Can you give us a bit of background on both of you and on PEER 1? Tim Varma: PEER 1 is an Internet infrastructure company. We have three primary product lines within PEER 1, which are co-location services, dedicated hosting under the ServerBeach brand, and managed hosting services. We have 15 data centers in 12 North American cities, and points-of-presence across North America and Europe. A key differentiator between us and our competitors is that very few of them can service all of the product lines I’ve mentioned. We feel that the strength of our network coupled with the services offered, we provide a competitive advantage unmatched in our industry.
Tim Nettleton: I have been with Interland, Web.com, VirtualScape, HostCentric, and now PEER 1, through mergers and acquisitions for the past nine and a half years. In most cases, it’s been as a Windows Engineer, although in a few positions I’ve had more of a security focused. At PEER 1, our goal is to move fast and to approach things with as much of a grassroots approach as possible.
Break down for us a bit the mix of platforms that you have in-house. Tim Varma: For the self-managed space under the ServerBeach brand, our numbers are approximately 40% Windows and 60% Linux, with a variety of different flavors of Linux that range from Fedora to CentOS, Red Hat, and Debian.
On the managed side, it’s about 55% Windows to 45% Linux, and nearly 100% of the Linux is Red Hat. However, from a co-location perspective, we do not track the numbers, since customers own their own equipment and install what they prefer. What elements of the Windows platform gave you an advantage over other pure Linux Web hosters? Tim Varma: Of course, it’s graphical, and that is one of the things that customers are attracted to. For people who need to manage their own servers, Windows can make it easier. They can work closely with support staff, as needed. But especially for Windows Server 2003 and beyond, it’s proven to be very stable.
For the most part Windows does exactly what it is supposed to do with very low failure rates. And that is really something that I see our customers wanting—something that is intuitive, visually appealing, and gets the job done without breaking. What perceptions do you think customers have about Windows? Tim Varma: Our Windows customers tend to be business-oriented people who have a technical team. I wouldn’t say that is true in every case, but it’s typically going to be a more business-savvy type of individual who chooses Microsoft. It’s usually a stability decision. Microsoft is established, and Windows Server 2003 is as stable as can be, assuming you are running applications that are supported or stable in the environment. Someone with a business focus may feel more confident in running Windows.
For the Linux side of the business, why not go with community CentOS instead of subscription based Red Hat? Tim Varma: On our dedicated side, we do offer CentOS and Fedora, and the customer has a choice. But on the managed side, we use Red Hat to provide us with better peace of mind. We know it’s not only going to be supported by the community, but that it’s also going to have a company behind it. Obviously, when you’re paying Red Hat, you are paying them not so much for the license, but for the support. We’ve had those cases where we update the kernel and all of the sudden we lose the Ethernet controller, which is a pretty important thing to have working, and we can call Red Hat and ask, “What happened?”
Tim Nettleton: From a business perspective, we want to offer our customers choices and to help support those choices in the best way possible. Our goal is to provide the best service and support possible, regardless of the operating system.
How do you feel about Microsoft’s patching methodology? Dan: I think the reality is that even though we provide a server to a customer on Day One that is secure, on Day Two it may not be hardened anymore because the customer makes changes. That said, our ability to patch systems regularly and to help customers stay up to date with the latest patches via Windows Update Services is a big positive. When Patch Tuesday occurs, we are testing against every one of our builds. When it passes, we push those out to our customers.
I also feel that Microsoft has reacted well to vulnerabilities that perhaps could affect our customers on a large scale. I say that in large part because we haven’t had a widespread vulnerability affect our customers. Has Microsoft helped you to grow your business as a partner? Tim Varma: Absolutely. Our account manager is just amazing. Anything we ask for, he responds to immediately, whether it is a licensing question, a support issue, a need for sales training, or some education in a given area. We know we are going to get what we need quickly and easily.
Microsoft also brings a lot of additional value in the free training that is available around Microsoft products. For example, the amount of data that is available via MSDN and through premier support from Microsoft is huge. There are so many options for information that we can take advantage of. On the marketing side, all the collateral is already there for us; we always know that there will be something there that will help us push products. From our perspective as an internet infrastructure provider and hoster, we want to use the best of breed available and resell it. So in our minds, we should be in a reciprocal relationship with the partners we choose to resell, and Microsoft does an amazing job at that. Microsoft sets the bar high with service and support and is a pleasure to deal with. In closing, how does your relationship with Microsoft compare with Red Hat at a partner level? Tim Varma: The two can’t really be compared in terms of the size and scope of resources. It is really apples and oranges. Microsoft as an organization tends to be more channel and partner focused. They are proactive and involved in supporting our growth, consistently asking about business and opportunities for development. That is one of the huge benefits of working with Microsoft. The tremendous resources that the company brings to the party are unmatched.
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