FAQs

What is cloud computing?

Cloud computing is the relocation of computational resources to distributed infrastructure accessed via the network. It allows you to easily create on-demand, high availability and high capacity infrastructure instantly, allowing you to develop scalable web services/applications with ease.

This model suits the varied nature of many web applications, in which peak load periods can far exceed the requirements during quiet periods.

Having a scalable cloud infrastructure allows you to dynamically provision more web/application servers as load levels increase, and then shut down these instances as load levels decrease. This gives you the best of both worlds and allows you to easily deal with peak loads, while only needing to pay for resources used for a certain time period. Usage is billed on an hourly basis.

Where is my data stored?

All your data is stored on the OrionVM Infrastructure running in the state-of-the-art Equinix Sydney3 Datacentre. We do not store any of your data outside of Australia, making us suitable for heavily regulated industries (such as the finance industry).

How are you faster than the others?

We have built our own custom designed storage and infrastructure platform. The OrionVM Cloud Platform has been optimised for speed and our custom designed storage platform allows our instances to deliver far higher IO throughput and lower latency than our competitors.

Rather than using a centralised storage array that causes bottle-necks as more servers are added, we have built a custom Distributed Storage system with high speed (40gb/s) interconnects between each server. This allows us to offer all the benefits of Enterprise Class redundant storage at high speeds.

What is your pricing model?

The great thing about Cloud Infrastructure is the lack of contracts and spending caps. You pay for exactly what you have used, rather than for a set contracted amount. This allows you to use the services as little or as much as you like. You are able to see your exact spend by logging into our web panel.

To further simply things, we have removed the notion of 'plans' from our billing model. Instead, we have split up each resource (Memory, Storage and Transit) into individual items that are priced individually. No longer are you stuck paying for a larger server when all you need is more storage.

What images do you support?

We currently have images for Debian Lenny, Ubuntu Lucid (10.04), Centos 5.5 and Windows Server 2008 R2.  

Can I add multiple IP addresses and disks to an Instance?

Using our simple drag and drop control panel, you are able to add multiple IP addresses and disks to an instance. You can even easily move IP addresses and disks between instances, which is handy for upgrades or architecture changes. 

Do you have an API Available?

We do have an API built. In fact, the web panel you see when logging into OrionVM is running on our API. We are happy to help out with any technical questions you may have. For documentation, please see: http://www.orionvm.com.au/documentation/clouddc/api

Can I clone disks created on the OrionVM Cloud Platform?

Yes. Using the web panel, you can easily clone disks and attach them to new instances. This makes it easy for you to build a template 'Golden' image and clone this for every server you require. We allow you to make disks the same size, or increase their size on clone. 

Do you have Private Networks available?

Yes, all accounts are allocated a private network range to allow for private communication between instances.

What is the difference between VCPUs and VCUs on your pricing page?

These units are defined as follows:

• VCPUs - the virtual cores within the instances, these show up in the instances as a number of CPU cores. 
• VCUs - is a measurement of CPU time that we allocate instances. This represents the CPU time an instance will received, and is based on the amount of RAM allocated to the instance. Within Xen we restrict the number of CPU clock cycles that each instance receives based on the ratio of memory that instance has on the server. This fairly divides CPU time between virtual machines and basically means that an instance with 1GB of ram has half the CPU time of an instance with 2GB of ram. 

Will you have Cloud Storage support?

OrionVM has written a HTTP addressable object storage system which will be released into Beta shortly. Please contact us for further details.

Do you offer dedicated cross connects or network interconnects?

Yes, we offer the ability for clients to cross connect into CloudDC from within Equinix Sydney (via Copper or Fiber) to allow unmetered data exchange with their instances. We are also able to work with several ISPs to deliver a private Layer 3 tail (e.g. MPLS) to your office or existing Datacentre facilities. Please contact us for further information.

If I need a large amount of capacity, or wish to wholesale your platform, is this possible?

We are open to working together with existing MSPs or hosting providers to deliver them a wholesale cloud platform. If you need a large amount of capacity, or would like to work with OrionVM going forward, please contact us, as we are more than happy to discuss some of the options with you.