I quick update.
It seems that we are are going for a bunker type DC. Due to military grade physical security this will be a suitable place to host ASIC based bitcoin mining hardware.
The company will be http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ISO/IEC_27001 certified. Services we are going to offer will be tailored to serve the needs of not only bitcoiners but also other information security conscious customers, such as banks.
I have just reached an agreement in principle with a very well known company that specialises in Information Security training and consulting about joining forces on launching secure hosting project. We are now scouting for office here in Sheffield, UK that will be our NOC.
There is a good chance that we will be able to accept customers from Bitcoin community as soon as end of July and we expect to complete ISO 27001 certification process sometime in September.
BTW. We are fully funded and not looking for investors at this time.
Topic: Managed colocation solution for bitcoin companies. (Read 3201 times)
Since the end of the cold war countries can make a killing renting out old missile solos. 
I am considering a number of options and negotiating contracts with a number of bunker style DC's now. One of the most viable candidates is an ex Nato nuclear bunker on a huge manned and secured site in a middle of nowhere, in UK, outside of London, naturally.
Will there be multiple DC's? If so will you offer services to support primary-failover type configurations (global load balancing, triangulation, etc)?
No there will be only one DC initially. This project is rather capital intensive and costs of having more than one POP would be prohibitive initially. After a while it would make perfect sense to expand to more than one DC.
I am also in talks with a solid (famous even) Information Security company to join forces on this project, if these negotiations are successful, then this will be not exclusively Bitcoin oriented project but tailored to those who need enhanced security for their servers in general.
However, I can advise on how to get to get "primary-failover type configurations (global load balancing, triangulation, etc)" using us and another provider. generally it is good idea for high availablity projects to consider ISP just as another single point of failure (biz risks as well as technical ones) and be redundant on ISP level too.
I am considering a number of options and negotiating contracts with a number of bunker style DC's now. One of the most viable candidates is an ex Nato nuclear bunker on a huge manned and secured site in a middle of nowhere, in UK, outside of London, naturally.
Will there be multiple DC's? If so will you offer services to support primary-failover type configurations (global load balancing, triangulation, etc)?
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Also, aren't UK power costs a killer for this to happen longterm?
This service is not intended for GPU bitcoin mining. Hence while a power is a significant component of the price it is not that important. It could be suitable for ASIC and FPGA mining, however.
What important is that customers know exactly who has access to the hardware and that it would require a platoon of marines to storm the DC.
Of course, and we shall make it controlled from a website, just pay a few BTC and shoot to your hearts content.
I'll volunteer to walk in front of the camera once a day.
Also, aren't UK power costs a killer for this to happen longterm?
This service is not intended for GPU bitcoin mining. Hence while a power is a significant component of the price it is not that important. It could be suitable for ASIC and FPGA mining, however.
What important is that customers know exactly who has access to the hardware and that it would require a platoon of marines to storm the DC.
Of course, and we shall make it controlled from a website, just pay a few BTC and shoot to your hearts content.
Also, aren't UK power costs a killer for this to happen longterm?
This service is not intended for GPU bitcoin mining. Hence while a power is a significant component of the price it is not that important. It could be suitable for ASIC and FPGA mining, however.
What important is that customers know exactly who has access to the hardware and that it would require a platoon of marines to storm the DC.
Also, aren't UK power costs a killer for this to happen longterm?
This service is not intended for GPU bitcoin mining. Hence while power is a significant cost component (as with any DC) it is not that important. It still could be suitable for ASIC and FPGA mining, however.
What important is that customers know exactly who has access to the hardware and that it would require a platoon of marines to storm the DC.
Subbed.
Also, aren't UK power costs a killer for this to happen longterm?
Also, aren't UK power costs a killer for this to happen longterm?
Where is the DC located? Exact location isn't necessary just wondering where on the planet we are talking about.
I am considering a number of options and negotiating contracts with a number of bunker style DC's now. One of the most viable candidates is an ex Nato nuclear bunker on a huge manned and secured site in a middle of nowhere, in UK, outside of London, naturally.
Can I get bare metal with IPMI?
Yes, actually supermicro is my hardware platform of choice for like a decade now and I have no plans to change this any time soon. Supermicro's IPMI implementation is included on bare metal platforms (IPMI 2.0 with virtual media over IP and KVM over IP).
Awesome. I am also a fan on supermicro. We are a windows shop so I will be installing Hyper-V and Server 2008 R2 but with IPMI and the specs you listed that shouldn't be a concern.
We aren't ready to move to colocation yet but once we are you will be at the top of the list. Our current solution in development is a cheap hosting account for the "dumb" web frontend which connects via SSL to a locally hosted secure tx server. Still I do want to eventually move to colocation. If they/you accepted payment in Bitcoins well that would just be gravy.
Where is the DC located? Exact location isn't necessary just wondering where on the planet we are talking about.
Can I get bare metal with IPMI?
Yes, actually supermicro is my hardware platform of choice for like a decade now and I have no plans to change this any time soon. Supermicro's IPMI implementation is included on bare metal platforms (IPMI 2.0 with virtual media over IP and KVM over IP).
A typical bare hardware server configuration I am looking at right now is:
- 2x 3.5" SATA3's (of whatever size)
- 32GB RAM
- 1x Intel® Xeon® processor E3-1200 or Core i3
This should be more than enough for a typical Bitcoin company to run a VPS container. Due to remoteness and bunker style of DC's the bandwidth prices will be above average but this is usually not a huge concern for bitconers.
Can I get bare metal with IPMI?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Intelligent_Platform_Management_Interface
Interested in either rack space using my hardware or hardware I rent but IPMI is mandatory (for remote VPN, power, media capabilities).
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Intelligent_Platform_Management_Interface
Interested in either rack space using my hardware or hardware I rent but IPMI is mandatory (for remote VPN, power, media capabilities).
Will this be in the bunker?
No. this is relatively low cost solution in a private datacenter (not operated by me). The DC is fairly close to me geographically so that I can assist with deployment and in emergencies where physical access is required.
However, it is likely the Bitcoiners would indeed be interested in Bunker based colo and ready to pay for extra security. If so, do let me know and I will make this happen.
Will this be in the bunker?
I have lately provided managed colocation solution for a number of Bitcoin companies. Now I am in position to offer this to more clients. This is a managed solution and as such shall be discussed individually for every company. This can be as basic or as advanced as you want. It can be just a box that you control completely and I just advise on information security as needed. It could be completely managed solution where I manage your servers and you just get yourself as many VPS's as you need plus virtual networking to your specs.
If you are one of those rare people who prefers FreeBSD based servers and VPS you should definitely talk to me.
skype me vladimir.marchenko.co.uk or email me [email protected] to discuss details.
If you are one of those rare people who prefers FreeBSD based servers and VPS you should definitely talk to me.
skype me vladimir.marchenko.co.uk or email me [email protected] to discuss details.
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