The Cirrus Cloud
When moving your business to the cloud, you have 2 options to choose from. Either a private cloud or a public one. With Cirrus, you have both cloud hosting options at your disposal, but we do definitely focus on private cloud set-ups.
Our Canadian based cloud infrastructure revolves around dedicated private cloud servers and for good reason. A private cloud setup offers your business so much more… more resources, more flexibility, more control, more freedom.
Let’s look a little more closely at how a private cloud set up works versus a public one…
The private cloud dedicated servers environment
With a public cloud, things are shared, much like shared hosting. Virtual Machines from multiple users are all hosted on one shared physical server. Logical volume is shared. So is the NIC card on the physical server.
A private cloud on the other hand keeps things, well, private. Physical boxes are dedicated to you and you alone – you’ve got your own NIC card because you’re the only one using the box. Only your VMs are hosted in your cloud environment. Dedicated logical volume is also just for you. You can create your own private backnet network setup to communicate between your VMs.
Not only is a private cloud server set-up the ideal option for your business, setting up your private cloud with Cirrus offers additional benefits that you just won’t find anywhere else. Click to learn more about the Cirrus private cloud difference.
Private cloud server specs
With your dedicated private cloud servers from Cirrus enjoy…
- Savings on Microsoft licenses
- High availability
- On demand scalability
- Hardware independence
- VM console access
- Template creation
- Dedicated SAN logical volume with dedicated storage cache
- High redundancy storage
- 24/7 technical support
- Custom SLA
In addition to the above private cloud features, your business also has the option to offload the management of its private cloud to Cirrus consultants. Our team of technical experts can step in and act as your outsourced IT support team. Let us help with disaster recovery, backups, security screening and other areas you need management help.
Getting set-up
To get yourself up and running on your own private cloud we will consult with you on your cloud setup options including either shared or dedicated storage and server options. In 24 hours your dedicated private cloud server environment will be ready and raring to go.
Contact us today to get started.
Why Private Cloud?
A private cloud environment can offer your business so much… complete control over your power, your resources, and more! Read on to learn more about what a private cloud set up from Cirrus can do for you…
Custom SLA
Unlike other cloud providers, private cloud servers from Cirrus come with a custom SLA that allows you to build your cloud on YOUR expected performance and uptime, not on guarantees that we dictate. You decide when it comes to your hypervisors, storage availability, storage IOPs, security measures… the performance of all your components is in your hands. You tell us what you need, and we will make it happen. Large cloud providers like Amazon and Microsoft simply cannot offer this kind of flexibility. Bigger is not necessarily better. With a Cirrus private cloud, the world truly does revolve around you.
The power of storage virtualization
As part of our private cloud infrastructure, we have at your disposal a centralized and redundant iSCSI storage solution to further power up your cloud servers. Choose between a shared storage set-up or a dedicated server storage option to give you the performance (IOPS) and SLA you need.
Enjoy full scalability and availability when you virtualize your storage. You can shrink or expand your cloud at the drop of a hat by adding or removing nodes from the cloud pool. Easily boost RAM and power. Our storage platform also allows you to move your Virtual Machines between cloud members as you see fit since the VMs are totally hardware independent and can simply be moved to another node. This is particularly handy if you’re experiencing any kind of any kind of hardware failure, or if you’ve got planned maintenance for any of your hardware components.
The best in security
One common misconception is that a private cloud lacks security. We’re very pleased to burst that bubble. Private cloud is just as secure as having your own dedicated server environment. Firewalls and private networks can be setup for better security and isolation. You can easily test your VMs for compliance to security protocols. You are free from hardware failure concerns since your private cloud doesn’t rely on specific hardware resources.
Private cloud servers from Cirrus also offer your business additional support when it comes to security. Let our consultants help with disaster recovery planning. Leverage our storage and backup solutions to ensure your data is safe and sound, no matter what unforeseen circumstances you may face. And when you build a private cloud with us, our team has your back with constant monitoring, best in class tech and the freedom to customize your security policies to meet your compliance needs. With a private cloud from Cirrus, put your security concerns to rest for good.
Budget friendly
If you’re sticking to dedicated servers because you think a private cloud will add too much to your IT costs, think again. While a private cloud will have a very small premium to dedicated servers, your business can benefit from cost savings in licensing fees. Because the applications (Mail, Web or SQL) run on the virtualized environment, in most cases the additional cost can be offset by savings on licensing costs. Most application vendors (i.e. Microsoft, Parallels) offer discounted pricing for licenses that are used in a virtualized environment.
All the support you need
If a lack of resources or technical knowledge is holding you back from setting up private cloud servers, Cirrus is here to make things a breeze. We can help you every step of the way, from getting things set up to creating a disaster recovery plan. Free up your resources and leave cloud management to us.
Add High Performance Storage Servers with High Availability Options:
Get enterprise level technology at a price any small business can afford. If you′re looking for a reliable, high performance storage server with high availability options, Cirrus has just the ticket thanks to our partnership with StarWind, a global leader in storage management. Their intuitive and powerful iSCSI SAN software helps to deliver a dedicated server platform for storage virtualization that allows you to consolidate all of your storage resources… efficiently and easily.
Speedy and Reliable Performance
With StarWind, performance is accelerated across the board – enjoy 100% reliability and 99.99% high availability. Thanks to its Active-Active-Active configuration, you get 50% higher performance compared to a 2-node cluster. Resources are dynamically allocated, so that you are always up and running with zero downtime. That′s what high availability is all about.
Disaster Recovery and Business Continuity
StarWind creates a tolerant, fail-safe virtual environment that keeps your business and your data fully secure and fully available. Your days of having a single point of failure or storage related down time are over. We′re talking automated failover and failback, continuous data protection (CDP), synchronous data replications, snapshots, and thin provisioning. Make StarWind a part of your disaster recovery plan and protect your business from equipment and site outages.
Save your Resources
High end technology without the high end price tag. Using StarWind′s high availability storage software allows your business to access enterprise level storage technology at a price you can afford. Consolidate your IT resources and reduce your storage costs. Bring a new level of efficiency to your storage infrastructure.
Flexibility and Ease of Use
StarWind fully supports a variety of virtualization platforms including Microsoft Hyper-V, VMware and Citrix XenServer, among others. Manage your settings through the intuitive management console. Easy to use, get installed and configured in just a couple of clicks. Keep it simple. Keep it with StarWind.
Choose the cloud platform
Choose any of the following cloud platform flavor that suites your requirement the best.
OnApp
OnApp is an industry leader in cloud management. Its highly functional platform is easy to use, easy to manage, and easy on your pocketbook. With OnApp, enjoy auto scaling and load balancing, high availability with automatic failover and flexible user management. The intuitive control panel is loaded with features to you can use to take control of your cloud management.
CloudStack
CloudStack software is a popular and flexible cloud management solution that works with a myriad of hypervisors. Massively scalable, use CloudStack to simplify and automate your processes, while eliminating single points of failure and down-time. Managing your cloud is easy thanks to the user-friendly control panel interface loaded with features.
http://cloudstack.org/software.html
Parallels Cloud Server
Dramatically improve cloud server availability and performance with elastic, scalable cloud storage. Parallels Cloud Server uses the existing unused disk space on your server nodes to deliver cloud storage at a fraction of the cost of competing solutions.
Citrix, VMWare, Microsoft Hyper-V Are Also Supported!
Choose your Data Center
With Cirrus′ managed dedicated hosting services, you have the choice between two top-notch data centers in and around Toronto and the GTA.
Cirrus @151 Front St. & 905 King St. West, Downtown Toronto
The data center at 151 Front Street is one of Canada′s leading telecommunications hubs. This mission critical facility located right in the heart of Toronto offers its tenants the best in safety, connectivity and reliability. Everything from the structural features, to the power, to the cooling systems has been built with security and redundancy in mind.
Cirrus @ DataCenters Canada, Toronto North,
Vaughan 
The Data Centers Canada facility offers top of the line technology and network infrastructure. Fully deployed on IPv4
and IPv6 protocols, enjoy 100% uptime and complete piece of mind. Operational in the GTA since 2003, this
North Toronto facility is home to a huge network of enterprises including Fortune 1000, Technology Service
Providers
Click to learn more about our Canadian Data Centers.
Support & Remote Hands
All Cirrus customers get access to a professional support team ready to help, whether you have a query related to your dedicated web server or need assistance with choosing the right cloud software. Our experienced support engineers are on hand 24/7/365. Whether by phone, by ticket, or by live chat, contact us anytime from anywhere.
Our oursourced colocation management is handled by Vere Consulting Inc. Take advantage of their enterprise level technology and team of expert technicians. Access a wide range of flexible solutions that can be custom tailored to meet your needs. With their team of professionals at your disposal, outsource your colocation services with confidence.
Hire Cirrus Consultants
Need an extra boost of tech expertise? Don′t have the resources in-house to manage your critical IT processes? Let the Cirrus team lend a hand with…
Disaster Recovery
When it comes to running your business, there are various threats and unforeseen events that can significantly impact your day to day operations and the integrity or availability of your critical data. This is what business continuity is all about and we′re here to support you in your disaster recovery preparations. We can help put together the plan, help you implement it and help with deploying the tech needed to make it happen. And disaster recovery is not about a set it and forget it mentality. We can also test the plan from time to time to ensure everything is running smoothly, validating components and maintaining its integrity. Whatever piece is missing to your disaster recovery puzzle, let us step in.
Backup
When it comes to your crucial data, ensuring its safety and security is a major concern and a major responsibility. Don′t want to deal with the headache of managing your own backups? Let us take a load off. We offer data backup, snapshotting, staging and backup replication. We can also help by syncing/replicating data to a secondary data center of choice (either yours or ours, whichever you prefer). When it comes to your data, the Cirrus team has your back.
Security
Security is an ongoing, resource intensive activity that requires a heavy dose of expertise to be truly effective. Lacking the know-how? Cirrus′ team of experts is at the ready to manage your business′ online security. We carefully monitor the health of servers, infrastructure and performance. We constantly research ways to improve our DDOS protection and intrusion detection mechanisms. We customize security policies based on your specific preferences. Take advantage of the world class security IPS, DDOS Protection, firewall and monitoring tools we have at our disposal.
A Company you Can Trust
Our Canadian web hosting business opened its doors back in 1999 and we′re still going strong. With clients in Canada and around the world, we have hosted and supported hundreds of thousands of websites and applications. Not to mention our A+ rating from the Better Business Bureau (BBB). We′re not just some fly by night web host – we′re here for you and your online presence, for the long haul.
Flexibility and Choice
At Cirrus, we′re big on dedicated servers and one of our main focuses is keeping our services as up to date and flexible as possible. With a range of plans, software systems, and add-ons at your disposal, you′re sure to find just the right dedicated hosting solution for your needs and your budget.
Reliable and Redundant Hardware
Our network core has one of the most rigorously redundant designs allowing us to offer our clients an enterprise class environment to host mission critical cloud infrastructures.
Shop Smart
Did you know that at Cirrus we have a lowest price guarantee? If you find a similar offer somewhere else, we will be happy to beat it, or at the very least match it. Period.
Complete Support
All Cirrus customers get access to a seasoned support team. Our support engineers are at the ready to offer their expertise and guidance 24 / 7 / 365. No matter how big or how small your question is, we′re here to help.
Keep on Growing
As your business grows, so do your hosting needs. If at any time you outgrow your dedicated servers plan, you always have easy options at your disposal to upgrade to a better solution for you. Take advantage of our free consultation and migration services, and expand your set up seamlessly.
A Green Company
At Cirrus, our environmental footprint is important to us. We′ve taken steps to green up our business as much as possible. Our servers are super high efficiency. Green cooling systems are at work in our data centers. Our office is completely paperless. And did you know that virtualization is by its very nature green since it uses hardware resources in a more efficient manner?
Truly Canadian Hosting
At Cirrus, we′re Canadian through and through. All of our datacenters are physically located in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. You get Canadian IPs. We′re a Canadian run business. A truly Canadian web hosting experience.
