In an effort to be as proactive as possible, GoGrid has officially notified select customers of the removal (End of Life – EoL) of two specific GoGrid images. The users that were notified are ones that are actively using the images. On 2/9/10, GoGrid will be removing the following images from the GoGrid image repository:

• CentOS – CentOS 5.1 (64-bit) w/ Apache 2.2
• Red Hat Enterprise Linux – RHEL 5.1 (64-bit) w/ Apache 2.2

I’m sure that some of you will have questions about this. In anticipation of this, I have compiled some quick Q&A’s:

Question: What does the removal of these images mean?

Answer: Simply that after the removal date, they will no longer appear within the GoGrid Image Selection widget.

Question: I have server(s) deployed that use these images? Will they continue to function?

Answer: Yes, there is no change to how your server(s) will function if they are using one of these EoL-ed images. Just be sure that you keep everything current within those servers.

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Drum roll please! We are excited to announce the availability of GoGrid version 2.0, released today to all users. This is an important release from a product standpoint as it positions GoGrid firmly as the easiest to use hosting provider within the Cloud Computing Infrastructure marketplace.

What is new with GoGrid in the 2.0 release?

• MyGSI – GoGrid Server Images
• Improved Server Deployment Times
• IP Addresses in Passwords Tab

The 10,000 Foot View

Before I get into the 100 foot view, it is probably important to talk about what MyGSIs mean to you from a higher level.

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Last night we release a new version of GoGrid that has a few notable changes, specifically:

• Server Image Selection Widget
• Smart selection of RAM allocations (and 8 GB RAM options in web GUI)
• Updates to GoGrid API
• Enhancements to underlying Architecture

Server Image Selection Widget

The biggest visual change in this release is to how Windows and Linux Database, Web and Applications server images are selected within the GoGrid web interface. This is essentially the framework that will be used for the upcoming MyGSI feature. Since we continue to add new images to the GoGrid image repository, and we will be enabling your own personal server images to be stored within GoGrid, we realized that the current selection process of Application & Database servers doesn’t scale very well.

Our software engineering team has come up with an elegant image selection widget that will allow you to quickly drill-down to the image type you wish. Instead of trying to articulate what the new selector looks like, here are some screenshots of what to expect.

After you click on the Add Web/Application Server Icon, you are presented with a list of all available images:

You can see that the list shows the Name, Operating System (OS), Architecture type (32/64-bit), Type of server (Web/DB), Price (e.g., MS SQL, for example, shows a charge – see below) and the Date the image was Updated.

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If you are a GoGrid customer, you recently received the April GoGrid newsletter that talks about one of the exciting new features coming from GoGrid, specifically “Personal Server Images” which we call “MyGSIs.”

Definitions

First, it probably would be helpful to understand some of the new & current terms we are using:

• Base GoGrid Server Image is a standard GoGrid server images (e.g., Windows or Linux) that is created by GoGrid and currently available within the GoGrid system for deploying servers
  
• Image Sandbox is a development environment where you can create a “MyGSI.” Server Images created within the Sandbox are unique in that they have a predefined RAM allocation and hard drive sizes and are only used temporarily to create a Server Image. Images created within the Sandbox contain any and all custom code or applications that you choose to put on them.
  
• MyGSIs are based on either a Base GoGrid Server Image or other MyGSIs but where you have the ability to personally configure, customize and save it to your liking from the Image Sandbox environment. They are used to spawn or instantiate new custom servers within GoGrid, with all your customizations, code and applications present.
  

Think of MyGSIs as originals that can be used to make copies, much the way you would have a Golden Master CD and you would make copies or clones based off of that Golden Master.

Usage

From a high level, creating a Sandbox Image can be done in 3 easy steps:

1. Add an Image Sandbox;
2. Install, Configure & Prepare (bundling scripts) your Image Sandbox for imaging;
3. Save your Server Image from your Image Sandbox to your personal Images repository on Cloud Storage.

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Last week, we quietly released some new larger GoGrid Cloud server instances. Today we are making that announcement a bit louder. What does this mean to you? Well, your GoGrid cloudcenter just got a bit broader and more powerful. For a year now, we have been offering 0.5, 1 and 2 Gigabyte RAM options in both Windows and Linux, now we have 4 and 8 GB RAM instances available. These larger instances, available on all 64-bit operating systems, allow for new types of higher-end environments to be spun up using all of the characteristics of Cloud Computing.

The lower size RAM instances (0.5, 1 & 2 GB) are perfect for a web front-end, where either Apache or IIS are running. For extremely high-performance and high I/O instances, we have been offering Cloud Connect as a way to create a dedicated hybrid infrastructure where Cloud Web Servers running on GoGrid can be linked via private dedicated network connections to dedicated and managed servers within the ServePath network.

With the new 4 and 8 GB RAM options, you can now set up a infrastructure with a robust set of high-performance application servers within the Cloud. These types of high RAM instances are perfect for users who want to take advantage of the increased RAM, CPU cores and persistent storage, especially when used in conjunction with specific applications (e.g., Microsoft SQL server or other Enterprise applications) that require more larger amounts of resources like RAM or CPU.

The 4 GB RAM server images can be deployed via the GoGrid web portal and API. The 8 GB RAM server images currently may only be deployed via the GoGrid API. I recommend reading the API section of the GoGrid wiki in order to fully understand how to deploy 8 GB RAM instances.

The 4 and 8 GB RAM images, available for Red Hat Enterprise Linux 5.1, CentOS 5.1, and Windows Server 2003 and Windows Server 2008 64-bit operating systems bring a new level of performance to the GoGrid line. 4 GB Cloud Servers have 3 CPU Cores and 8 GB have 6 CPU Cores, ensuring dedicated CPU allocations and high performance.

All GoGrid Cloud Servers come with persistent storage. The new larger RAM allocations announced today, are delivered with increased persistent storage: 4 GB Cloud Servers have 240 GB of hard drive space and 8 GB have 480 GB of storage allocated at boot time. Additional storage can be added using GoGrid’s dynamically scalable Cloud Storage offering which includes a 10 GB free allotment to start with. Each 1 GB thereafter costs $0.15/GB/month.

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2008 was an action-packed year for us here at GoGrid and ServePath and we have many accomplishments to be proud of. I thought it would make sense to reflect back on what major things we did over the year as well as a few other notables that happened within the industry. The easiest way for me to do this is through a blog post Chronology (not every post is highlighted):

1st Quarter 2008

• 01.03.08 – GoGrid Blog was launched
• 01.29.08 – “Sneak Peak” at GoGrid
• 02.01.08 – Twitter and Joyent go different ways
• 02.05.08 – Understanding “Clouded” Computer Terms – a post that made a 1st attempt to explain Cloud, Utility, Grid and other Computing terms.
• 02.13.08 – Dilbert does a series on Virtualization (here, here and here)
• 02.15.08 – Amazon’s S3 has major outage (my comments)
• 02.21.08 – GoGrid launches a new public website in anticipation of the product launch
• 03.11.08 – GoGrid Public Beta LAUNCH! After over 2 years of development, GoGrid hits the streets with many Cloud Computing firsts:
  • 1st Cloud Infrastructure provider with a Web GUI
  • 1st to offer Windows Server 2003 in the Cloud
  • 1st to offer Microsoft SQL Server in the Cloud
  • 1st with free Inbound Transfer
  • 1st with free f5 Load Balancing
  • 1st with free 24×7 Support
  • 1st with Persistent Storage
  • 1st with free managed DNS
  • 1st with 100% Uptime SLA
  • 1st with public and private VLANs
• 03.17.08 – Drilling down on the details of new GoGrid accounts
• 03.18.08 – Even I wasn’t initially on board with the whole “Cloud Computing” term. My thoughts have changed obviously.
• 03.28.08 – The initial GoGrid FAQ’s start rolling out.

2nd Quarter 2008 (more…)

GoGrid recently released 4 new Windows Server 2008 images unique to Cloud Computing that brings a new level of features for PHP and ASP.NET developers. In the past, there was heavy segmentation between developers who used .NET for development and those who used PHP. Traditionally, .NET developers used the Windows platform while PHP developers remained fairly closely tied to Linux distributions. Windows Server 2008 marks a new generation of platform for both types of developers in that now with 1 server platform both PHP and ASP.NET applications can be run simultaneously on the same machine under the same OS. This means that companies and corporations can realize new cost savings and IT efficiencies by now allowing development on a single Windows Server 2008 platform.

GoGrid has released 4 new 32-bit Windows Server 2008 GoGrid Cloud Servers with the following configurations (with more on the way soon):

• Windows Server 2008 – IIS 7.0, Microsoft SQL Server 2005 Express, PHP5 (WISP stack)
• Windows Server 2008 – IIS 7.0, ASP.NET, Microsoft SQL Server 2005 Express, PHP5 (WISP+.NET stack)
• Windows Server 2008 – IIS 7.0, mySQL 5, PHP5 (WIMP stack)
• Windows Server 2008 – Apache, Microsoft SQL Server 2005 Express, PHP5 (WASP stack)

The two WISP stacks were fully vetted and optimized with the help of senior engineers within Microsoft, employing best practices for not only base-lining these WISP images, but also with IIS optimization and security.

As mentioned within the recent press release, “default PHP installations run extremely well on Windows Server 2008 without any need for additional fine-tuning and Windows is a solid infrastructure solution for PHP development and deployment. The combination of PHP, ASP.NET and the .NET framework is a robust offering for any type of developer utilizing Microsoft and Open Source technologies.”

GoGrid released these new images specifically for the Microsoft Professional Developer’s Conference 2008 (PDC) where GoGrid is exhibiting at booth #914. The PDC is Microsoft’s premier gathering of leading-edge developers and architects and is the event to learn about the future of the Microsoft platform, exchange ideas with fellow professionals and hear about upcoming Microsoft Server related products. Developers who utilize Microsoft technologies are encouraged to visit the GoGrid booth where they can receive a free trial of GoGrid Cloud Servers.

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Many of you have been waiting in anticipation for this moment…well now it is here! This week we have launched Windows Server 2008 in GoGrid. GoGrid continues to trail blaze the way in the Cloud Computing marketplace and leapfrog others in the space. Windows Server 2008 in the Cloud is something that others don’t provide to this extent, at least, not that I have found. We already have a huge unique list of Cloud Hosting features (e.g., free load balancing, free static IPs, public and private VLANs, free support – offering true “Control in the Cloud”) and the addition of Windows Server 2008 as an Operating System is just another check in the box.

Now, starting at just $0.19 per GB RAM hour and with NO up-front commitment nor capital expenditure, you can try and deploy Windows Server 2008 in the GoGrid Cloud. For just cents on the dollar, you can do a variety of things including:

• Deploy a full .NET environment
• Educate yourself on the latest and greatest technology from Microsoft
• Set up a development or QA environment using the Microsoft framework
• Just play around with Windows Server 2008

So, why is Windows Server 2008 such an important OS? Here are just a few highlights:

• IIS 7.0 – it comes with the latest and greatest version of Internet Information Services (IIS 7.0) which has improved administration via the IIS Manager graphical tool, modular design and installation, and full set of diagnostic and troubleshooting tools.
• New Server Manager -  this is a new single MMC console that allows admins to view and manage the tools that affect server productivity. Roles and Features can be easily added or removed via the Manager and include several streamlined wizards to help with some common server management tasks. There is also an easy way to remotely manage the server over firewall-friendly ports.
• Read Only Domain Controllers (RODC) – provides a replica of the database in Active Directory Domain Services (AD DS) and is designed to be installed in locations where physical security for the Domain Controller (DC) cannot be guaranteed. It also allows for local authentication for users in remote location and provide local and Active Directory Integrated DNS and Global Catalog (GC) services.
• Network Access Protection (NAP) – this new feature prevents non-compliant computers from accessing and compromising an organization’s network and allows for admins to create “health policies” for clients (e.g., firewall-enabled virus software).

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A few days ago, I had an interesting conversation with a very excited GoGrid user. So much so, that he was working on getting all of his production websites migrated over to GoGrid, but only after he fully installed cPanel. Using cPanel, he said, would enable him to seamlessly migrate all of his clients’ sites. He kept running into little tweaks that he needed to do here and there, but kept working on it, happy that he could so easily build up and rip down server instances with GoGrid. Eventually, he got it to work. His ultimate suggestion? Get an Operating System image with cPanel installed, or at a minimum, have a bare-bones install of CentOS so that cPanel could be installed easily.

As we continue to build out the GoGrid Operating System images (shortly to roll out some new ones), I thought that it would make sense to ask what Open Source software you might want to see in upcoming template releases.

My list of Open Source apps that I would want on Windows and/or Linux is growing and includes:

• WordPress
• Joomla!
• Bugzilla
• Trac
• Moodle
• Subversion (maybe with Trac)
• SugarCRM
• MediaWiki
• Webmin
• cPanel
• Alfresco
• Twiki
• Community Server

What about actual Operating Systems like Ubuntu or Debian?

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8.27.08 – Note: Facebook and MySpace-enabled servers are currently unavailable on GoGrid. However, we have added other server images since the writing of this article. The table below has been slightly modified to reflect some changes. For a comparison of GoGrid to Amazon’s EC2, please see this page.

With the Facebook QuickStart Servers available now on GoGrid, we have received questions as to how the GoGrid service compares with others in the cloud computing and Facebook space. While this is not the “end-all” comparison, it does provide a point of reference between GoGrid, Amazon EC2 and Joyent.

Chart updated on 8/27/08.

*Pricing based on GoGrid Advanced Cloud and Transfer 200 GB plans

With GoGrid there are other choices as well for RAM and Storage allotments (1GB RAM servers have 60 GB disks and 2 GB RAM servers have 125GB disks). Key differentiators are the FREE support and Load Balancing offered by GoGrid as well as support for both Windows and Linux servers (Red Hat Enterprise Linux 4 and CentOS 4.4.) More OS images are added on a regular basis so check back regularly.

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