Code Revolution Ltd

A VLAN or Virtual Local Area Network is basically what the name implies in simple terms. Its a virtualised LAN (by using the word LAN I would for example be referring to a group of networked computers all connected to each other with a router and RJ45 cable).

A VLAN allows you to assign a secondary network card available on a server (or PC) an ip on a specific range and subnet. For example, you might assign an IP address of 192.168.0.100 / 255.255.255.0 to connection #2 on your server.

Lets say then that you have a second server that also has a secondary network card. If I then give this card an IP of 192.168.0.200 / 255.255.255.0 I now have 2 PCs that can “see” and talk to each other. This is because they are now on the same IP subnet.

The most common use for this in a virtualisation or cloud enviroment is quite simply to allow a person to connect one of more virtualized servers to each other as if they are connected on a physical network. If I now try and ping one server from the other I will get a response.

A second common reason is that a lot of cloud server and virtualisation hosting providers will charge for all outgoing bandwidth. By using a VLAN interconnect on the same set of servers, you can minimize bandwidth usage by transferring data over the VLAN and not the public IP.

For example, lets take my web server and Database server below. By using a VLAN I can transfer any requests to and from my database server over the VLAN ensuring bandwidth use is minimized. See below for a (sketchy looking) diagram!

Hello

I just thought id post a quick overview of my new hosting account which I have just purchased with 1and1 internet.

Basically I have opted to purchase a “cloud based” virtual server. Now for those of you who do not know what that buzz word “cloud” means, let me explain!

Cloud hosting is a computing concept based on the fact that you rent or “lease” virtual computing power from a large capacity server or servers. It means you basically are provided with a sand-boxed windows or linux operating system environment that actually exists inside another server and operating system such as windows Azure.

For example I have leased a small capacity server at the moment to run my own websites. Because my machine is actually sitting inside a much bigger server however,  I can upgrade my processing capacity instantly and at any time. At the moment my virtual server can only use say 2GB of the bigger computers memory. To use more I would have to pay more.

This kind of flexibility now allows developers to have much sharper control over their application requirements. It also allows for a reduction in costs as there is no large server cost outlay, you simply buy as you need.

I have found cloud computing both fascinating and also very reasonably priced. 1and1 offer a very competitive pricing structure that when I purchased my account, allowed for free unlimited bandwidth.

Code Revolution is adept at providing cloud based server configuration, especially for windows based OS.

If you would like to contact us to discuss your requirements, please feel free to contact us here.