the standard charges for your IT environment. Internet facing traffic, however, is charged for independently. The charge for Internet facing network traffic is based on the amount and the type of bandwidth selected from the catalog. Xterity supports two bandwidth types: capped and metered. Capped bandwidth charges are based solely on the amount of bandwidth selected with no possibility of overage charges. Metered bandwidth charges are based on the amount of bandwidth selected plus any consumption overage above that selected bandwidth.

The user selects the amount of bandwidth from the standard catalog based on need. The bandwidth selected is a committed amount that is guaranteed to be available for the environment and is charged at a monthly rate. If the user selects a metered bandwidth type, the system allows using more than the committed amount of bandwidth (if additional bandwidth is available on the system). Usage is tracked on an environment basis using an industry standard 95th percentile algorithm. The system will throw away the top 5% of usage data points above the committed amount of bandwidth. If there are NO additional usage data points above the committed amount of bandwidth in a given billing period, then the user is charged only for their configured bandwidth. However, if there are additional usage data points (in the 95th percentile) ABOVE the committed amount of bandwidth in a given billing period, then the user is charged for their configured bandwidth as well as an overage amount based on the highest usage data point above the committed bandwidth amount.
The system provides alerts to the user when approaching overage charges and when overage charges have commenced. Note that the system only supports changing the bandwidth of an environment during the first 4 days of the calendar month.

A user should keep in mind that using capped bandwidth could have the drawback of impacting the perceived performance of a server. Capped bandwidth is recommended only for environments where the network requirements are well known or there is tolerance for any delays that might result from hitting the bandwidth cap.

Do I get charged for creating a template?

No, a template represents the structure of an IT environment, but does not consume any IT resources.

Can I see my month-to-date billing data?

Yes, but only for partners today. Partners have two ways to view billing usage including an up-to-the-hour dashboard (finance tab) and a daily usage report providing billing usage in a pdf format up through the previous calendar day.

Do I get charged for my server when it is shut down?

A server that is shutdown does not accumulate charges for vCPU, VRAM and its operating system license, but does continue to accumulate charges for all other associated resources (e.g. disk).

What is the minimum commit time for a server?

Xterity implements a tenant at will policy, so there is no commitment for a server. Xterity tracks usage on an hourly basis, so charges are based on rounding to the nearest hour.

Do you offer trials?

Yes, any user can request a trial when building a new environment (via Cloud Console). If approved, the trial can last up to 1 month. Xterity also offers trials for new partners to allow them to get experience with the platform. Partners should contact the Egenera services team to make this request.

How do I stop charges?

In order to stop all charges for a given IT environment, that environment MUST be removed. Note that removal of an environment will delete the data associated with all of the servers in that environment including the backup and DR data. An environment removal operation cannot be undone. If you need to retain data for a set amount of time, we recommend you simply shutdown your servers and decrease your internet bandwidth to a minimum level to minimize your costs. You can then remove the environment when you are ready to have the data deleted. Note that we do not accept email or phone removal requests because they can’t be securely validated. You must do this via Cloud Console to stop charges.

How do I convert my trial to production?

A trial will convert to production automatically after the trial expires. In this case, there is no action required by the user and billing will commence immediately after the conversion. If you want to convert your trial to production before the trial has expired then simply navigate to the environment in the tree view in Cloud Console, right click on the environment name, select the "Configure" option and then select the "Start Billing" option. This will cause billing to start immediately.

How do I avoid getting charged when I am done with my trial?

You must delete the trial environment before the expiration date in order to avoid charges. Note that a trial environment will automatically convert to billing when the trial expires if the environment is not removed.

Do I need a contract to use the Xterity service?

No, by default, there is no contract required to use Xterity since it is a tenant at will service. However, if a customer would like to commit to a term in return for a discount, this can be arranged by contacting sales@egenera.com. Note that our Cloud Migrate service does have a minimum term commitment in order to waive the cost of the service.

How do I terminate charges for resources that I am using?

To terminate charges for a given resource, use cloud console to remove it. Cloud console supports removing individual resources associated with an IT environment, removing servers and removing entire IT environments. When removing individual resources or servers, use cloud console to edit the appropriate IT environment, make the necessary changes and then request a build. Note that if build approvals are configured, then approval will be required to remove those resources. When removing an entire IT environment, simply find the environment and select the remove operation. In this case, a build is not required.

It is important to note that when removing a resource that has data associated with it, that data will be removed and will be unrecoverable after the removal operation. For example, removing an Xterity server with a backup service will result in the server disks and all the backup data being expunged. In each case, please ensure you consult your user guide and read all appropriate warnings from cloud console. Also, we strongly suggest that if you are removing a resource that belongs to an end user or customer and has data associated with it, that you have their agreement in writing before performing the removal operation.

For more information on how termination of services may affect your charges or other details, please consult your Egenera Master Service Agreement or contact your Distributor.

What can I do if my customer is not paying me?

Xterity operations can work with you to suspend your end users’ services. This can include locking out your client form the cloud console, blocking external access to your client’s servers, even shutting down the servers. Once your end users account is suspended, you can arrange for payment before authorizing it to be put back into use. If you have a situation where you think this action is warranted please contact contracts@egenera.com. To protect all of our users, Egenera will require you to furnish written proof that you have made a best effort to collect from that user before processing a suspension.

What is a partner?

A partner represents a managed service provider who sells cloud services to their own end customers. A partner can perform the following tasks in Cloud Console:

• Independently create and manage customers and their IT environments
• Generate quotations for new IT environments
• Create customized servers and services and add it to their catalog
• Set margin on a per customer basis
• View usage, revenue and pipeline reports
• Create and manage users and roles
• Set spending and operating system utilization alerts
• Optionally brand Cloud Console

What is a customer?

A customer represents the end user who is consuming the IT resources in the cloud. A customer can independently create and manage their own IT environments as well as set operating system utilization alerts. The system supports multiple roles for a customer including the following:

• Administrator Role Creates and manages the IT environments

What is an environment?

An environment is simply a container for a group of related IT resources. Every environment starts out with a communications bundle that includes an internet connection, a managed firewall and a switch. Users add servers, storage, switches, applications and services to an environment in order to create the IT architecture needed to support their business applications and services. Environments are created using either a visual drag-n-drop designer or a wizard. After a user has completed the design of their environment, that environment can be saved or submitted to build. Once an environment has been successfully built, the resources for that environment are allocated to the user and billing commences. If an environment has only been saved, then the design is preserved for future creation and no billing charges apply for that saved environment.

What is Cloud Console?

Cloud Console is the client application for Xterity. Users can download the application from an Xterity cloud site.

What is a template?

A template represents a way to capture the structure of an IT environment so that it can be replicated later with ease. Since it only represents the structure of an environment, it does not consume any actual resources and therefore no charges are associated with them. A template can either be created from scratch, from another template, or from an existing IT environment. Note that a template can only be created by a user in the partner role.

What is Cloud Migrate?

Cloud Migrate is a service offered by Egenera to help our Premier customers move their production servers to the Xterity cloud with minimal downtime. Cloud Migrate is offered as a free service as long as the customer keeps the migrated server in our cloud for at least 6 months.

Why would I use the designer versus the wizard for creating my IT environments?

The designer is a visual tool (like a visio diagram) for creating your business application architecture. The tool uses a drag and drop interface to visually create servers, networks and services. Those who enjoy a more visual approach to building their solutions generally prefer the designer. It is also very useful for collaborating with other members of your team or your clients. On the other hand, the wizard is a great tool for building your application architecture if you want to be walked through the process step by step. It is also a powerful tool for creating groups of servers with the same configuration. Note that Cloud Console allows you to move freely between the wizard and the designer. For example, you may choose to create a large environment through the wizard and then open that environment in the designer to see the visual representation of your business application architecture.

Can I save my work when creating an environment if I am not done with the design?

Yes, you can save a newly created environment at any time. Saving a newly created environment will NOT result in new charges (until the environment is successfully built). You can open the saved environment at any time later to complete your design and build it when you are ready. You can also save changes to an already built environment. The system will refer to this as a draft. A saved draft will NOT result in any new charges. When you reopen that environment with a saved draft, the system will prompt you to choose whether you want to open the draft changes or the pre-existing environment design. Your draft will be destroyed if you choose the pre-existing environment design and proceed to make any changes that get built or get saved as a draft.

When I create a new server, can I modify the default CPU and RAM resources?

Yes, the system is very flexible in that you can configure any amount of CPU, RAM or Storage (that is available in the catalog) for any server you select. This allows users to customize the server resources to meet the exact needs of their applications. And, you can change the CPU, RAM and Storage resources any time after the server has been deployed to react to the actual runtime needs of your business services.

Can I change the tier of storage for a disk on my server after it has been deployed?

Yes, the system supports changing the tier of storage for any disk at any time including after the storage has been allocated to a given server.

Can I use Cloud Console to build multi-tier networking applications?

Yes, the system supports building complex network designs including multi-tiered architectures. The networking support allows for secure network isolation between application tiers via the use of mid-tier switches.

Does the system monitor the performance of my servers? And if so, what performance statistics are monitored?

Yes, server performance monitoring is provided as a core service for all servers in an environment. Cloud Console provides a dashboard tab for the performance of a given server and provides rolled-up dashboards at each level above the server including for all the servers for an environment, for a customer and for a partner. Cloud Console also keeps historical performance information for up to 2 years to allow for trend analysis via a graphical view with selectable time periods. Cloud Console tracks the following performance statistics on a per server basis:

• CPU usage

Can I get notified if the performance of my server has an issue?

Yes, you can set performance alerts via Cloud Console for CPU, memory or file system utilization and network or disk data rates. When a performance alert is triggered, the system will raise a health alert which is visible in the “Alerts” tab and the system will also send email to a configurable set of email addresses. The system supports setting both warning and critical alert levels.

Are server snapshots supported?

Yes, server snapshots are supported. Snapshots are useful when doing system maintenance or operating system upgrades. The system allows the user to take a single snapshot for any given server. Since a snapshot consumes disk space, the system will accumulate charges for a snapshot based on the amount of storage allocated to that server. Charges are accumulated daily until the snapshot is removed. Note that the system will lock a server when it has an active snapshot, which will prevent the server from being modified in Cloud Console. The system also actively reminds the user about active snapshots so they are not left around to cause unexpected costs or reduced storage performance.

What’s the best way to find a server if I have many servers that I am managing?

Cloud Console provides a few ways to filter and search the servers for an environment, customer or partner. The most common method is to select the “Servers” tab of the object you want to search (environment, customer or partner list) and then type the name of the server in the search filter box in the upper right hand corner of the tabular list of servers. This will automatically filter the list based on the information entered. You can type part of a name too. Note that the system searches all the table columns for this specified filter (not just the name column) and therefore presents the list of all the rows with a field that matches the filter. If you want to filter specifically on the name of the server, then you can use the column-filtering feature of Cloud Console.

Can I print information from a table within Cloud Console?

Yes, tables in Cloud Console support the ability to print directly to a printer or to copy the contents of the table into the clipboard as a comma-separated value list. You can do this by “right-clicking” on the column header area of the table and selecting either “Copy Table to Clipboard as CSV” or “Print Table” from the menu.

Do I have to manually clear alerts that are visible in the alerts tab?

No, alerts get cleared by the system automatically when the condition that caused them has been resolved. All health alerts that had been raised are visible more permanently in the event log. Note that the system has limits on how many events it can keep, which means old events can be eliminated from the event log over time.

Can I see which catalog items are being used across all my environments?

Yes, there are a few ways to see catalog item usage. You can see the usage for a specific catalog item in Cloud Console by selecting that item and looking at the number of built instances field. Or, you can look more generally at catalog usage by going to the full catalog table and sorting the table by the “Built” column.

Can I generate a quote for my designed IT environment?

Yes, a quote can be generated for a new environment or a saved environment. The quote includes a monthly estimate of charges based on all servers running for a full month as well as a visual representation of the IT environment. Note that a quote cannot be generated for an already built environment.

Is a firewall included in my environment? If so, can I set firewall rules via Cloud Console?

Yes, all environments come with a managed firewall by default. This is represented as an independently managed object within Cloud Console. You can add, modify and remove firewall rules for all your internet-facing servers using the designer or the wizard. The rule changes are instantiated in the firewall when the updated environment is successfully built.

Does Xterity provide a DaaS solution?

Xterity provides the building blocks for a customer to create their own DaaS solution from the simplest RDP approach to the more complex Windows desktop experience and user profile disks. These building blocks are available in our standard Xterity catalog so they can be deployed and managed using the published documentation from Microsoft. For reference, consult the following blog post from Microsoft as a great starting point for sizing a DaaS solution. Note that the sizing of your specific application may vary.

• https://blogs.technet.microsoft.com/iftekhar/2010/02/10/rds-hardware-sizing-and-capacity-planning-guidance/

There is also a link in the blog post for "Remote Desktop Load Simulation Tools" if needed.

Does Xterity support virtual private networks (VPN) and Remote Access VPN?

Yes, Xterity supports a site-to-site VPN capability and a self-managed network appliance. Note that the self-managed network appliance option is only available with the Xterity Premier service. The user requests the site-to-site VPN capability by selecting both the setup and the service from the Xterity catalog (see the "Services" section). The Xterity Premier service allows a customer to bring their own software-based firewall appliance or leverage one from the standard Xterity Premier catalog. In this case, the user must use the self-managed communications bundle for their environment.

Does Xterity have availability zones like AWS?

Availability zones in AWS are provided to allow a user to protect their server from a failure of the underlying host server. This includes an isolated failure of the host server or a larger scale datacenter failure. The Xterity service, by default, supports automatic recovery of a user's server in the case of an underlying host failure (even a hardware failure). In this case, there is no need for the user to worry about availability zones because the recovery is already built-in to the Xterity service. For a larger scale datacenter failure, Xterity offers an integrated disaster recovery service as part of the Premier catalog offerings. This service allows a user to select a remote target site (similar to an availability zone) to move to in the case of a major data center failure, This DR service is a separate charge based on the amount of storage being protected for the server.

Does Xterity have an API?

Xterity does not currently have an API, but does offer integration points for billing and OS customization to support a more seamless interaction with customer business processes.

Does Xterity offer very inexpensive object storage (e.g. Glacier)?

Xterity does not offer very inexpensive object storage, but does offer very competitively priced tier-4 block storage that delivers better retrieval performance and does not incur any retrieval costs. This is an important consideration when looking at the actual cost of a very inexpensive object storage service where the service can cost you significant additional time and money to retrieve your data. For instance, a customer retrieving a 10GB file from 1TB of object storage with a 5 minute (or less) wait from a well known competitor would cost $104.30 for that one retrieval not including bandwidth costs. That same use case on Xterity would cost $30 per month for unlimited file retrievals and would be available in seconds and would not have any extra outgoing bandwidth costs.

Does Xterity offer a "drop-box" like storage service?

No, the majority of Xterity customers simply leverage their existing Drop Box or Onedrive accounts. If you cannot use one of the commodity storage services (e.g. for compliance reasons), an alternative option is to leverage a software solution like CentreStack or FileCloud with Xterity tier-4 storage.

Can I schedule my server to boot or shutdown?

No, Xterity does not currently provide an automated boot or shutdown capability. This feature is on our roadmap, so check back in the future for an updated answer to this question.

Does Xterity support load balancers?

Yes, but only for the Xterity Premier service. This capability is not available for the Xterity Express service. A customer can bring their own software-based load balancer appliance or leverage the firewall from the standard Xterity Premier catalog which supports a free load balancer plug-in. Documentation for setup and configuration for this plug-in is also available. In this case, the user must use the self-managed communications bundle when building out an environment.

Does Xterity support USB over IP devices?

Yes, but there are certain requirements that must be met. Please contact our Xterity services team to discuss the options.

Can I bring my own servers, storage or networking equipment?

No, Xterity does not support customers bringing their own physical equipment into the cloud. The hardware and software used to run Xterity is carefully controlled and managed by Egenera. The Xterity Premier service does support bringing your own data connections and software appliances.

Can I offer file sharing in Xterity?

Yes, we provide a template to help you setup a windows file share. You can find the provided templates under the "System Templates" folder in the Cloud Console tree view.

Can I bring my own software license?

Yes, but it does depend on the software vendor. Please contact your software vendor or license reseller to determine whether your license can be used in the Xterity public cloud. Egenera can’t source this information for customers. And, keep in mind, that it is critical you keep any supporting license information on file as you will need to provide it from time to time when Xterity is audited. Note that Xterity provides various Microsoft product licenses in our catalog for your convenience. This is to help address some of the license restrictions imposed by Microsoft. For example, existing Windows Server and Office licenses cannot be brought to any public cloud, so we provide these licenses to allow you to use these products in our cloud. Microsoft also allows other products to be moved to a public cloud if you have purchased the mobility license. Again, please contact your software vendor or license reseller to determine whether your license can be used in the Xterity public cloud.

Does Xterity automatically update software on my server?

Xterity does not automatically update operating system or application software on a user's server. We expect users to manage server updates based on their own security and compliance requirements. Users can leverage the standard operating system or application tools that are available from the vendor or other third party. Xterity does, however, automatically update its own agent software that is included in the operating system image used to build your server. Xterity agent software is used to provide customization services for the build process (like updating the name or IP address of a server). Automatic updates are only done when Egenera releases new agent software.

Does Xterity support branding?

Yes - cloud console supports branding certain aspects of the cloud console interface for distributors, partners and customers. There are two types of branding offered including basic branding and extended branding. Basic branding is performed by the user in a self-service manner directly in cloud console. Cloud console allows the user to upload a logo and set the color scheme for specific areas of the cloud console interface. Extended branding adds to the basic branding capability by including branding for the download of the cloud console application, the desktop icon and the cloud console About dialog. Extended branding requires a professional services engagement with Xterity operations. Consult your Xterity sales representative or Xterity operations personnel to discuss this option.

Note that when a distributor configures their branding, that branding will be visible by default for each of the partners and customers that are created under that distributor. In the same way, when a partner configures their branding, that branding will be visible by default for each of the customers that are created under that partner. In all cases, a customer can choose to re-brand cloud console interface from their partner and the partner can re-brand from their distributor.

For more detailed information about branding, please search for branding in the cloud console help dialog.

How do I license the use of Microsoft Office or Remote Desktop services in Xterity?

Based on Microsoft’s current licensing policy, a customer cannot bring their own license to an IaaS provider. Microsoft requires that IaaS providers utilize SPLA or CSP to accommodate the licensing in these environments. With Xterity, we offer Office and RDS licensing via the Microsoft SPLA program in order to allow customers to rent these licenses for any server in our cloud. Microsoft also has a restriction that the number of Office licenses rented must be equal or greater to the number of RDS licenses rented for any server.

While a cloud provider like Egenera is responsible for tracking and reporting all Microsoft licenses utilized by our users, we are limited in automating the verification of application licenses since our security policy disallows us from having access to your server. This means that we must rely on your accurate representation for the usage of these licenses in cloud console. This requirement is important because Microsoft does audit cloud providers like Xterity and in our experience, they scan for Office and RDS usage aggressively across a large sample set - sometimes for all of our customer base. Any violations of license use for these products becomes an audit concern for the customer (not the provider). This is why many cloud providers (including Xterity) use a simple process for customers to manually report their license use of these products.

Can I create my own customized server images for the catalog?

Yes, in the partner role, you can create your own customized server image from a standard operating system in the Xterity catalog by adding software packages and/or setting custom configuration options. The customized server must be created within an environment built under the “Partner Environments” context of Cloud Console in order to publish the image into your catalog. Once the image is published in your catalog, it will be available for any environment to use. Note that any environment built under the "Partner Environments" context, including those for customized server images, will incur monthly charges in the same manner as environments for any customer. Since the charges are not associated with a customer, they are considered a partner-only expense.

Does the service support multiple tiers of storage?

Yes – the system supports up to 4 tiers of storage. All Xterity cloud sites offer our default Optimized Tier 2 and Budget Tier 3 storage groups. Depending on demand, some locations may offer our Performance Tier 1 storage or our Archive Tier 4 storage. All our cloud sites are capable of offering any of these storage tiers so if your site does not show the tier you need, please log a support ticket at https://portal.egenera.com . The storage tiers are described as follows:

• Tier 1
  Used for applications with demanding I/O load (e.g. database)

Does Cloud Console use encryption to store passwords when saving my connection history?

Yes, Cloud Console uses the PBKDF2 key derivation function to encrypt the passwords.

Do Xterity employees have access to my server?

No, Xterity employees do not have access to your server. Nor can Xterity employees modify your environment or initiate a build of your environment.

Note that the lack of access to a customer's server by Xterity employees means that the Xterity services team cannot independently see errors on a server's console or review server log data. The customer must provide server specific debug information via the ticketing system. Also, the lack of access to a server means that the Xterity services team cannot make server specific configuration changes on behalf of the customer (e.g. backup configuration).

Is data fully deleted when I remove a disk?

Yes, Xterity policy is to zero out the data when a disk is removed for any reason (e.g. disk removal, server removal, backup removal, etc...). Xterity policy also includes disk destruction when a physical disk is being replaced for any reason.

How do you protect private disk data?

Since all of our storage is managed in storage arrays (not local disks or virtual SANs), we protect customer data from un-authorized access by securing physical and logical access to those arrays and the associated integration points.
For highly sensitive data such as medical records, we do recommend our customers also encrypt their data drives using a tool like bitlocker.

Does Xterity support the use of single sign on tools for my servers?

Yes, the servers in the standard Xterity catalog are able to support single sign on tools.

Does Xterity use encryption?

Yes, Xterity leverages encryption for all communication into and out of the Xterity cloud. Cloud Console also encrypts the session and password information that is optionally stored on the client device. Xterity leaves the decision to encrypt data at rest with the user. Users can leverage industry standard tools (e.g. bitlocker) to encrypt their data disks. And, the integrated Xterity backup and DR tools support the option to encrypt data at rest. Note that using encryption creates an important requirement to manage the keys and can slow down both the backup and recovery process. Egenera personnel do not have access to the keys used for encrypting data at rest, so we cannot assist you if keys are lost.

How do I login to a server created in the Xterity cloud?

After an environment is successfully built, Xterity sends a single email to the user that submitted the build request with the login credentials for each of the new servers. The password created for each server is a randomly generated password, but should be changed after the first successful login given that the password is transmitted via email which is an unsecure transport. Cloud Console provides access to a graphical console for all servers. To access the graphical console for a server, find the server in the Cloud Console tree view under the environment it is associated with, right click on that server name and select the "Console" menu item. This will launch the console application where you can enter the credential information provided in the email. Note that for a windows server, you must click on the "Send Ctrl-Alt-Del" button at the top right corner of the console to access the login screen. You can also login to the server via the external network if your server is facing the external network and you have enabled console access via the firewall.

Can I reset my server password if I forget it?

Yes, Cloud Console will allow you to regenerate a password for a server. To do this, edit the environment that contains your server, select the desired server, go to the "OS Properties" section in the menu tree on the left and then click on the "Regenerate Password" checkbox.

Can I change the password for my cloud console login?

Yes - cloud console supports changing the password of your cloud console login in a self-service manner. To do this, login to cloud console and click on the user id link in the top right-hand corner of the screen. Clicking on this link will take you to the user information page. Select the Edit task in the area above the user id. To set a new login password, type your new password in the Password and Verify Password fields of the Login Information box and then select OK.

Keep in mind that since not all of our partner users have access to our support system the two accounts are not linked. Thus, changing your password in the cloud console will not change your password to access our support portal. To change your password on our support portal, go to https://portal.egenera.com, login with your current credentials, then select password from the drop down list under you name in the top righthand corner.

Can I reset my cloud console login password if I forget it?

You will have to contact your administrator in order to get it reset. Distributors and Partner Administrators will need to contact Xterity operations in order to perform the password reset. Other partner and customer users should contact their partner administrator.

The partner administrator can reset a user’s password as follows: select the appropriate user id under the Users tree, select the Edit task in the area above the user id, type a new password in the Password and Verify Password fields of the Login Information box and then select OK

How do I get support for Xterity services?

You can access our online support system at https://portal.egenera.com. Use this portal to log tickets, access documentation and software downloads, see notifications about cloud status, maintenance windows and changes to our service. Please log a ticket for all issues in order to help deliver the fastest response time for your issue. Our system was designed with intelligent routing and priority based queue placement to help engage an available engineer as soon as possible. Rest assured that the engineer assigned to your ticket would use the most effective means of communication (including a phone conversation) to solve your problem. For more information about support response times please refer to our Xterity Support matrix.

What can I expect for response time for an issue?

Xterity support response can vary depending on the type of cloud service you are using. For the Premier service, our support response is best in class. For the Express service, our support response is on par with the major cloud providers. For more information about our support response times, please refer to our Xterity Support matrix.

Do I need to include server console messages and log data when filing a ticket?

Yes, providing server specific information like console messages, log or configuration data is critical to getting the quickest resolution to your issue. Remember that the Xterity support team does not have access to a server, so there is no way for the assigned engineer to access this information unless it is provided in the ticket by the customer.

What should I name my environment?

It is considered best practice to name your environment in a way that describes its purpose. This will help avoid unintended confusion when issues arise, make it easier to identify the environment in invoices and reports and make it easier to find the target environment among thousands of lines of log files when troubleshooting. Also, adding a description of your environment, which mentions the use case and the software being used, can be helpful in giving our support team (and sometimes your engineer) a better understanding of the context of the issue. This additional context can often be a trigger for known issues that might otherwise take significant time to find.

Why am I not getting email updates from Xterity?

Please check that you have added donotreply@portal.egenera.com and no-reply@xteritycloud.com to your safe sender lists.

Why would my Xterity services get suspended?

Standard Xterity services are invoiced monthly based on the numbers of hours used in that billing period. Terms for payment of those invoices depend on your service level. If payment has not been received for services in a timely manner, the account will be pending suspension. For more information on the timelines and process of suspension, please consult your Egenera Master Service Agreement or contact your Distributor.

Can I bring my own license to the Xterity cloud for an ISV product?

Please consult your software vendor’s licensing policy to determine if the software can be used in the Xterity cloud. Since Xterity is based on VMware technology and does not share any server containers across multiple environments, most software vendors treat our cloud with the same flexibility they give to a managed colocation provider.

For Microsoft products, Xterity participates in the SPLA program, which allows us to distribute and rent licenses for all Microsoft software packages. In some cases, customers can also bring certain Microsoft licenses to an IaaS provider like Xterity. These rules vary based on the type of license you own and the type of software assurance you have. Currently, Microsoft does not allow a customer bring licenses for Office, RDS, or Windows to a cloud provider in any known circumstances.

Do you have a solution to compete with an onsite Datto device?

Our backup solutions can leverage local storage, but we do not offer a physical device like Datto does. This capability is on our roadmap, so check back in the future for an updated answer to this question.

Why is DR more expensive than backup?

As part of our Premier service offering, our DR service provides both an aggressive recovery point objective (RPO) and a faster recovery time objective (RTO) as compared to the backup service. This capability drives the need for higher synchronization levels, special connectivity, more monitoring, and additional software licenses. All of these factors contribute to a higher cost structure. Users should determine whether they require a more aggressive RTO and RPO. If not, than our E-BaaS backup service may be an appropriate solution to protect you from Ransomware, restore entire systems to new hardware, or restore a server to our cloud.

Why do my P-BaaS backup charges vary significantly?

The Premier P-BaaS service uses a Continuous Data Protection (CDP) model, which drives a high rate of change from day to day and week to week. This is most noticeable in the first 4 weeks of using the service or after changing your retention policy. However even after that period, there is inherent variability with this type of service. If the need for predictable cost is greater than the need for CDP, we offer customers the ability to migrate to our E-BaaS service which has much less variation in cost over time and can even be fix priced.

Can my backup data be stored in a different location from my server?

Yes, but for Premier E-BaaS service customers only. Premier E-BaaS customers can setup an off-cloud environment using the off-cloud E-BaaS service at any other Xterity site of their choosing.

Note that this cannot be done with the Premier P-BaaS service due to security restrictions.

Can I use my own backup solution?

Yes, almost any software can run in the Xterity Cloud because we use standard operating systems and networking. So if your software can be loaded on one of our standard catalog operating systems it is very likely to work. Also if your software comes as a virtual appliance (like DATTO), it is also likely to work. We have customers running many different backup tools already such as Storagecraft, DATTO, IASO, Asigra, Carbonite, Commvault, NetBackup and Maxbackup. The only software products that may have restrictions on certain features are ones that require root/admin access to the VMware API. For security reasons this can’t be allowed. Some installation methods and features of Veeam for instance have this requirement.

Can I move from P-BaaS to E-BaaS?

For Premier P-BaaS customers that are looking to get a more consistent monthly charge or just reduce their backup costs, they can easily make the change to the E-BaaS service via Cloud Console. To do this, simply remove the P-BaaS service and then add the E-BaaS service for all of the appropriate servers. Xterity support will contact you to help remove the P-BaaS agent from each server. When working with Xterity support request that your P-BaaS backup data be retained for up to 30 days while your new E-BaaS backups accumulate.

If I use an Xterity backup service, do I need the DR service?

The Xterity Premier DRaaS solution is designed for organizations that need to be able to fully recover a group of servers with less than a day of data loss in a guaranteed amount of time due to a primary site failure. If your business needs this demanding service level, then the Premier DRaaS solution is necessary. However, if the disaster problem you are trying to solve is to recover any given server from data corruption, malware or ransomware attacks, then you don't need the Premier DRaaS solution too. The Xterity backup solution will provide the ability to recover from all of these types of issues.

How long does it take to recover my server from a backup?

The actual time to recover a server can vary widely because it is dependent on various factors including the amount of data to recover, the type of backup service and whether encryption was utilized. In our testing, we have demonstrated that a standard operating system installation can be recovered in as little as 20 minutes. Of course, your mileage may vary, so we recommend running a restore test for any server for which you need to know its actual restore time.

What can I do if I currently use P-BaaS and I need the restore to cloud functionality, but can't afford the price increase?

For our Premier customers that don't require the continuous data protection capability of the P-BaaS service, we recommend moving to the Xterity E-BaaS service. The E-BaaS service stores all backup data compressed while the P-BaaS product uses little or no compression. So, most E-BaaS backups require 40 to 60% less space than the equivalent P-BaaS configuration and since the cost of the service is based on the amount of actual data stored, the E-BaaS service can be significantly less expensive.

What certifications does the Xterity Service have?

Xterity has several certifications for each of our cloud locations. For more details on those certifications, please consult our website at https://www.egenera.com/compliance. In addition, the tools and processes used by Xterity operations are documented and available for inclusion in a customer’s application for any “use specific” compliances. These processes conform to ISO27001 standards and are regularly reviewed by an external expert. These documented procedures along with the role-based access, verbose logging, and change control automation built into our cloud console make it easy for our customers to build environments that can adhere to most compliance requirements.

Does Xterity offer services that are GxP, HIPAA, or FedRAMP compliant?

Xterity offers a foundation of datacenter certifications, standardization, audited processes, security, and tools that can easily adhere to most compliance requirements. However, these standards are case specific, requiring each customer to add their specific management and security practices in order to comply. So, outside of SaaS and PaaS providers that offer a specific service, cloud providers are unable to provide infrastructure that automatically meets these compliances. Xterity can provide customers with our documented procedures that are regularly audited to confirm they adhere to ISO27001 standards. These documented procedures along with the role based access, verbose logging, and change control automation built into our cloud console makes it easy for an Xterity customer with compliance experience to integrate our processes into their materials to meet their needs.

As compliance requirements grow and become more complex, we are finding more and more customers do not have the internal resources or skills needed to gain and maintain the certifications they require. To help with this, Xterity has forged partnerships with organizations that can offer these services as part of your Xterity cloud subscription. These partners have extensive consulting experience with certification in the healthcare and security space and have invested the time to understand the Xterity tools and procedures so they can quickly help you apply for the certifications you may need and then maintain them as needed. For more information on how this relationship works, please visit our compliance page at https://www.egenera.com/compliance. To be connected with one of our compliance partners, contact sales@egenera.com.