Z Plus Notification - Being sent out to clients tomorrow.
ZizzyDizzyMC
Hosting Provider
Hello,
I want to thank you for using Z Plus's storage VPS services. As outlined previously that there would eventually be a migration to better hardware for clients.
Our current hardware is a disk shelf unit attached to a base node consisting of E5-2690v4's. These are still nice workhorse servers, but the disk shelf being direct attached is actually a limiting factor in Z Plus's goal of delivering affordable backup storage.
Throughout the next two weeks we'll be migrating from this infrastructure to using a dedicated disk shelf + storage host (Truenas Scale). This will lower overall storage speeds between the host node and the storage node however this allows us to do two things in the future.
- We will be able to better utilize the current VM host hardware, with less ram being taken up by large ZFS arrays. This is now offloaded to the dedicated storage cluster.
- We will be able to offer higher end VM offerings with attachable storage at a later date.
- This also allows us to lower our TCO by shrinking our actual hardware usage on a longer timescale.
During these two works the migration will take place in two parts, neither of which should cause downtime more than a few seconds.
- Disks will be loaded into the truenas scale infrastructure system.
- Current host node will import the truenas scale infra to use it as networked storage.
- Current host node will export disks from local storage over direct attached storage to the networked storage.
- Current host will remove the old disk array when everyone has been migrated.
- Old disk shelf will be powered off and sit for a couple weeks just in case of something going wrong we'll have an old backup of client disks in place for a fast emergency restore.
As Z Plus strives to improve and provide better services as time goes on, I greatly apologize if I ziz your VM for a bit.
Regards,
Zizzy
Comments
TIL ziz is an actual word.
It's also used properly here.
No hostname left!
The ziz here is from English or Navajo ?
https://en.m.wiktionary.org/wiki/ziz
I hope everyone gets the servers they want!
@ZizzyDizzyMC stop stealing my stuff man!!!
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Well cutover complete, does not appear that anything went wrong during said transfer. Dropped rack power from 2.8kw to 2.4kw with turning off the other disk shelf.
With some power moves later I'll be able to get closer to powering off another disk shelf which will decrease running costs, and get ZPlus closer to (actually) being profitable.
Will probably keep this setup as is and go for as long as we can on this configuration while offering better hosts on the side. Moving between hosts is a far more involved task for later.
I thought I remembered your original post talking about being profitable already. If you don't mind, how close are you? Just need to fill out your array or ...?
I'm a ways away from being truly completely self sustainable on everything in that rack. But if I'm counting only power and networking for just the paid section of the rack, about ~30 clients away - of course it depends on the plans sold. I've got a drop coming to LES exclusives tonight now that I've made the move.
The good news is that since I run a lot of other things keeping the lights and networking on in that rack is a very high priority in my life, and if everything went sideways I'd still make sure data got to where it needed to go. No worries about rented equipment.