Hosting Provider SIM Network

SIM-Networks is suitable for businesses that value stability, a wide range of services, and professional support. Before choosing a provider, it's worth carefully weighing all the pros and cons, considering the specifics of your tasks.

Security

Security measures at SIM-Networks include:

Hardware data protection in data centers certified to the ISO 27001 standard. 

1. Customer isolation in the cloud: users are invisible to each other, and data and applications are isolated by hypervisor means.
2. Network traffic encryption using VXLAN technology.
3. Continuous monitoring of all SIM-Cloud elements (24/7) by automated systems and engineers. 
4. Access restriction: only SIM-Networks employees have access to the infrastructure, all connections use encryption.

Pricing Policy

The VPS pricing grid includes solutions based on ESXi and XEN processors. A virtual server can be rented for a period from 1 to 12 months. A discount of 4% and 10% is provided for rentals of 6 or 12 months, respectively. Among the available locations is only Germany.

Each virtual server tariff includes:

• pre-installed OS for free;
• pre-installed control panel for free;
• unlimited traffic;
• 24/7 technical support;
• free migration. 

Infrastructure

Processors: Intel Xeon E5, Gold 6240, Gold 6246 — high performance for cloud workloads.

VM configurations:

• from 1 vCPU / 1 GB vRAM;
• up to 32 vCPU / 192 GB RAM;
• flexible settings tailored to customer tasks.

Data Centers

SIM Networks maintains infrastructure in certified data centers in Germany and the Netherlands. These data centers are a secure environment for customer data and hardware.

The company's server equipment is housed in TelemaxX IPC-3 and TelemaxX IPC-4 Tier III+ data centers in Karlsruhe, Germany. The data centers were commissioned in 2009 and 2011, respectively. Hosting services in Germany for corporate clients with high reliability and security requirements are provided based on these data centers.

Advantages

• SIM-Networks data centers comply with the ISO/IEC 27001 security standard, have Tier III+ level redundancy (duplication of critical infrastructure). The company claims a 99.9% uptime guarantee. Users note that sites on the hosting rarely "go down".
• support is available 24/7 in Russian, English, German, and Ukrainian. The company promises to respond to a request within 1 hour and resolve a problem within 24 hours (depending on complexity);
• the range includes shared hosting, VPS/VDS, dedicated servers, cloud solutions (including GPU cloud for resource-intensive tasks), Mac servers, data storage;
• basic DDoS attack protection is provided, there is an option for cloud backup, and the possibility to set up a dedicated VPN connection. Free hosting and domain registration are available for non-profit organizations, educational institutions, and charitable foundations;
• dir="ltr" role="presentation">bank cards, PayPal, cryptocurrencies, WebMoney, QIWI, and other methods are accepted. A 10% discount is provided for annual payment;

Disadvantages

• many users consider the prices for VPS and other services to be inflated compared to competitors;
• the duration of free support is 15 minutes per day. If a problem exceeds this limit, the client will have to pay for additional services;
• services cannot be tested for free before purchase;
• some clients complain about not always competent support, template responses, or communication difficulties; 
• only Germany is available as a location;
• additional fees for some payment methods. 

Technologies Used

SIM-Networks' technology stack is focused on providing cloud services, virtualization, and ensuring high data security. Key components of the technological infrastructure include modern hypervisors, data storage systems, and network solutions:

• KVM virtualization;
• XEN, VMware ESXi hypervisors;
• SDS based on Ceph;
• VXLAN;
• Fat Tree Infiniband network;
• Intel Xeon E5 processors;
• VXLAN network traffic encryption;
• BaaS, VPNaaS, DNSaaS.

Customer Support

The company's technical support operates 24/7, with support claimed to be available in any language. The company's website states that the average response time is 1 hour, but in practice, it can be noted that the response time to an initial request is 20-30 minutes.

Available communication channels include an online chat on the website, a ticket system in the personal account, a contact phone number, and email. You can contact support in any convenient way.