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Frequently Asked Questions
Answers to almost any question you can think of, but please call us if we've missed something you'd like to know (1-877-934-0407; INTL +1.210.581.0409).Choose a topic from the list below:
About The Rackspace Cloud
I've heard about Rackspace being involved with The Rackspace Cloud. What's the relationship between the two companies?
The Rackspace Cloud is the cloud hosting division of Rackspace, an industry leader that currently manages over 40,000 servers and devices for customers all over the world.Cloud hosting is the next iteration of hosting. So, having the leader of managed hosting behind you is not such a bad thing. No doubt we benefit from tons of experience and knowledge, a great network, world-class data centers and the scale and backing of a company like Rackspace.
What does it mean to be a "division" of Rackspace?
Truth is we are wholly owned by Rackspace. However, we are structured as a separate team, totally focused on the technologies of the cloud. Rackspace has seeded the division with some of their top technical talent. Success in the cloud is a major priority of the Rackspace mission so we get a lot of attention and help when we need it.Cloud Servers
What is Cloud Servers?
Imagine being able to provision a server in minutes or upgrade a server automatically. This is the idea behind Cloud Servers™. Totally customizable, each Cloud Server gives you full root access to more than a dozen Linux distributions or many Windows images of choice. Your price depends on how large a server you buy and how much bandwidth you use.
Based on Xen virtualization technology for Linux and XenServer for Windows, Cloud Servers brings the power of the cloud through Rackspace's Infrastructure as a Service offering. Your Cloud Server provides total flexibility for you to run anything you want—from a Java website, to a Ruby on Rails application, to a .NET application.
Why do you bill hourly?
Our utility-based model caters to both 24x7 server customers and also to developers who may only need a server for a couple of days. For those who need the server for a couple of days only, they pay for the time the server is deployed, based on number of hours. With Cloud Servers, you pay only for what you use.
If you bill hourly then why do you show a monthly charge? Do you charge both hourly and by the month?
We show an estimated monthly charge so it's easier for you to compare the hourly costs to a monthly equivalent and to help with your budgeting process. We bill on an hourly basis once a month on the anniversary of your signup date.
If I am not using my server or do not have traffic to it, do I still have to pay for it?
Yes. Currently the server would either be running or you would have to delete it altogether. There is no "suspension" mode where you are not charged while not receiving traffic to the server.
If you want to stop paying for the server, another option is to take a snapshot of the Cloud Server, store the snapshot in Cloud Files, and then delete the Cloud Server. If you want to use the server again, you would restore the Cloud Server by creating a new cloud server from the stored Cloud Files snapshot.
If I create a Cloud Server in one account, can I transfer it to another?
We do not currently have the ability to transfer servers between accounts and encourage you to plan accordingly.
What is the difference between Cloud Servers and dedicated servers?
With Cloud Servers, you can deploy a server in a few minutes, versus waiting for a physical server deployment. You can also resize the plan and bring up multiple Cloud Servers quickly and easily for much less money. Dedicated servers usually involve contracts and setup fees while they take time to alter the RAM, etc.
Is bandwidth free between Cloud Servers?
Yes, you will get a private IP for each Cloud Server, and bandwidth between them is free. If, however, you use a public IP, there is a cost for outgoing bandwidth.
How do I scale with Cloud Servers?
You have several options: 1) Scale In or Out: Scale out by taking an image of your Cloud Server and then adding new Cloud Servers based on that image. Scale In by deleting Cloud Servers to remove computing capacity. Scaling in or out is frequently used for web servers. 2) Scale Up or Down: You can increase the size of your server image (e.g. CPU, disk, memory) or you can resize down. Scaling up or down is frequently used for database servers. Note: Windows Cloud Servers can not be resized down.
How much CPU do I get?
For Windows images, each Cloud Server is assigned a number of virtual cores based on the size of the Cloud Server. A 1GB Cloud Server receives 1 virtual core, 2GB and 4GB Cloud Servers receive 2 virtual cores, 8GB and 15.5GB Cloud Servers receive 4 virtual cores, and 30GB Cloud Servers receive 8 virtual cores . Each of these cores is given equal weight when allocating CPU cycles.
For Linux distributions, each Cloud Server is assigned four virtual cores (for servers up to 15GB) or eight virtual cores for the 30GB server size. The amount of CPU cycles allocated to these cores is weighted based on the size of the Cloud Server.
All Cloud Servers receive a guaranteed minimum amount of CPU cycles with the ability to burst when excess cycles are available.
Does Rackspace back up my Cloud Server?
No, your Cloud Server does not get backed up until you configure and schedule backups. To learn how, please visit the knowledge center article here.
Can I purchase a Cloud Server in which I am the sole customer on the host server?
Our 30GB Cloud Server is our largest cloud server (e.g. CPU, memory and disk space). At present, a 30GB Cloud Server consumes an entire host machine and will be the only instance on the host. Please note that this is subject to change in the future as host hardware is upgraded
What Cloud Server would you recommend for database nodes or CPU, disk, & memory intensive applications?
We would recommend our 30GB Cloud Server for maximum CPU, disk, and memory.
Can I upgrade my storage without upgrading the entire plan?
Currently, Cloud Servers are tied to a specific CPU, memory, and storage. At this time, you would have to upgrade these together.
Can I purchase additional IP addresses?
Additional public IP addresses can be purchased for $2/month. Please click here for details.
Is Microsoft SQL Server 2008 R2 available on Cloud Servers?
Yes, we currently have several images that include SQL Server 2008 R2, Standard and Web Editions - see link. If you are interested in our Cloud Servers with a managed service level, be sure to check out the Windows Server 2008 R2 with SQL Server 2008 R2 Standard and Web edition images. If you add SQL 2008 R2 to our Microsoft Visual Studio 2010 plug-in, the Rackspace Cloud is ready for application development based on the .NET platform. To find out which SQL edition is right for you, click here.
Can Cloud Files be mounted as storage?
Cloud Files™ is not block level storage, so it cannot be mounted. Customers do, however, use Cloud Files to offload static files, such as media files, for example.
Can I import my own image or export an image of a server?
At this time, you would have to pick from our Linux distributions or Windows images. You can save an image and use it within the cloud; however, you would not be able to export it.
Do you have Cloud Servers, Cloud Servers with SQL 2008, and Cloud Files in the UK?
Yes, you can purchase UK Cloud Servers, UK Cloud Servers with SQL 2008, and UK Cloud Files here. For additional information, check out the following link.
What hypervisor does Rackspace Cloud Servers use?
We use Xen and XenServer hypervisors for Linux Cloud Servers and XenServer for Windows Cloud Servers.
What is RackConnect™?
You don't have to choose between dedicated hardware and cloud-based servers at Rackspace. RackConnect™ lets you run both on the same network. So, if you need Dedicated Servers for performance or compliance requirements and the flexibility to quickly scale with Cloud Servers, Rackspace makes it all work together seamlessly with our RackConnect™ product. View sample configurations and product details here.
Will Rackspace continue to support existing Cloud Servers using Windows Server 2003?
Rackspace will continue to support existing cloud servers that use Windows 2003 as their operating system until 2012.
Why do you no longer offer a Windows 2003 base image?
Microsoft has discontinued sales and mainstream support for Windows 2003. In addition, Windows 2003 has limited implementation of IPv6, which does not offer the level of functionality Rackspace requires for IPv6.
My application will not run on later versions of Windows, how can I keep using my application while I make the changes necessary to move it to a later version of Windows?
You will have the ability to add new Windows Server 2003 images by copying or cloning your current image and performing restores from backups. To read more about copying or cloning an existing image, please visit our Knowledge Center. To learn how to perform a restore from a backup, please visit this article.
Cloud Sites
What does The Rackspace Cloud use for a storage system? Have you done anything there to make it redundant?
Nothing as important as your website should be served from a single hard drive, but you'd be surprised by how many web hosts have little more redundancy than a pair of crossed fingers. We're different and for good reason. The advanced architecture powering our hosting solution uses groups of high-performance, network attached storage devices to reliably serve every web page, and image. Inside each storage device, drives are mirrored to each other in a RAID configuration to create a first level of redundancy. And, as a final precautionary measure, all data on the system is automatically backed up on a repeating schedule.
How often does The Rackspace Cloud backup information?
The entire Cloud Sites FTP structure is backed up every four hours, which totals six daily backups. Those backups are rolled into a nightly backup, which are retained for two days. However, these backups are for disaster recovery on the server side. If for any reason a storage node on our side were to crash, our backups will be there to replace any lost data.
That said, we recommend that you make periodic backups of your site and data to your local computer since we are unable to extract an individual site's data from the nightly backups. If you need a backup of your MySQL or MS SQL databases, they can be exported through our online utilities (MySQL or MS SQL) or by connecting directly to the servers using desktop software.
What version of Linux does Cloud Sites™ run? What about for Windows?
The Linux side of our platform is built on Debian 4.0 (Etch) and Red Hat Enterprise Server. On the other side of the fence, the Windows platform runs on Windows 2008 and IIS 7. You can find a list of Linux and Windows technologies at the following link.
I've had shell access in the past. Why isn't it offered on Cloud Sites?
Shell access (also commonly known as SSH access) is not offered on Cloud Sites, primarily for security reasons. Keep in mind, however, that many functions typically accessed via shell are available on The Rackspace Cloud, including cron jobs, file permissions, and unzip. You can also do many SSH type functions by mounting your FTP location locally using SSHFS. More information can be found here.
Finally, if full shell access is required, check out our Cloud Servers™ offering.
Cloud Sites™ Pricing and Scaling
What are compute cycles?
Compute cycles measure how much processing time your applications require on The Rackspace Cloud. Using 10,000 compute cycles in a month is roughly equivalent to running a server with a 2.8 GHz modern processor for the same period of time.
How many compute cycles will my applications use?
Since web applications vary so greatly, it's hard to make a perfect guess. There are, however, some guidelines that can help. For example, 10,000 compute cycles would power approximately:
- 2.1 million page views using a database-driven content management system
- 11 million page views of rackspacecloud.com
- 25 million requests for a static 15KB image
How do I track my compute cycle usage?
The compute cycles you use are presented in your control panel in near real time.
What goes in to calculating a compute cycle?
Mostly, CPU processing time. However, compute cycles also account for the disk I/O your application's operations consume. For example, a page with heavy database queries will consume more compute cycles in part due to the larger volume of disk I/O it requires.
Will my web application scale?
There are many factors that impact how easily a web application can scale, including the application's code and its
architecture. Rackers are ready to review your web application/solution and provide guidance on how to optimize it for
Cloud Sites™. If an application is not properly built for scale, Cloud Sites will not be able to compensate for it.
Also, if you are expecting a massive surge in traffic (perhaps your site was featured on Oprah) please contact us in
advance and we will help you prepare for it. Please contact us via chat, phone, or ticket to find out more.
Is .NET 4.0 supported on Cloud Sites™?
.NET 4.0 is currently available on our Cloud Sites environment. If you would like to have .NET 4.0 enabled on your site, please contact Support via ticket, chat, or phone.
Do you have a smaller Cloud Sites package?
At this time we do not offer any smaller packages. If you would like, please submit and vote on your feature request here.
Cloud Sites™ Payment Handling
How do you handle payment for Cloud Sites™?
Cloud Sites is a multi-tenant hosted environment. The Payment Card Industry prohibits handling or maintaining credit card information in multi-tenant environments. Thus, all credit card processing must be handled completely by a third party payment gateway. For additional information Click Here.
Control Panel
I don't recognize the control panel the Rackspace Cloud uses. Who makes it?
The Rackspace Cloud and client control panels were both developed by the Rackspace Cloud team to take advantage of all the performance features of Cloud Sites. This allows us a great deal of flexibility to make improvements in all pieces of the interface.I'm familiar with other control panels like Plesk, Ensim and Cpanel. Can I use one of those control panels with the Rackspace Cloud?
The short answer is “No.” Switching control panel software can be a hassle. They all seem to do virtually the same thing, but in just different enough ways to leave you dazed and confused. The Rackspace Cloud's management software is different because it focuses on tasks like creating websites, databases and email accounts rather than server administration. If you want to use one of those control panels, check out our Cloud Servers™ offering which allows you to install any software you choose.Will my clients have access to the same control panel that I do?
Although your control panel shares the same look and feel as your client's panel, there are several differences built around the additional features and functionality of your account. Your view is focused around managing your clients (for example, their account and billing information), while the client's view is focused on adding email addresses, databases, and domain name pointers. The client interface is built to empower clients to add and change functionality as it pertains to their website.Can I buy just the control panel software and load it on my own dedicated server?
No. The beauty of our proprietary control panel software is that it's built in-house and designed specifically for managing applications deployed across The Rackspace Cloud's data centers and clustered servers.DNS and IPs
How does The Hosting Cloud handle IP addresses? Do I have to request multiple IPs?
The Rackspace Cloud's all about making your life easier. One way we do that is handling all of the IP address hassles behind the scenes. Cloud Sites™ actually hosts your website on multiple IP addresses on multiple servers - so you don't have one unique IP address tied to your website. This logic is built right into our load balancing layer and ensures that if a server with a particular IP address fails, any one of the other servers is able to serve your website content.Do you provide the IP addresses or do I have to provide them?
The Rackspace Cloud's got you covered! You bring the sites and we'll handle the IP space.I'm used to running my own DNS. Can I do it on Cloud Sites?
That's another great thing about Cloud Sites... You have the flexibility to do most things you would do on a dedicated server. If you'd like to run your own DNS, go right ahead. But know that it is recommended to use the built-in DNS on your the Rackspace Cloud account. If you decide to go it alone you'll be missing out on the unlimited access to Cloud Sites' clustered, geographically redundant domain name system, which is all included in your account. Plus, DNS is easy to configure on The Rackspace Cloud using our intuitive web interface.What name servers do you offer? Can I select “private” name servers?
Our name servers are ns.rackspace.com and ns2.rackspace.com. They are intentionally "white label" so your clients don't have to know that you're outsourcing their hosting, unless you want them to. We also offer private label name servers.Software Applications and other Features
Are there any applications installed by default onto my account?
Nope. We prefer to think of your account as a blank canvas for you and your customers to install the scripts and programs you need. We do have some cool new features in the works — which can't be made public just yet — that will make setting up some of the more popular web applications quick and easy.Can most programs be loaded onto Cloud Sites?
Cloud Sites™ is a great platform for blogs running Wordpress, Drupal, Joomla, DotNetNuke, etc. Sites running OSCommerce, ZenCart, ASP.NET Store Front, brochure, static HTML sites, marketing, and promotional campaign sites to name a few. Contact us to find out if we are the right Cloud Solution for you.Do you offer any tools to aid in the creation of my websites?
Any sort of web creation tool is outside our sweet spot — so the Rackspace Cloud will leave that to the talented professionals who do web design for a living.I see that the Rackspace Cloud supports .NET. Which versions do you support?
The Rackspace Cloud now supports .NET 2.0, .NET 3, and .NET 3.5 frameworks.What about other add-ons like shopping carts, e-commerce applications, or SSL certificates?
You are welcome to install any shopping carts or other web applications you'd like to your hosting account. SSL services are now available. For a small additional monthly fee, you can enable SSL on as many of your sites as you'd like.I'd really like to add streaming video to my site. Does the Rackspace Cloud offer anything to make it easy for me?
Yes, you can stream your video files from Cloud Files via Akamai's CDN. We've implemented streaming to cover two basic scenarios. The first is the user that has a video in .flv or mp4 format. We support Flowplayer, a popular video player, so that you can simply embed the video with an out-of-the-box player. The second use case is for customers comfortable with flash development. Using the Open Source Media Framework (OSMF), you can get access to your video libraries and develop your own players. For more details, click here.Support
What's the Rackspace Cloud's support like?
Unlike most discount hosting offerings, The Rackspace Cloud's support team is instantly available 24x7 through online chat and by phone. And our unique team approach means that our support technicians sit right next to the admins who manage the hosting clusters and the developers who write the applications. That means they can always get you the urgent help you need and make sure your suggestions are heard.How can I contact support? Am I limited to a certain number of incidents or credits? And what does all of this cost?
As a customer of The Rackspace Cloud, you have our full attention. You can call or chat with a member of our support team 24x7 and you have full access to our account management team who work with you until your issue is resolved. You are not limited to the amount of time you can spend with the support team and you have a host of different ways to contact us. We're here via live chat, phone, user forums, and an ever-growing knowledge base — all of which are included in the price of your account!What level of support should I expect?
The Rackspace Cloud's support team will assist you with all aspects of the control panel, general connectivity issues (i.e. web, mail, webmail, ftp, and database) and basic website troubleshooting concerns. The support team members, however, will be unable to assist you in the installation of paid, open source, or custom code (PHP, ASP, .NET, etc.). With that said, if you contact our support team they will do everything they can to point you in the right direction if you need help installing a particular script.What hours is support available?
We're staffed 24x7, so no matter when you're in jam, there will be a friendly the Rackspace Cloud support representative ready to assist you.Do you offer member forums?
Yes, The Rackspace Cloud was created by industry veterans specifically for web designers and developers. We're all about building the designer and developer community — and what better way to spread the love than to offer some very active member forums. New users are always encouraged to post comments, questions, and feedback. What's more, we take your feedback so seriously that your feature requests help guide our development path.Billing
How does the Rackspace Cloud bill me?
The Rackspace Cloud bills you every 30 days based on the day you sign up for the service. Your credit card will be charged for your monthly hosting fee on the first day your account becomes active. After 30 days have gone by you will be billed again for the next month of service. The exact charge will be based on recurring charges in addition to whatever additional fees you have incurred during that previous month.What will appear on my credit card invoice?
You will see “The Hosting System” on your credit card statement.What forms of payment does the Rackspace Cloud accept?
At this time, The Rackspace Cloud only accepts credit card payments. We allow payment by Visa, MasterCard, or American Express.Is there a partner/referral program available?
Yes. The Rackspace Cloud now offers a program well beyond its Cloud services with the option for both Affiliates and Resellers. Affiliates will earn 5%-7% of their referrals monthly spend with the Cloud for up to 3 years. Resellers will get a tiered discount on a monthly basis to use at their discretion based on volume. Either way, there is no limit to how much you can earn!For more details, simply call into 1.877.934.0409 or email affiliates@rackspacecloud.com.
Will there be a discount if I prepay for a full year?
We currently offer only month-to-month billing terms. We earn your business every month.Cloud Files
What is Cloud Files?
Cloud Files is a cost-effective, internet-based, redundant, object-based storage offering from Rackspace. Cloud Files allows users to store/retrieve files via a simple Web Service (REST: Representational State Transfer) API, The Rackspace Cloud Control Panel or the MyRackspace® customer portal. Files can range in size from a few bytes up to extremely large and your storage grows or shrinks based on your usage. Add as much or as little as you want without worrying about over-buying/under-utilizing or running out of space. With Cloud Files, you pay for what you use and how much you use is up to you.Where is the infrastructure located for Cloud Files?
Cloud Files infrastructure is located in the US and the UK. Our global footprint means that you can put your cloud where your customers are—and serve them at top speeds. For information on our UK products and pricing, please visit our UK site.Who can use Cloud Files?
Developers/users can access Cloud Files via The Rackspace Cloud Control Panel, the MyRackspace customer portal, third party tools, or with any of the following: RESTful web-services, Python, PHP, Java, Ruby, or C#/.NET. Our customers come from a variety of industries, including (but not limited to): Web development/design, IT services, e-Commerce, Consulting, and Software. Common solutions that use Cloud Files include rich media sites, social media sites, and test/development sites.Is Cloud Files a great fit for most applications?
Cloud Files can be an excellent storage solution for a number of reasons and is well suited for a number of applications:- Backups/archives of your data
- Serving images/videos (streaming data to the user's browser)
- Secondary/tertiary, web-accessible storage for your data
- Developer friendly cloud storage for application integration
- Well suited when amount of storage is difficult to predict
There are some applications for which Cloud Files is not an ideal solution, these include:
- Native support within your Operating System. It is not possible to "mount" or "map" the Cloud Files storage system as a virtual hard-disk on your computer.
- Disk mirroring or backup solutions that require byte/block level differences. There are no concepts of "append", "file locking" or "deduplication" operations within Cloud Files.
- Data can be organized into storage compartments called "Containers," but they cannot be nested. Since there is only one top-level of Containers, you will not be able to upload a nested directory/folder structure into Cloud Files unless a transformation is performed to flatten the structure.
How large can my objects be in Cloud Files?
Users can have virtually unlimited file sizes in Cloud Files by using our Large File Support. This allows customers to upload as many file chunks as they wish, and map them together using a manifest file. Each file chunk can be up to 5 GB.Does Cloud Files use OpenStack™?
OpenStack is an open source, collaborative software project among dozens of big players and hundreds of developers in the cloud computing space. The mission of the OpenStack community is to productize a ubiquitous open source cloud computing platform. It was launched with contributions from us here at Rackspace and the NASA Nebula cloud platform. The Cloud Files development team created and contributed the underlying source code that became the OpenStack Object Storage software—the underlying software currently powering Cloud Files.How much does Cloud Files cost to use?
Pricing for Cloud Files is broken down to storage usage, data transfer, and requests.Storage: $0.15/GB
Data Transfer In: No Charge
Data Transfer Out: $0.18/GB
Requests: No Charge
Other CDN Costs: No request/operation charges; No bandwidth charge from Cloud Files to CDN