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DNN Web Hosting Comparison: White Paper

DNN Hosting a 2024 Update

Since our transition to Microsoft Azure in 2020, Foremost Media's DNN Hosting has transformed, embracing the cutting-edge capabilities of cloud technology. Azure's cost-effective structure has enhanced our affordability, while its AI integration optimizes our newsletter and messaging strategies. The user-friendly interface of Azure simplifies hosting management, making it more accessible for our clients.

Our environments on Azure are fully managed, ensuring consistent reliability and performance. We've integrated advanced monitoring, top-tier security, and performance enhancements into our DNN hosting environment, offering a robust and secure hosting solution.

Explore the evolution of our DNN Hosting services and discover how these advancements can benefit your digital strategy. 


We are frequently asked what makes our hosting different from other hosting companies like GoDaddy. Why are the hosting costs different? Why should you choose Foremost Media over the others?

Data Centers

Foremost Media hosts our sites in a Tier 4 data center. Mainstream hosting providers, like GoDaddy, host in a Tier 3 data center.

Foremost Media's primary data center is a Tier 4 data center located near Omaha, Nebraska. This facility is free from natural disasters, such as floods, hurricanes, earthquakes, and power shortages that plague other data centers throughout the world. Our secondary sites include a Tier 4 facility in the UK and one in Florida. Each of these data centers feature:

  • Carrier Access -Four local SONET fibers provide redundant carrier/neutral fiber access (AT&T, Level 3, Qwest, and COX)
  • Internet Access-Route Science manages redundant, Tier 1 internet bandwidth with fully redundant, Carrier-class Cisco core routing and switching
  • Network Monitoring-SNMP management tools monitor all critical infrastructure components
  • Fiber -Four fiber carriers with diverse points of entry
  • Network Providers -Meet-me access to major carriers (AT&T, MCI, Qwest, Global Crossing, Alltel, Sprint, Cox and Level 3)
  • Carrier Services- OC-3, OC-12, OC-48 and above
  • Internal Cabling- Cable management trays throughout the building use copper and fiber access to carrier bandwidth
  • External Cabling- Dual points of entry into the building with multiple CO redundancy and fiber access

What are the differences between Tiers in data centers?

Tier Level

Requirements

1

Single non-redundant distribution path serving the IT equipment

Non-redundant capacity components

Basic site infrastructure with expected availability of 99.671%

2

Meets or exceeds all Tier 1 requirements

Redundant site infrastructure capacity components with expected availability of 99.741%

3

Meets or exceeds all Tier 1 and Tier 2 requirements

Multiple independent distribution paths serving the IT equipment

All IT equipment must be dual-powered and fully compatible with the topology of a site's architecture

Concurrently maintainable site infrastructure with expected availability of 99.982%

4

Meets or exceeds all Tier 1, Tier 2 and Tier 3 requirements

All cooling equipment is independently dual-powered, including chillers and heating, ventilating and air-conditioning (HVAC) systems

Fault-tolerant site infrastructure with electrical power storage and distribution facilities with expected availability of 99.995%

What does this actually mean for your site?

If you look at hosting over the course of a year, Tier 4 guarantees to be down for less than 27 minutes total. Tier 3 data centers can only guarantee less than 95 minutes. That's over 3 times the total Tier 4 downtime. In the event your site does go down, our custom monitoring ensures our support team is made aware of it within minutes, and provides them with the information they need to get it up and running again, no matter what time or day it is.

Performance

While most of the performance is dependent on the site and its files, there is a small amount that is based on the quality of the hosting server. We have a custom code, or program, running on our server to keep everything running smooth and efficiently. We do not overload each server in order to squeeze every resource out of it we can; we allocate ample growth room, which allow our sites to scale as needed.

When talking server performance, uptime is important, but so is the server's reaction time. Time to First Byte (TTFB) indicates how long the server takes to respond back to an initial request. A good explanation of this is the time lapse between when you first wave to someone, and they wave back.

We did an experiment and ran identical sites on our server, GoDaddy, and 1&1. All three sites have the same images, Content Management System, and content.

GoDaddy - 1.280 seconds
1&1 - 0.626 seconds
Foremost Media - 0.346 seconds

Our servers are twice as fast as 1&1 servers, and almost four times faster than GoDaddy to respond. This means faster load speeds for your site, better user experience, and better search engine optimization for your clients.

Customer Service

Many companies in the hosting realm claim to offer 24/7 customer service. What sets our business apart is that our support team is available 24/7/365, and everyone is based out of our Southern Wisconsin location. This means easy-to-understand staff available when you need help, not just during "normal" business hours. Not only are they always available, but they are all familiar with the sites we host down to the minor details, which keeps them efficient while resolving your issue.

Conclusion

Going with the mainstream discount hosting often leads to issues with revenue-losing downtime, bad experiences with customer service, and a site that does not perform optimally. We are a premium hosting provider, and our 24/7/365 Wisconsin based customer service is there to not only keep your site up and running, but to assist you with any issues you may have, ensuring the best hosting experience available.