The GoGrid newsletter went out today. Unfortunately, if you are not already a GoGrid customer, you didn’t receive it…until now! There are a lot of exciting items covered here (a few of which you already know if you subscribe to this blog’s RSS feed including the Edit, Delete and Restore function of MyGSIs). If you aren’t already a GoGrid user, I recommend that you sign up (and here is a quick hint, if you want a $100 GoGrid credit on new account, contact a GoGrid Sales Rep and they can consult with you on your best options for the Cloud).

Below is the entire GoGrid Newsletter (October 2009):

Hello Michael,

In this edition of the GoGrid newsletter I cover recent feature releases, planned features for the next release, and the end-of-life (EoL) of Server Images with preinstalled applications.  Here are the specific topics:

1. MyGSI Enhancements: Edit, Delete, and Restore
2. Revamped Billing Summary Widget
3. Cloud Storage: Data Import via Postal Service
4. Sneak Preview: Planned features for the next two releases slated for early and mid November:
   • Windows 2003 32 bit base operating system
   • Windows 2003 64 bit base operating system
   • RedHat Enterprise Linux 5.4 base operating system
   • CentOS 5.3 base operating system
   • New Monthly and Annual Pre-Paid Price Plans
   • Partner GSI
   • Ubuntu 9.04
5. Server Images: EoL Image  List

MyGSI Enhancements: Edit, Delete, and Restore

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You can now edit, delete and restore GoGrid Server Images (MyGSIs).  Michael Sheehan, GoGrid Technology Evangelist, has provided an excellent screencast of the new functionality located at the GoGrid Blog.
Here is a quick snapshot of the enhancements:

• Edit allows you to change the “Name” and “Description” of a MyGSI
• Delete allows you to delete a MyGSI
• Restore allows you to restore a MyGSI up to 24 hours after it was deleted

The enhancements are live and available in the GoGrid portal and API.

Revamped Billing Summary Widget

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The Billing Summary Widget has been revamped to make it clearer.  The widget includes 3 new sections:

• Billing Cycle: displays your billing start and end date
• Memory: displays RAM deployed and projected monthly Server RAM usage
• Transfer: displays Transfer used and projected monthly usage

View Michael Sheehan’s screencast for complete details or read the documentation in the GoGrid wiki.
Cloud Storage: Data Import via Postal Service

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If you have a large set of data that you want added to your Cloud Storage account, and you don’t want to upload it via the internet, simply ship us a physical hard drive(s) with the data and we will upload it for you.  There is a one-time fee of $99.99/per device and you are not billed for the data transfer from the hard drive to Cloud Storage.  Read Michael Sheehan’s blog post for more details about this service.

Sneak Preview: Planned Features for the Next 2 Releases

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The next two releases are scheduled for early and mid November 2009 and include:

• Windows Server 2003 32 and 64bit base operating systems with no preinstalled applications
• RedHat Enterprise Linux 5.4 32 and 64-bit base operating system with no preinstalled applications
• CentOS 5.3 32 and 64-bit base operating system with no preinstalled applications
• New Monthly and Annual Server RAM Hour and Transfer prepaid pricing plans:
  • We are revamping all Pre-Paid plans.  Server RAM Hour pricing will start as low as $0.05/Server RAM Hour.  Annual Pre-Paid pricing plans are available today.  With Annual Pre-Pay plans, pay annually and receive 2 FREE months of service, which is a savings of 17%.  Speak to your account manager for more details.
• Partner GSI:
  • We are working with several Partners to make their Partner GSI images available to all users through the GoGrid portal.  A Partner GSI is a customized GoGrid Server Image that comes preloaded and configured with a partner’s software.  Some Partner GSIs have a monthly fee.  Expect detailed information on Partner GSIs in the next GoGrid Newsletter. To learn more about our partner programs and explore partnering with GoGrid to release your own Partner GSI please visit the partner page: http://www.gogrid.com/partners/index.php or contact Kole Hicks, GoGrid Product Manager, at Kole AT gogrid.com.
• Ubuntu 9.04 64-bit base operating system

Please expect more details on all these new features in the October newsletter, which will be sent out in late October.

Image Templates: End-of life list

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The below images will be end-of-life on 11/03/2009; moving forward our focus is on the root OS (of course you can add software installations as you see fit).  If you want to continue to use the images below, please create a MyGSI and save it to your Cloud Storage.  We will continue to support all current Windows and Linux base operating systems.

• Windows 2003 IIS (32 bit)
• Windows 2003 IIS (64 bit)
• 32-bit Windows Server 2003 IIS6 / MSSQL Server 2005 Express / ASP.NET
• 32-bit Windows Server 2003 R2 MSSQL 2005 Express
• 32-bit Windows Server 2008 IIS7 / PHP / MSSQL 2005 Express
• 32-bit Windows Server 2008 IIS7 / PHP / ASP.NET / MSSQL 2005 Express
• 32-bit Windows Server 2008 IIS7 / PHP / MySQL
• 32-bit Windows Server 2008 Apache / PHP / MSSQL 2005 Express
• 32-bit Windows Server 2008 IIS7+FastCGI(PHP)+MSSQL 2005 Express
• 64-bit Windows Server 2003 R2 IIS6 / MSSQL Server 2005 Express / ASP.NET
• 64-bit Windows Server 2003 R2 MSSQL 2005 Express
• 32-bit Windows Server 2008 IIS7
• 32-bit Windows Server 2008 IIS7 / MS SQL Server 2005 Express
• 32-bit Windows Server 2008 IIS7 / MS SQL Server 2005 Express / ASP.NET
• 64-bit Windows Server 2008 IIS7
• 64-bit Windows Server 2008 IIS7 / MS SQL Server 2005 Express
• 64-bit Windows Server 2008 IIS7 / MS SQL Server 2005 Express / ASP.NET
• 64-bit CentOS 5.1 Apache 2.2
• 64-bit CentOS 5.1 Apache 2.2+PHP 5.1
• 64-bit CentOS 5.1 LAMP
• 64-bit CentOS 5.1 MySQL 5
• 64-bit CentOS 5.1 PostgreSQL 8.1
• 64-bit RHEL 5.1 Apache 2.2
• 64-bit RHEL 5.1 Apache 2.2+PHP 5.1
• 64-bit RHEL 5.1 LAMP
• 64-bit RHEL 5.1 MySQL 5
• 64-bit RHEL 5.1 PostgreSQL 8.1

Become a Fan of GoGrid on the Facebook Fan page!

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If you have pictures of your hundreds of GoGrid servers or photos from an event where you saw GoGrid in action or met with some of our employees, we encourage you to post them to the Fan Page:
http://www.facebook.com/pages/GoGrid/12731148364

As always, you can find more information about GoGrid at:
GoGrid Product Site – http://www.gogrid.com
GoGrid Blog – http://blog.gogrid.com
GoGrid Wiki – http://wiki.gogrid.com
GoGrid Forums – http://forums.gogrid.com

If you have any questions please feel free to contact me directly.
Mario AT gogrid.com

Thank you,
Mario

This email newsletter was sent out by our VP of Products, Mario Olivarez.

GoGrid, and parent company ServePath, are excited to announce participation in Microsoft’s new WebsiteSpark Program, specifically targeted towards Web Professionals. Using WebsiteSpark, Web Pros can drive new business opportunities through connections with partners and customers around the world.

Before jumping into the details and Q&A, if you already know that you want to participate in this program with either GoGrid or ServePath as your Hosting partner, please visit our signup pages on the GoGrid site or ServePath site.

But what does all of this mean? Trust me, I have read through all of the 19 pages of Frequently Asked Questions and Program documentation and it is a bit overwhelming. So, this blog post is really an effort to try to cull out the critical points of importance for you. However, if there are any questions that you do have after reading this, I encourage you to talk to some WebsiteSpark folks or sales reps at GoGrid or ServePath. At a high-level, this is an incredibly helpful program targeted towards Web Professionals.

Probably the best way to approach this is through a series of questions and answers.

What is WebsiteSpark?

Similar to the Microsoft BizSpark program, WebsiteSpark is designed to help small companies ramp up their business, web dev and design capabilities and offerings. Those companies who qualify for WebsiteSpark can add Microsoft product and platform proficiency to their business credentials as well as help create new business opportunities by connecting them with partners (like Web Hosters) and customers via increased visibility.

What is a “Web Pro”?

Web Pro stands for Web Professional. These are individuals or small companies that specialize in web development, web-based Value-Added Providers (VAPs), web-savvy IT generalists, web design or the management or creation of web services.

How do I qualify to participate in WebsiteSpark?

The qualification is fairly simple. First, your business must primarily focus on providing Web development and/or design services or solution to your customers. Second, your company must have 10 or less members (this includes owners, employees and contractors). Those are the “hard” requirements.

Additionally, you must develop and deploy a minimum of one new website using Microsoft tools and servers within 6 months of enrollment. These websites must be logged with Microsoft. Also, you and your business must be enrolled in the Microsoft Partner Network (MPN – formerly known as the Microsoft Partner Program).

So I’m interested and I qualify, what do I get by enrolling?

The benefits abound! For starters, you get: New Business Opportunities, Support & Training, and Access to Software & Solutions. Let’s explore these a bit more:

• New Business Opportunities
  • WebsiteSpark Marketplace – be found by customers by building a web presence to showcase your capabilities, all with a simplified process to connect with qualified customers
  • Partner Recruiting Portal – if you need a partner to compliment or add to your offering or skill set, you can find them within this portal
  • Web App Gallery – find off-the-shelf Web applications and solutions to make your business even better. In the form of a gallery of offerings, you can choose applications that have been designed and built to work within the Microsoft Web platform…all without headaches.
• Support & Training
  • Receive professional support from Microsoft as well as Network Partners, Hosting Partners and other Web Pros
  • 2 professional support incidents per program membership
  • Free online training
  • Managed newsgroups on the Microsoft Developers Network (MSDN)
• Access to Software & Solutions
  • Design/Dev/Testing Tools: Visual Studio 2008 Professional Edition (3 licenses), Expression Studio 2/3 (1 license), Expression Web 2/3 (2 licenses), Windows Web Server 2008 (3 licenses) and SQL Server 2008 Web (3 licenses)
  • Production & Deployment: Windows Web Server 2008 & SQL Server 2008 Web
  • Special Offers: DotNetPanel control panel to manage web site hosting parameters

What is the cost to join?

There is actually no up-front cost to join WebsiteSpark and receive the benefits. There is a Program Offering Fee of $100 (USD) when your company exits the program. Additionally, if you choose a Hosting  or Network Partner, there may be (reduced) fees associated with using their services.

Ok, that’s cool, but how does GoGrid or ServePath come into the mix?

Obviously, if you are a web application developer or designer, you need to host your or your clients’ apps, services or products somewhere. This is something where WE are experts! If you are looking for the LARGEST Windows Server 2003 and 2008 Cloud Hosting provider out there, then you should choose GoGrid or ServePath as your Hosting Partner within the WebsiteSpark program. If you want to set up a hybrid hosting solution using a combination of cloud and dedicated servers (we call it Cloud Connect) , we are one of the few hosting providers that can do this.

We have put together a robust hosting package, with discounts not available to the general public.There are 3 specific packages available: GoGrid Windows Package, GoGrid/ServePath Hybrid Windows Package and ServePath Windows Package. The details are below:

The GoGrid Windows Package offers not only GoGrid credit towards a new GoGrid account, we also want to help you move your site over to our Cloud and are providing a $100 credit to help you start.

The GoGrid/ServePath Hybrid Windows Package gives you the best of all worlds with the ability to create a hybrid infrastructure environment using both Cloud and Dedicated infrastructures.

For those interested in a dedicated hosting plan only, we provide the ServePath Windows Package which has incredibly nice discounts across the board.

(*1 year commitment required)

If you are not sure which package is the best for you, be sure to contact a GoGrid or ServePath Sales Representative. They will not only help you through your choices, but also can provide you with a GoGrid trial credit to get you going in the GoGrid Cloud.

Where can I find out more information?

Probably the best way is to talk to a GoGrid or ServePath Sales Representative (as mentioned previously). However, the Microsoft WebsiteSpark site does have a lot of helpful information including a Program Guide (note: direct link to Adobe PDF document). Also, feel free to leave any questions you may have as a comment on this post.

We hope that you sign up with WebsiteSpark with GoGrid/ServePath as your hosting partner. It’s a tremendous program that you would be foolish not to take advantage of.

Yesterday we announced new GoGrid functionality which allows you to edit, delete and restore personal server images known as MyGSIs. Since a picture is typically worth a 1,000 words, I compiled a quick screencast that walks you through this new functionality as well as through the changes we made to the Billing Widget.

If you have any questions about this functionality or other things “GoGrid”, please leave a comment on this post. As always, I’m reachable via Twitter (@hightechdad) and email (Michael AT GoGrid DOT com).

Also, be sure to follow us on Twitter (@GoGrid) as well as become a fan of GoGrid on Facebook.

Yesterday an update to GoGrid was released with the following enhancements:

• Edit, Delete & Restore MyGSI Images
• Updated Billing Widget
• Updated GoGrid API

On August 11, 2009, we announced the availability of GoGrid 2.0 which included the new personal server images (MyGSI) functionality. Details on that important release are found here. Using MyGSI to manage your server repository or inventory is a great way to not only speed up your workflow in terms of deploying copies of servers quickly and easily, but also save money in the process (by storing your personal server images in GoGrid Cloud Storage for just a few dollars a month).

Edit, Delete & Restore MyGSI Images

As our customers were demanding this feature (MyGSIs), we got it out to market as quickly as possible. This new release now provides you with the ability to Edit, Delete and Restore MyGSIs that are located within the Server Images tab.

DELETE

Hopefully many of you are already enjoying the MyGSI feature. Here are a few things you should know about the newly pushed functionality. Within the Server Images tab, you should now see a new icon to the far right hand side of the server images that looks like a trash can:

Should you ever need to delete a stored MyGSI, simply click on the trash icon. While you are only paying a few dollars a month to store your personal server images, you might want to “clean shop” to further reduce your charges. The three size allotments shown in the image above that are around 800 MB are for a CentOS DB server and Web server respectively, and the third for a Windows Server 2003. At $0.15 per GB per month (note, we do round up to the next full 1 GB increment), the total costs would be…FREE since it is under the 10GB free allotment you get with Cloud Storage (if you were over your 10 GB free allotment, it would be about $0.60/month!).

But if you simply want to clean shop and want to remove older images or ones that you don’t need anymore, click the trash icon. You will get the following Delete Confirmation Warning:

When you click Yes, Delete, your server image will be flagged for deletion. You can check the status of it in two places. First, under the State column in the Server Images tab, the state will change from “Available” to “Trash”. Also, if you look in the Jobs tab, you will see details on the deletion request:

RESTORE

BUT WAIT! I didn’t want to delete that image! Have no fear, we give you UP TO 24 HOURS to restore an image from the Trash. Simply click on the new icon that is next to your deleted server image to remove it from the trash:

When you click the restore icon, you will get a Restore Confirmation Warning:

Simply click Yes, Restore to remove the image from trash. As with the delete process, all restoration actions are logged within the Jobs tab:

If you don’t restore your image, GoGrid will automatically purge the image from your GoGrid account. Once the image is purged, it will no longer appear within the Server Images tab. You can always see if the system has purged any of your images automatically by looking for an entry within the Jobs section similar to the one shown below:

Remember, you will still be charged for Cloud Storage while your image or images are in the Trash.

EDIT

Let’s say you want to change the Name or Description of your stored MyGSI to something a bit more meaningful or to add a version number, we now provide you with a quick and easy way to do this^[1]. To edit the Name or Description, simply click on the image within the Server Images tab. A dialog box similar to the one below will automatically launch:

In this example, I will change the title to “CentOS DB Server” and add a version number to the description:

Clicking Save will change the Name and/or Description of the MyGSI. The edits are available immediately.

Updated Billing Widget

While a bit minor in the grand scheme of things, we also have refreshed the look of the Billing Widget which appears in the left hand column. The previous version looked like this:

The new version looks like this:

Obviously, these screenshots are from different GoGrid accounts (I have added a second “after” screenshot that shows how the billing from the first screenshot displays in the new version). If you have a GoGrid Promotional Code (hint: if you are new to GoGrid, just ask a GoGrid Sales Rep for one!), the code and remaining balance will be shown. The new widget is then broken out into two distinct billing areas: Memory (RAM usage) and Transfer (outbound bandwidth usage/inbound is always free) (note: Cloud Storage charges are not currently shown). Within both sections, your Plan that you signed up for is displayed, including the allotments for each service according to each plan (the Trial Grid is a pay as you go service so no allotment is displayed).

Within the Memory section you see:

• GB in Use – this is the amount of RAM that you have currently deployed within your GoGrid account (includes servers in on AND off states)
• GB Hours to Date – a running total of consumed RAM hours
• Monthly Projection of GB Hrs – based on your current usage, how much RAM you will use for the entire month
• Monthly Projection of RAM Overage – based on your current usage and Memory Plan, the overage you might expect to hit
• Monthly Projection of RAM Total – based on current usage and possible overage, what you might expect for your final charge at the end of the month

In the Transfer section you have:

• GB Transfer to date – this is the amount of outbound bandwidth you have consumed to date
• Monthly Projection of GB Transfer – based on your current usage, how much bandwidth you will use for the entire month
• Monthly Projection of Transfer Overage – based on your current usage and Transfer Plan, the overage you might expect to hit
• Monthly Projection of Transfer Total – based on your current usage and possible overage, what you might expect for your final charge at the end of the month

We hope that those changes provide this information in a more useful manner.

Updated GoGrid API

Full details of what has been changed or added to the GoGrid API can be found on the GoGrid Wiki API page. At a high level, here are the API Server Image Methods that have been added:

• grid/image/get – function call to get a server image object
• grid/image/edit – function call to edit the name and description of a server image
• grid/image/delete – function call to delete a server image and send it to the trash
• grid/image/restore – function call to restore a server image from the trash

The following API Objects have been updated:

• Billing Summary (Object)
  • gbHours – Projected RAM GB Hrs that will be used in current billing period.
  • ramOverage – Projected total of dollars spent on RAM overages in current billing period in $.
  • ramTotal – Projected total of dollars spent on RAM in current billing period in $.
  • gbTransfer – Projected Transfer in GB that will be used in current billing period.
  • transferOverage – Projected total of dollars spent on Transfer overages in current billing period in $.
  • transferTotal – Projected total of dollars spent on Transfer in current billing period in $.

Summary

We hope you enjoy these changes. They round out the MyGSI features quite well. If you have any comments or suggestions, feel free to leave a comment on this post, send me a tweet (@hightechdad), send GoGrid a tweet (@GoGrid), or email me: Michael AT GoGrid DOT com.

Also, please be sure to check out our GoGrid Facebook Fan page and become a fan!

1. Note: some browsers are not supported for this functionality. Please use Internet Explorer 7 or higher or FireFox 3 [↩]

Last week, VMWorld 2009 Expo took center stage in San Francisco at the Moscone Center. With 3+ days of VMWare sessions and exhibits, there was a lot of buzz about VMWare, but also about Cloud Computing in general. GoGrid was an exhibitor at the show, in the Innovators Pavilion, and we found that many of the attendees were looking not solely at VMWare but at other Cloud Computing vendors as well (like GoGrid).

Several of our executives spent time at the show, not only staffing our booth, but also attending sessions as well as talking to vendors and other companies on the expo floor.

During and after the show, I interviewed three GoGrid executives to get their impression of what they saw and heard, as well as their thoughts on what the announcements meant to them and to GoGrid. I interviewed:

• John Keagy – CEO & Co-Founder of GoGrid
• Mario Olivarez – VP of Products at GoGrid
• Paul Lappas – VP of Engineering at GoGrid

Each of these video interviews are available below, as well as on GoGrid’s Facebook Fan Page and on the GoGrid YouTube channel.

John Keagy

Mario Olivarez

Paul Lappas

Are there any questions that you have for our executives, developers or others within GoGrid? Please email those questions to: Michael AT GoGrid DOT com and I will answer as many of them as possible in future interviews.