State-Of-The-Art Robust Infrastructure

Our Facility

OUR SUPERIOR NETWORK FACILITY Sets us apart from other web hosts Final Host delivers your Web Site with superior hardware which provides the best server performance available. Our network utilizes state-of-the-art, high-speed, non-congested, redundant OC-3 fiber-optic cable and Cisco Routers, including Multi-Homing provided through Data Base File Tech Group, our Network Connectivity Provider.

Roof Top Helicopter Pad

The scalability of our infrastructure & hosting technology are a proven & decisive competitive advantage. Our architecture can be scaled based on client needs.

Network Facility Structure

 

The building was designed to be functional after 9.5 earthquakes, 1.5 times the normal specifications for such a facility. (NOTE: the largest earthquake recorded was 9.3 on the Richter scale, during the early 1900's in Alaska.) 

Engineers from Japan and California were consulted to ensure the buildings stability. 

• The building's foundation is located on solid igneous rock, penetrating 22 km deep into the earth's crust.
• It is located 35 meters above sea level, safe from tsunamis, and water tables. In addition, water sensors strategically located within the premises that alert the off-site monitoring station of any water presence in the facility.
• The facility is a steel I-beam structure and has been built to withstand 135 km/h wind. The roof was built with channels to eliminate the possibility of it being lifted by strong winds. (Note: the highest recorded wind in BC is 122 km/h; highest recorded wind offshore was 132 km/h at Race Rocks.)
• The facility does not use natural gas (disaster prevention) and there are no gas lines within 150 meters of the building.

High Speed Access - 3 Major Carriers

 

Fast reliable client access is provided by three major suppliers of bandwidth. The Telus Corporation along with Big Pipe Inc. and Group Telecom terminate OC3 connections on site, allowing multiple high speed redundancy. Final Host does not provide dial up service for internet access, our service provides our clients with non-congested connectivity & peak performance! Final Host provides hosting, ecommerce, design and all things related to web hosting.

All Final Host Servers and equipment are now converted to and using our new Fault Tolerant Network Architecture.

This new network architecture includes:

• Two diverse Internet feeds to the Milwest Centre; one via fiber optics and the other is wireless.
• Matching pair of Cisco routers installed with the latest advanced security software and interconnected via HSRP (hot standby router protocol) to provide  fault tolerance and load balancing. This advanced security option is configured to protect against denial of service attacks and unwanted perimeter scans.
• Fully redundant set of switches within the facility has been cross connected to both routers for high network availability.

Electrical Power

 

 The facility is equipped with a building-wide uninterrupted power supply (UPS) backed up by a power generator. If the power fails, the UPS batteries (50 KVA) continue to provide power to all essential circuits located throughout the facility. The UPS batteries will last for 30 minutes; however, within 8 seconds of any power failure, the power generators take over the delivery of conditioned power throughout the building. 

There are four backup power generators (rated at 300 KVA, 275 KVA, 100 KVA, 50 KVA, respectively) located throughout the facility. The power generators are tested monthly under full load to ensure their readiness. All backup systems are set to run at 75% maximum capacity. There are enough generator supplies and diesel fuel on hand to make the building self sufficient for 7 days. Refueling can be accomplished by helicopter if roads are inaccessible.

Fire Suppression

 

The facility has one of the most sophisticated fire suppression and alarm systems in the world, composed of sensors and pre-action zoned sprinklers. There are hundreds of sensors in place to detect fire, heat, smoke, and ion particles. These sensors are integrated into the facilities' security system and are monitored by Chubb Security on a 24 x 7 basis. 

The fire suppression system is dry charged; under normal operations, the fire suppression water pipes are vacuumed. Water discharges very quickly from the water main, only on demand. This is how it works:

• The sensor detects fire
• The sensor is checked
• A comparison query is made to secondary sensors
• When confirmed, only the required sprinkler heads activate

Because the pipes are dry during normal operations, there is no danger of damage through leakage or pipes bursting. 

The system is checked and tested once a year by an independent company. The facility is also inspected annually by the Fire Inspector. 

Smoking is strictly prohibited inside the facility. 

Walls throughout the facility are unfinished to reduce the combustible fuel load to less than 1.5 lbs per square foot of floor space. (Note: the average combustible fuel load in commercial buildings is usually 10 times this amount.) 

In addition to water suppression, the facility utilizes an advanced compound called 3M T NovecT 1230 Fire Protection Fluid to safeguard important documents and equipment. 

The electronic data centers have CO2 fire suppression.

Security

 

Access to the facility is restricted, and entry is by appointment only. All visitors must have a reason to be on the premises; they must sign in on arrival and sign out as they leave. They are escorted at all times while in the facility. There are no exceptions to this rule.

All outside doors are locked at all times. Entry to the facilities is monitored by two security firms and all outside doors are electronically monitored. Access through doors is controlled either by palm scan or electronic key cards. The entire building is fully monitored, inside and out, for intrusion, with motion and vibration sensors. Digital surveillance cameras are also located throughout the building. 

We have a complete Chubb monitored security system with separate zones. Elements of the system include: 

• Biometric Hand Readers
• Proximity Card Access
• Motion Sensors
• Glass Break Sensors
• Vibration Sensors
• Door Contacts
• Digital Video Surveillance
• 24 Hour off-site monitoring
• All staff is screened for security and checked by the local police and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (Federal).

Post Disaster Facility

 

The Milwest Centre, because of this location, building structure, and utilities, is designated as a post disaster centre for the Victoria region by the Federal Office of Critical Infrastructure Protection and Emergency Preparedness (OCIPEP). 

A helicopter pad is located on the roof of the building. It is rated for 11 tonnes and is inspected, annually, by Transport Canada. 

Redundant, high speed telecommunications are provided to the building. These include fiber optic cables supplied by Telus, Big Pipe Inc. and Group Telecom. Fiber optic services to the BC Government's network are also available. In addition, there are 1200 telephone lines fed to the building; accordingly T1 telecommunication lines can be easily deployed. Communications may be expanded through the OCIPEP (located in the Milwest Centre) to include VHF, UHF, HAM radio, and satellite communications. 

In the event of a disaster and as the need arises, equipment can be seized for such requirements as snow clearing if the access to and use of the building is threatened. 

The building has been supplied and equipped to be self-sufficient for seven days. This includes drinking water, food rations, portable cots, medical supplies and chemical toilets.

Server Load Balance

 

Final Host provides clients with cutting-edge hardware, software and technology. All of our servers are owned and operated by Final Host. Most of our servers are Dell servers, others are custom-built with the most reliable equipment on the market today. All our servers speed and response times maintain the highest levels of performance. Best of all, there are less than 150 domains hosted on each of our servers, unlike most of our competitors who, host anywhere from 500 to 1000 domains per server. With such a small number of domains on each server there is a lower server load, the disk access time is measurably faster and the network speed is increased and uncongested. We keep our servers at less than 50% capacity balancing server resources and delivering our clients websites with the best, quickest service around.

Our Servers (owned & operated by Final Host)

 

Our high performance servers are designed for a 24/7 web serving environment. All of our servers are fast and equipped with SCSI dual mirrored hard drives, dual PIII 733/866 processors, with 512 MB to 1 gig of RAM.

Final Host also offers Dell servers one of the highest level, performance servers for a swift, solid web hosting experience. Our Dell servers are equipped with, SCSI dual mirrored hard drives, dual processors, Xeon based technology with 2 Gig of RAM.

Mirror Backup, Monitoring, Security - 24X7 Regular upgrades and maintenance  OC-3 Connection Multi-homed Redundancy Custom Built Superior Servers Dual PIII 733 and Dual PIII 866 CPU Minimum 1 Gig RAM SCSI Drives 100 MB Ethernet Dell Servers SCSI dual mirrored hard drives Dual Xeon Processors 2 Gigs Of ram UPS Backups Power generator 100-150 clients per server

WinNT 4.0 / Windows 2000/2003 RAID Microsoft IIS 4.0 and 5.0 Perl Version 5.6.0 Http FTP MS FrontPage 98-2002 MS Access ODBC SMPT POP3 SSL Statistics Server 5.0 Real Audio/Video G2

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