I had a client learn a lesson they should not have had to this evening. The client has had several key servers hosted at a small data center for several years now. These were managed servers the data center took care of. Things like new hard drives were the responsibility of the data center so the client rarely paid attention to these machines. As many of you know a server can spin for years and it is just forgotten about.
Tonight these servers come under a very heavy Denial of Service (DDoS) attack. Fifteen plus Gigs come to bear at client’s servers for an extended time. The client is unable to reach the data center NOC, nor do any of his contacts work. The servers are knocked offline. 4 hours later the client finally receives an e-mail from the data center saying they unplugged the client’s router because it was taking down their (the DC’s) own network. After asking to have a call from a manager client finds out the DC has restructured and dropped many of their co-location and other hosting services. Their multiple 10 gig pipes have been reduced to one, and many clients have left. The manager says they have re-focused their business to focus on things such as OLED screens, and other things totally unrelated to running a data center. The hosting they do have left “pays the bills” so they can have a place to do research.
The client has redundancy so they are not dead in the water. However, this redundancy was only supposed to be for a short term duration due to costs. The lesson learned is to keep in contact with your vital members. Call up your sales person once or twice a year and see how things are going. Keep in contact with key folks at the company. If they are on LinkedIn add the company. If their focus appears to change or they go silent do some leg work to find out what’s going on.