As you have noticed from the last few articles in the Blog section, the development of features and services offered at the customer account level is an important aspect for us, constantly trying to bring innovations that improve the user experience. In parallel, our developers have been setting up a new web hosting service: Virtual Private Servers (VPS) on KVM technology.
In the following we will go over the new Hostico services, and what changes will be implemented with their introduction.
Virtual Private Servers (VPS) on KVM technology
To date, all VPS servers in Hostico's portofolio have been configured on OpenVZ virtualization, a solution that has enabled efficient resource management but also overall server-level isolation. The replacement of OpenVZ technology is a preamble to the launch of IaaS and cloud services in the near future based on KVM.
KVM (an acronym for Kernel-Based Virtual Machine), is a Linux kernel-based virtualization technology with hypervisor functionality that provides the ability to create and manage virtual machines with different operating systems and is one of the technologies that most closely simulates a physical server.
Due to the reliability of the system, KVM stands out for:
- high data processing performance
- automatic scaling of resources to meet heavy loads
- increased security due to the direct implementation of KVM in the Linux kernel source code
- full hardware access
KVM VPS servers will be launched on new hardware featuring AMD processors, with storage on NVMe SSDs, greatly increasing both processing power and read/write speed.
The introduction of KVM servers will also bring a restructuring to VPS configurations, with the new packages having the following features:
*Prices in the table do not include 19% VAT
In addition to the space offered implicitly in the VPS configuration, there is the possibility of adding an extra cloud storage space, ranging in size from 100GB - 1TB.
The additional space will be attached to the ordered VPS, it being used as an independent disk.
The size of the space that can be purchased has the following values:
*Prices in the table do not include 19% VAT
Această metodă de stocare reprezintă unul dintre noile servicii de tip cloud care vor fi lansate în curând pe Hostico.
VPS packages that are already on OpenVZ virtualization will remain on the old configurations, but a free migration to the new servers can be requested.
Migration to the new configurations will be done either by recalculating the remaining amount paid in advance or by paying the difference in price between the two hosting services.
For any recommendations or requests to migrate to KVM VPSs, please contact Hostico support team, on one of the available ways.
More information on KVM VPS servers can be found in the articles: What is KVM and What is the difference between SSD and NVMe?
VPS control panel updates
Version 2.x.x of the Webuzo control panel (offered free as part of VPS services) will stop receiving updates from developers in the coming months. This will make it impossible for Hostico to ensure the security integrity of the VPS, which is why we have decided to remove the service from the current offer.
The free panel option will continue to be maintained with ISPconfig, which is a stable and secure solution, with the major advantage being the open source of the application, allowing customization as needed.
Support changes
The introduction of the new VPS KVM packages also bring changes to the assistance. The implementation of the changes comes as an alignment of Hostico services with the standard of the Web Hosting market both in Romania and abroad.
Technical support will continue to be free of charge for all virtual servers managed by Hostico, but customers who wish to perform tasks outside of standard support will now have the option of purchasing additional support hours.
Assistance hours purchased directly will be charged at a rate of 12.00$ and have an unlimited validity period.
Customers who already have VPS services on the current offer will be able to migrate to the new VPS KVM variants on demand.
Shopping cart restructuring
Following the internal review after the Hostico redesign on version 5.0, the shopping cart has been restructured to be more intuitive and easier to use.
From now on, depending on the services contracted, you will have the possibility to add additional options within the VPS services. The additional services currently offered are:
- Litespeed,
- Cloudlinux
- Iimmunify
- Backup
- Softaculous
- SpamExperts
- SSL Certificates
Based on the feedback received, we will consider implementing other services.
Shared services will also receive additional options, but will be fewer in number as most of the above are already included for free with the purchase of any shared package.
Secure phone calls
The telephone support has always been an opportunity to deal with problems directly, without necessarily having to be in front of a computer, but often the caller cannot be clearly identified in order to pass on private information, or to take actions that may have a direct effect on the account.
As a result, all telephone calls requesting information related to the account or services held will only be operated with a security PIN.
The code can be generated from the Hostico customer interface and is valid for 24 hours, after which a new one will be generated for security reasons.
In addition to increased security, the use of the PIN offers a major advantage for team workers, as third parties will be able to request telephone support even if they are not listed as account holders.
More information on PINs can be found in the FAQ: What is a PIN, and what is it used for?
eFactura
As of 1 July, invoices issued in electronic format to state institutions from Romania must be uploaded via the national system RO e-Invoice (GEO 120/2021 aligning with the requirements of European Directive 2014/55/EU/16).
Hostico has implemented the necessary technical measures so that all invoices issued to public institutions are automatically uploaded to the online platform.
ANPC Regulations
An ANPC order was adopted in July (2022) regulating two new obligations for online shops, namely:
- Publishing a link and icon to - https://anpc.ro/ce-este-sal/
- Publishing a link and icon to - https://ec.europa.eu/consumers/odr
The two regulations help consumers to settle any disputes they may have with a trader.
The Order came into force on 18 August and verification by the ANPC may begin after 4 September 2022, so we direct that all websites that may be subject to this law make the necesary changes.
The icons and the legal provision are published here
Terms and conditions update
For a better administration of legal changes within the Hostico website, a web address has been implemented to track all updates to the terms and conditions: TOS Updates
This page is accessible only through the direct link, or through the legal notices sent by email, not being currently inserted in the main menu of the website.
We recommend periodically checking the information published on the page in question, to be up to date with the latest changes.
