Innovative Cloud Solutions with Serverspace

Serverspace is an online Сloud IT infrastructure rental service allowing you to configure and deploy virtual servers, configure network circuits, order SSL certificates, administer domain zones and monitoring.  Svetlana Sharapove, CMO of Serverspace shares their beginnings, how the company has evolved and the future of the industry.

Please share the story behind Serverspace: Where did it start and how has it evolved so far?

The project entered the cloud technologies market in 2008. The Serverspace branding is a result of the rebranding in the ITGLOBAL.COM group of companies that took place in 2019. In 2020, Serverspace became the first cloud service provider to integrate the vStack hyperconverged visualization platform.

Initially, Serverspace allowed clients to deploy VMware-based infrastructure through the control panel. But over time, we optimized the interface and added new services: in addition to VMware cloud, it became possible to order servers based on vStack, create isolated networks, delegate the domain to our DNS hosting, deploy Kubernetes clusters, manage the infrastructure using API, CLI and Terraform.

As a result, today we are an IaaS provider with customers all over the world. Also, we are number 1 in VM performance in the market (according to GeekBench testing) due to the implementation of the hyper-converged platform – vStack.

Can you give us an overview of the products and services you offer?

The main Serverspace product is cloud servers that one can deploy on the vStack or VMware basis. The provider ensures uninterrupted performance and infrastructure accessibility 99,9% in the SLA.

VMware is a platform of cloud infrastructure visualization based on the VMware ESXi software.

vStack is an innovative hyper-converged platform on the basis of a light-weighted bHyve hypervisor and FreeBSD OS. Due to the technologies with open source code, vStack based servers deploy faster () and cost less.

API and CLI opened tools are available for integrating client services. Among other services, there are data storage, DNS, Private Network, and Direct Connect.

We provide the opportunity to create a Virtual Private Cloud. This is a secure cloud in an isolated segment of the public network. It allows you to maintain the appropriate level of security. 

Our users can also deploy clusters using Managed Kubernetes. The service provides deployment, scaling, and increase of application stability. It ensures continuous project run due to distribution between several nodes. Projects keep running even if some system components are unavailable.

What sets Serverspace aside from the rest?

Serverspace is the first cloud provided in the world to offer visual servers based on the vStack hyper-converged platform. The platform is based on the unique combination of software – bHyve hypervisor and FreeBSD OS.

Serverspace users can customize server configurations using the calculator in the control panel or select one of preconfigures tariffs. Serverspace is one of few cloud service providers that have servers on Windows OC. And last but not least, the service price is one of the lowest on the market and it includes the original Windows Server license.

Serverspace charges every 10 minutes, and therefore users pay only for the virtual machines they use. For example, if you deploy a server for 30 minutes and then delete it, you will pay only for the 30 minutes this server existed.

The provider offers the latest Intel Xeon Gold Scalable CPUs of the second generation with a 3.1 GHz frequency. This ensures the best performance rate of virtual machines.

What advice would you give to customers to look for when choosing a cloud server?

Before choosing a cloud server, you need to determine the business objectives and understand whether you need it. First of all, cloud infrastructure is suitable for those who value scalability and the ability to reduce infrastructure costs. For example, online stores where there is seasonality or periods of sales when there is a peak jump in traffic.  For this period, the cloud user increases the power of the equipment, and when the peak passes, it returns to the basic configurations. The cloud is also suitable for those who need to maintain corporate infrastructure: remote office, CRM systems, information portals. Servers are deployed for testing mobile applications, logistics automation, and much more.

The choice of the tariff and server configuration also depends on the user’s tasks. If it is necessary to host any software, the server must meet the minimum requirements specified by the software developer. To host a website you should check with its developer the basic hardware requirements that are necessary for its correct operation. Then estimate the amount of content that will be stored in the cloud and make a decision based on this data. If none of the above could be found out, it is recommended to start by testing the minimum configurations and increasing them as needed.

Even those users who had no experience working with clouds turn to Serverspace. For example, startup owners. They also start with minimal configurations and increase capacity when the project enters the growth stage.

Which trends and technologies do you expect to see more of in the coming years?

The coronavirus pandemic has speeded up the process of moving to the cloud, and this trend is up and running. Companies seek new means of hosting workspaces outside the offices. The solution is clouds. This technology is spreading and winning credibility. 

New services that save developers time by automating certain processes will definitely appear. Now, for instance, providers implement the Managed Kubernetes service that cuts labor costs on infrastructure deployment before starting to work. Shortly this service will be available for Serverspace clients, too.

Any exciting new updates or developments you would like to share?

We have just launched a new service Managed Kubernetes. Now users can deploy clusters and solve any tasks from testing to software development. And Serverspace will take care of hardware and software support. Kubernetes provides the service of the project without interruptions due to distribution between several nodes. And even if certain components of the system are unavailable, the projects will continue to work.

The update of system components was automated in Serverspace. Now customers do not have to worry about hardware support but focus on their project. To provide correct and uninterrupted operation of systems under high load, users can deploy a High Availability cluster with three master nodes. Additionally, using the ingress controller, you can configure load balancing and traffic routing. Users can create a cluster and a node group using the convenient interface of the Serverspace control panel, and start working with nodes through the kubectl command tool.