What does it mean to have a Rackspace Managed Cloud Account?

A Rackspace Managed Cloud account extends the managed support level from our Managed Hosting offering into our Cloud offering. This offer provides an additional level of support and management that includes monitoring, OS and application infrastructure layer support, and technical guidance on your Rackspace Cloud portfolio.

What is included with a Rackspace Managed Cloud Account?

Managed Cloud Accounts includes access to a dedicated, 24x7x365 support team via phone, chat, email and online support ticket. The team will support your Cloud servers from the OS up through the application stack of MS SQL, .Net/IIS, and the LAMP stack on Linux. Your cloud server will be regularly patched and updated. Additionally, Rackspace will manage your Cloud Databases, providing basic DBA assistance such as user and management and data backup. Monitoring services are included, with the Managed Service team proactively responding to any alerts. As a Managed Service customer, you can configure up to eight monitors per server with any combination of ping, port, or URL.

What Operating Systems and Applications are supported on Cloud Servers?

Linux OS & Applications

• Ubuntu 10.04
• Ubuntu 11.10
• Ubuntu 12.04
• Ubuntu 12.10

• CentOS 5*
• CentOS 6*
• Red Hat Enterprise Linux 5*
• Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6*

• Apache (installed via supported repository)
• MySQL 5 (installed via supported repository)
• PHP 5 (installed via supported repository)

*With CentOS and RHEL, please be aware that Rackspace enables automatic updates and the system will update to most recent point release.

Microsoft Windows OS & Applications

• Windows 2008 R2 Enterprise 64-bit
• Windows Server 2012
• Microsoft SQL Server Standard 2008 R2**
• Microsoft SQL Server Web 2008 R2**
• Microsoft SQL Server Standard 2012**
• Microsoft SQL Server Web 2012**
• Microsoft .Net Framework
• Internet Information Server (IIS)

**Microsoft® SQL Server® images available on 2GB and higher Cloud Servers. Add additional pricing applies for Microsoft SQL Server.

Will my server IP addresses or hostnames change when I upgrade?

No.  Upgrading to a Managed Rackspace Cloud Account does not change server IP addresses or hostnames.  Further, there’s no change to the server instance IDs, nor is there a change to your account number and username/password combination.  All of these remain the same with the upgrade process.

What if my current Cloud Server operating system is not on the list?

As this time, the only OS's we supported in a Rackspace Managed Cloud Account are listed above. If you choose to upgrade to a Managed Cloud Account, you must either delete any active Cloud Servers and snapshots with non-supported OS's or migrate those non-supported images to a separate account. Once the servers and snapshots have been migrated, you will be eligible to upgrade.  

When needing a new Cloud Server or Cloud Database, you may choose to create the image on the server yourself, or one of the Managed Cloud team members can create it for you. Either way, we will keep it updated, patched and running for you.

Who is eligible to upgrade?

There are four conditions that must be met in order to upgrade to a Rackspace Managed Cloud Account, your account must:

1. Be in an active status and up to date on all billing invoices
2. Not have Cloud Sites enabled
3. Only have any supported OS's running on active Cloud Servers (see OS list above)
4. Only have any supported OS's in existing snapshots (see OS list above)

What does a Rackspace Managed Cloud Account cost?

Upon the creation of a Cloud Server or a Cloud Database within a Managed Cloud Account, a flat monthly account fee will be assessed when at least one instance on the account is active/used during that month. There is no limit to the number of Cloud Servers or Cloud Databases within an account - the flat Account fee will cover all of them.  Additionally, there will be a per-instance service charge on top of existing Cloud Server & Database utility prices, billed monthly (based on your anniversary date).  For more pricing information:

• US: http://www.rackspace.com/cloud/cloud_hosting_products/servers/pricing/
• UK:  http://www.rackspace.co.uk/cloud-hosting/cloud-products/managed-cloud/

Why is there an account fee as well as a per-instance service fee?

Both the account fee (assessed per account) and the per-instance service fee (assessed per Cloud Server or Database instance) enable Rackspace to provide you with our managed service at the lowest possible cost.  The low account fee covers the administration of your account on a monthly basis, whereas the service fee covers the administration of each server instance.

Will the Account fee be assessed with only partial-month usage of a Managed Cloud Server, or will it be prorated?

The account fee will not be prorated. The service fee, however, is a utility fee and you will only be charged for the amount of time your instance is active.

Rackspace recently launched Open Cloud based on OpenStack servers.  Will this upgrade process migrate my servers to Cloud Servers powered by OpenStack?

No.  This process upgrades your account and service to our managed service level.  A migration of your servers to the OpenStack platform is not part of this process.

Will the Rackspace support team automatically scale the Cloud Server(s) if necessary?

Not at this time. However, if you notice issues or have questions about capacity, your Rackspace account team will work with you and recommend solutions.

Will Rackspace troubleshoot programming/code for customers?

No—your Rackspace account team will not troubleshoot your code/programs.

What backups are performed?

Daily backups in the form of full snapshots of your Cloud Servers are included in the managed service level. You can configure your backups through the New Cloud Control Panel and choose a time frame that works best for you. Fourteen daily backups are kept at any point in time as well as One weekly backup. Your backups will be stored on Cloud Files (standard Cloud Files pricing applies).

Why do I need a separate account for my Cloud Servers and Databases with a Managed Service Level?

Since the managed service is offered at the account level, every cloud product in the account receives the managed service level. Therefore, if you want Cloud Servers or Cloud Databases (e.g. test environment) that do not have managed service and some that do, you will need to have a separate account for the Cloud products without a managed service level.

What does the upgrade process entail?

During the upgrade process, Rackspace will:

• Reset root password for each server to gain access to the server
• Make a snapshot image of each server
• Create a Rackspace management account on each server
• For Windows, open TCP port 445 from Rackspace management servers
• Install the Rackspace Cloud Backup agent
• Install the vendor provided kernel & prepare for updates (if needed)

As a Rackspace customer, can I link my Managed Hosting configuration and account to a Cloud Server with managed service configuration and account?

Yes, the same way you are currently able to link your Managed Hosting accounts and your cloud accounts.

How do I contact my Rackspace Managed Cloud Account Team?

You can contact the Rackspace Managed Cloud Account Team via chat, phone or by submitting a ticket online. The phone number and links to all of these options are in the New Cloud Control Panel.

What if I want to downgrade from my Rackspace Managed Cloud Account?

Currently, we only support upgrading to a Rackspace Managed Cloud Account, which includes the steps above.  If you wish to remove the managed service, a new account will need to be created, and new Cloud Servers and Cloud Databases built.