Next-Gen Fast: The SSD-Powered Grid
A few months ago, we told you that we’re making the Grid faster, continually investing in the shared platform that hosts the majority of our clients’ sites – and that’s a lot of sites.
Welcome to the Next Generation of Fast!
Over the last six months, we’ve upgraded the entire Grid database smartpool to be powered by SSD, or solid state drives, where the majority of the work happens on the Grid. We know, you see “SSD” thrown around a lot, but no other web host is using SSD to power a distributed platform as large as the Grid, so we’re happy to be the first to offer this performance to the public.
Keep reading to learn why this upgrade is important for you, for the Grid and, most importantly, for your users.
SSD technology offers multiple benefits that are crucially important to web developers and website owners, from dramatically enhanced data transfer speed and more up time, to increased reliability and scalability.
-Dante Baker, Product Manager at Media Temple.
SSD Technology is the Bleeding Edge of Tested Server Drive Technology.
The benefits are far reaching:
- SSDs are faster, much faster, than spinning drives. We’ve seen 25% – 50% increase in data query performance with the SSD upgrade.
- SSDs are more durable. This means less opportunity for breakage, which means an even more “up” Grid.
- SSDs are greener. Because they have no moving components, SSDs consume less energy and, therefore, produce less heat.
Why SSD is Better for the Grid and You?
The Grid relies on a couple of key components to run at optimum levels and create the premium user experience we strive for, which is lightning fast sites and dependable uptime regardless of traffic spikes.
Database performance is really a big focus here. Depending on your CMS and site structure, chances are your database usage plays a major role in your site performance. Having a database powered by SSDs gives you a massive advantage in combating site lag. The other side to combating site lag depends on how efficiently your site is coded. If you have a bunch of plugins installed generating multiple database queries, your site will suffer. (Note: If you’re interested in increasing your site’s performance, you can get a free site analysis from CloudTech, our award-winning technical support team). If your site is optimized, though, AND your database is on SSD drives… Look out eyeballs, you could miss the loading process completely!
Why is This a Big Deal?
The SSD shift was a big idea, resulting in a real innovation. The operation involved more than a year of envisioning and six months of meticulous engineer planning, which led to 64 days of concise execution. We moved more than 11.6 TB of data to 216 new drives, completing this massive operation on-time with no uh-oh moments. Can we get a slow clap for the operations team?
The result is the first major distributed hosting platform powered by SSD technology, making the Grid one of the fastest distributed platforms on the market.
Do I Need to Do Anything to Upgrade to SSD?
Nope. We did all the work for you. Just enjoy your faster sites, that’s it.
