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SoYouStart.com SYS


OVH-NL
28-11-13, 13:04
Hello,

Following the turnover and Sold-Out situation in September/August, we decided to change the model business and to redevelop how we
offer dedicated server services to our customers. Today, you rent over 150,000 servers from us under 2 brand names: OVH and Kimsufi.

Everyday you ask us for technological innovation but at the best price. This is the compromise that has allowed us to become n°1 globally in
dedicated server rentals. What's more, we are very keen to reach 200,000 or 300,000 physical servers in our datacentres.

To achieve this, we must not only continue to innovate, but we must also make our customers more loyal to their existing servers. We have
to motivate you to keep your existing server for as long as possible, while leaving you free...

Our model business has been deeply reconsidered and we will explain it to you in a few days, when the ranges are relaunched on the OVH website. In the meantime, and after the reopening of Kimsufi, one of the elements of this remodelling is the creation of a new brand, in order to offer servers from €20 to €50/month:

SYS
SoYouStart.com

Why create a new brand name?
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The highest turnover was linked to mSP servers at €40/month. We spent a lot of time studying all the €40 mSP customers to determine their
motivations and what they would do with the servers. In 80% of cases, the €40 mSP customer did not take any optional extras, not even an
IPv4 Failover. Nothing. Nada.

So we had discussions with these customers to understand their motivations for taking a server at €40/month anyway, even if it's not
really for any particular purpose!? The customers told us that it's for business purposes and the Kimsufi range is not sufficient. For €40/month,
these customers are after excellent hardware support so that, in the event of a problem, repairs are carried out quickly, without long waiting times. Basically, they just want super hardware plus hardware support, at an inexpensive price. Why inexpensive? Because many cases involve internet startup business, whether it's starting from scratch, or an existing business launching a new project. So instead of opting for of Public Cloud and paying by the hour, customers prefer to take the complete dedicated server to carry out the development work with peace of mind and budget control.

This is where the idea for "So You Start" came from, i.e. from: "I want something better than Kimsufi, something more professional, but I don't want to/cannot pay for the full OVH service yet." So we didn't reuse the Kimsufi brand because it's an introductory range brand. We also didn't want to mix this business with OVH, so as to clearly differentiate the SYS servers from the 3 new ranges that we will be offering
on the OVH website.

Voilà, that's why we decided to create the new brand, offering excellent hardware and SLAs, and knock-out prices above all, in order to develop
a new business.

Offer
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Above all, we are totally abandoning the principle of paid options galore. We want to offer a clear and "all inclusive" price. In contrast to the market which offers inexpensive servers with plenty of paid options, with almost all of which being obligatory (or you don't get a decent service), we decided to reconsider the basis of "no hidden fees" and offer an "all inclusive" service.

So everything we offer at the level of SYS is included as standard and there are no paid options any more. The price is as displayed on the website and you won't pay more because of this or that.

In addition to the server's IPv4, we also include 3 IPv4s as standard which are linked to the server. They are static IPv4s. The server is connected in 1Gbps to our global network of 2.5Tbps capacity, and it has 200Mbps guaranteed bandwidth. We also include anti-DDoS.

New features soon to be included are the IPMI (KVM and DMZ). The 1st enables you to have control of the server in the event of problem, and 2nd enables you to create a private network between your SYS servers. Everything is always included by default in the base price.

From the 6th month of the server rental, the rental price automatically decreases by -5%. After 12 months by-10%, after 18 months -15%, and after 24 months by -20% (in relation to the initial rental price paid).

We're including a new type of support based on FASS and SWAT, enabling exceptional 24/7 response times, to resolve all server hardware problems. A new, independent in-house team with only one entry point in terms of phone and email.

Your SoYouStart.com customer ID will not be the same as your OVH NIC. We have chosen to create a real division between our brand names (like the mobile operators have done). You also get a SYS Manager that only manages SYS servers and offers basic operations. Each server can have 2 IDs.

The only extra to pay is the distribution which may (Linux, ESXi,...) or may not (Windows) be free.

Hardware
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2 months ago, we took part in the global launch of the new Intel platform: Avoton. We have since collaborated with Intel on setting up the 1st offers based on this new CPU.

This new CPU is... different. It's Intel C2750, which is an 8 cores/8 threads with VT on 8 cores, instead of 4 cores HT on a Xeon E3. It integrates the AES instructions which enable hardware encryption. It runs at 2.4GHz per core and executes the instructions without having to reorder them like a E3 would. It's expected to run up to 64 GB RAM, ECC of course, instead of 32 GB for E3. The C2750 is different, and that's the thing.

C2750 is not adapted to game servers. On the other hand, for Web, SQL, Email, video and especially for virtualisation requirements, it's absolutely perfect. And that's good because the SYS is planned for web business.

PS: We're preparing a special range of servers for gamers which will be...??? (CENSORED!)... all in good time... Concerning E3, we will of course use it for Public Cloud pCI, on the same level as the Avoton or E5.

Let's go back to Avoton and web business. Thanks to the privileged relationship we have with Intel, we are the 1st hosting provider in the world to launch the Avoton on the market. It's a very exciting moment! We thank Intel for giving us this opportunity by delivering the 1st cards
to us only last Friday... These new servers are already in the racks in very limited quantities, but are still undergoing validation tests for distribution installations.

Basically, it's all red hot and brand new ...and totally unknown. As nobody has ever tested these servers, there's no comparison or feedback on this new platform. No customer has yet seen how the platform performs in reality for a website with SQL, none on virtualisation ESXi 5.5, none on Proxmox... During our first tests we noticed that the distributions are yet not optimised for this new CPU and are not yet capable of fully exploiting all the resources of the platform.

We have 90 servers in our racks. Yes, only 90 today, in November 2013. They will go very quickly. Like Intel, we are awaiting feedback on this new platform to validate that this is the platform you were expecting for the SYS servers. We expect to add other SYS servers as soon as we receive the new motherboards. The waiting time is long and we're not the only ones to have ordered them. For the month of December, we will have also a 2nd type of CPU, Intel C2550, which is a 4 cores/4 threads at 2.4GHz. ...we'll talk about again this again nearer the time.

I forgot to mention - the server is offered with 32 GB RAM and 2 x 1 TB disks at €40.99/month and the Hybrid version with 2 x 1 TB + 2 x 160G SSD is at €60.99/month. The setup fees are €49/month.

So... do you start? ... if so, here's where you need to go: http://www.soyoustart.com

[Note from NL team: soyoustart.nl will be launched in a few weeks, the time to finish the translation of the website, control panel and validation of the new terms and conditions]

Best wishes,

Octave