We appreciate that it’s a little annoying for you to have to call us or access MyRSAWEB each and every time you wish to top up your account. To help with this we have developed a new feature called ‘Automated top ups’- you can now use the ‘automated top up setting’ which will conveniently automatically allocate a set amount of data to your account when it becomes capped – you can choose how many times per month to allow this, and the data amount too.

So for example, say usually 5 GB’s is enough for you, but just to be safe, you can use auto top up to add an extra 1 GB twice per month, just to keep you connected. It’s that simple – you can change these settings anytime you like too.  For convenience sake – if you meet the automated top up limit (i.e – the last data top up for that month), you will receive a notification via SMS or email to let you know that there are more automated top up’s available.

To activate this service, go to MyRSAWEB  > Broadband > Manage Broadband > Top Up

We think this new service will be really useful, however, as always, if you have any feedback – please let us know by emailing us at feedback@rsaweb.co.za or click on the ‘Feedback’ button on the bottom of my MyRSAWEB homepage.

We should also point out that if you feel like you never have quite enough data for your browsing requirements, upgrading is simple, just go to ‘Manage / Upgrade’ Broadband, and click ‘Upgrade’ and we’ll manage the rest for you. 

Thanks to all those who attended and for the awesome turnout. Since you all enjoyed the breakfast meet-up so much we will be hosting a few more this year, so see you all again in the very near future. Follow us on Twitter for more on all things RSAWEB including our events, like this one below!

]]> http://www.rsaweb.co.za/blog/rsaweb/2012/03/29/our-first-cloud-breakfast-is-a-hit/feed/ 0 http://www.rsaweb.co.za/blog/rsaweb/2012/03/27/why-you-should-seriously-consider-switching-to-cloud/ http://www.rsaweb.co.za/blog/rsaweb/2012/03/27/why-you-should-seriously-consider-switching-to-cloud/#comments Tue, 27 Mar 2012 08:13:12 +0000 Ashley http://www.rsaweb.co.za/?p=8068

Here at RSAWEB we’re all about making life simpler by using the newest technology available– which is why we love Cloud servers! (Have we told you about our awesome version 2? See more here)

Although there is still absolutely a place for traditional dedicated servers in some businesses (and we still love to sell them to the clients who need them– have a look at ours here) we really think it’s time more people were aware of some of the benefits of switching to Cloud servers.

In this article we’ll point out some of the day to day limitations of using traditional dedicated, and how making the switch to Cloud could save you time, money and resources.

Some things you perhaps didn’t know about using traditional Servers:

• High Capital Expenditure Costs – All the actual hardware can cost a lot of money, by using virtualised machines in the Cloud, this cost is removed. This allows for organisations to focus on Operational Expenditure rather than Capital Expenditure. It also allows for lower cost of ownership of IT than before, now, more organisations can use the services afforded by competitive Cloud suppliers. We think any technology that allows businesses of all sizes to have great IT is a winner!

• They tend to have high power consumption – when compared to the Cloud, energy efficiency is really a buzz word in IT these days, it’s widely known that by switching from traditional servers to cloud servers, you save on power. Green and powerful means better business! What’s more – Cloud servers utilise dynamic resource allocation (Cloud Orchestration) which means power is only used when it’s really needed.

• There can be very high maintenance costs associated with the upkeep of traditional servers – Gartner estimates that IT maintenance accounts for roughly 80% of all IT expenditure. Traditional servers can require daily maintenance by IT professionals, meaning that your IT work force have to spend their time on day to day maintenance work which adds little strategic or operational value to your organisation. By switching to Cloud, our Cloud Experts take care of this.

• There is also the factor of the actual floor space required for traditional, large servers. With Cloud, all of your virtualised servers are stored off – site, allowing you to maximise the utilisation of your office space

• There is also an element of risk associated with having large servers in house – not just in housing all of the data in one place with little built in redundancy, but also in the risk of a break in. With Cloud, all information is stored in state of the art data centres, with 24 hour security.

Now here are some key reasons why your business should switch to Cloud today to see the savings that can be made!

1. Set-up can be done quickly and simply – and online!
2. No need to buy expensive hardware.
3. We can develop custom specs to suit your business needs perfectly – no matter the size of your business.
4. Cloud is instantly scalable – having a busy period? You can add more space in seconds. Need to cut back? you can scale back down, all from your user-friendly online control portal.
5. Use up to 90% less power with RSAWEB True Cloud Servers through efficient resource utilisation.

Want to try out our free trial? Click here and we’ll get an Account Manager to call you and discuss why Cloud is the right fit for you.

We’re pleased to announce that we’re one of the sponsors of an awesome initiative called #CloseTheTap – from the people at for love of water.

This online campaign, launched yesterday – 22nd March (UN”s World Water Day) encourages users to be aware of the water wastage associated with everyday scenarios, such as ordering that extra cup of coffee you don’t really need.  The slick, socially optimised site warns users of the things we do everyday that wastes precious  water, and prompts us to be more water-aware in our every day actions, such as the tongue-in-cheek pledge  ‘showering with a sexy someone’.

The campaign #CloseTheTap is essentially a digital initiative inspiring real world action – visit the site www.closethetap.co.za choose a water saving pledge, and share it via your social media channels.  We’re involved by sponsoring the live streaming of the ‘FlowCam’ which monitores twitter, and with every tweet, tightens the tap slightly – with the end goal of closing the tap completely with 10,000 tweets . (Pretty clever stuff!)  Note: the water used is in a closed system, re-cycling all of the water used – so no worries there!

The campaign anatomy was developed by the good folks and clever minds over at NATIVE, one of South Africa’s leading digital agencies, who are also one of our enterprise hosting clients. The campaign has been an overnight success – with over 1,600 tweets already! If you want to get involved you can do so by visiting the site and making your pledge or following the guys on twitter.

Isn’t it great getting something awesome for nothing?

Everyone loves freebies – that’s why we let our customers try out our 7 day obligation free Cloud Hosting packages for 7 days for absolutely nothing! Adding more awesome to this already great deal – we’ve also just improved what you can get when you take us up on our cloud trial offer.Below, see the upgrades we’ve made to the Cloud trial offer.  FYI: – this is a limited period only! (So sign up…now!)

The new trial product is identical to the actual cloud server you’ll get if you sign up with us – and the value of the 7 day free trial is R995* If this sounds good to you – simply visit our site or click here – and chat to a consultant to sign up for a free trial – we won’t take any billing information from you, and there is absolutely no commitment to sign up permanently.

Cloud Trial Terms and Conditions: …( yes, we know… there’s always those pesky T’s and C’s in life)

1. You can only sign up once for the free trial, and we track your IP, so we’ll know if you sign up more than once.
2. If you really like it, we can re-activate you for a new trial

As always, if you have any feedback on how we could improve our offer, please drop us a line at:feedback@rsasweb.co.za

(*based on the operating system selected and taking the server for a full month)

Below is a breakdown of what our new and improved system allows you to do:

1. Check multiple domain’s availability using 1 simple tool
2. You can even upload a CSV file of domains and we’ll check if they are available or not!
3. Register multiple domains for hosting in 1 simple step.
4. Transfer multiple domains or domain hosting to us from other ISP’s in one step.

FAQ’s about Hosting and Ordering System:

Question: How many domains can I register at the same time? 

Answer: You can register up to 300 domains at one time, however we suggest you register batches of up to 100 at a time, of course if you just want to register a few, that’s also fine with us.

Question: If I am moving from another hosting company, how easy is it? 

Answer: It’s straightforward, we handle the domain migration and hosting on our side, you just need to handle the transfer of your website files to the new package.

 To find out more, and give this handy new tool a try – log in to the MyRSAWEB control panel and navigate to ‘Order Hosting’.

As always, your feedback means we can improve our products and services, so if you have any, drop us a line at feedback@rsaweb.co.za  or call us on 0891 772 032, we’re also available for online chat!

‘Statement & Invoices’ allows for customers to simply and effortlessly access their account information and view, save and print invoices as and when required. It also allows customers to view their outstanding balances and statements independently, which means that customers can deal with their own account information without calling support desk. As always, should customers need to speak to someone, our support desk is on hand to help for any questions or concerns customers may have about their account. Support is available either by chat, by phone 0861 772 932 or by opening a support ticket under ‘Get assistance’.

We hope that this new feature makes life a little easier, and as always, if there are any suggestions about what can be done to improve our service, please email us at feedback@rsaweb.co.za or click on the ‘Feedback’ button on the bottom of my MyRSAWEB homepage.

We genuinely like to hear from you, and your suggestions really help us improve our service and usability!

]]> http://www.rsaweb.co.za/blog/rsaweb/2012/02/09/myrsaweb-new-feature-announcement-statement-invoices/feed/ 0 http://www.rsaweb.co.za/blog/rsaweb/2011/11/23/sa-first-cloud-servers-with-windows/ http://www.rsaweb.co.za/blog/rsaweb/2011/11/23/sa-first-cloud-servers-with-windows/#comments Wed, 23 Nov 2011 11:29:23 +0000 Liane http://www.rsaweb.co.za/?p=7691 We’re pleased to announce that we’re once again raising the bar in South Africa Cloud technology with the launch and immediate availability of our Cloud Servers now with Microsoft Windows!

Last year we pioneered South Africa’s first true Cloud hosting platform, allowing users to deploy and provision fully operational Linux servers in seconds. Our customers have deployed more than 1,250 Linux Servers to date.

We value all the feedback we receive from our loyal customers, and we have seen an unprecedented demand for our Linux Cloud Servers, but Microsoft Windows still remains the most requested features. So, after several months of internal trial and testing phases, we are very excited to finally release Microsoft Windows on the platform.

The technology behind our Cloud Servers allows users to buy Linux or Microsoft Windows servers from the web with full control over the server resources and operating system. CPU, RAM and SAN Storage can be added to the servers on the fly as usage or demand requirements change. Users are also not bound to lengthy contracts with us, and servers are purchased on a month to month basis.

Our Cloud Servers with Microsoft Windows are available in the following configurations or resources – all of which include FREE setup:

*Pricing excludes monthly Windows licensing fees, which are as follows:

• Windows Server Std 2008: R141 p/month
• Windows Web Server 2008: R171 p/month

Our Cloud Servers give you – the user – complete control with full administrator access to your server, allowing you to select you choice of operating system, applications and configuration.

We’ve got a special little something for those of you who are curious to experiment with Cloud Servers – a free trial! Simply click here and sign up.

The answer: Down below! We’re diving into the depths of the ocean, where all the fiber-optic cables live… where the Internet is.

Back in the 1850s the first transatlantic telegraph cable was laid in the depths of the Atlantic Ocean – although not considered particularly successful -it was destroyed after only one month of operation when someone decided to bolster the voltage in order to achieve faster operation… epic fail – it did however provide practical results which paved the way for future development.

The purpose of the first submarine communications cables was to carry telegraphy traffic, followed by telephony traffic, and eventually data communications traffic. Fiber-optic cables – which are cables that comprise of multiple pairs of fibers, and each pair has one fiber in each direction – were developed in the 1980s with the first transatlantic telephone cable, TAT-8, which went into operation in 1988.

Break-down of a fiber-optic cable

There are hundreds of these cables lying in the depths of oceans across the World, and are the longest tubes ever to be made.

TeleGeography has now developed an interactive (and free) map, which is available online. The company obtains their information from the cable owners, who share the location of active and planned submarine cable systems, as well as their landing stations and the current bandwidth capacity of their systems. TeleGeography has however limited how far you can zoom in on the map, thereby ensuring that the exact locations of the cables remain secret.

TeleGeography Submarine Cable Map

Selecting a cable route on the map provides access to data about the cable, including the cable’s name, ready-for service (RFS) date, length, owners, website and landing points. Selecting a landing point provides a list of all submarine cables landing at that station.

Cables shown include international and US domestic submarine cables with a maximum upgradeable capacity of at least 5 Gbps. Cable routes are stylized to improve readability, and not to reflect the physical cable location. Similarly, cable landing stations do not show the precise coordinates of the building, and are meant to serve as a general guide to where a cable system lands.

 Here are a few fun Internet facts:

#1: In 1971 Ray Tomlinson made the decision to use the “@” symbol to separate the username from the computer name (which later became the domain name), thus creating email.

#2: John Vittal, a programmer at the University of Southern California developed the first modern email  program in 1975.  The biggest technological advancement this program (called MSG) made was the addition of  the “Reply” and “Forward” functionality.

#3: Gary Thuerk -  the inventor of SPAM. In 1978 young Gary created the first unsolicited commercial email message (which later became known to all as SPAM) when he mailed 600 California Arpanet users.

#4:  The first ‘modern’ emoticon was used by Scott Fahlman in 1982 when he proposed that “:-)” be used after a joke, and “:-(” to be used for matters that are not a joke.

#5: Internet Relay Chat (IRC) was first deployed in 1988, paving the way for real-time chat and IM programs.

#6: 1990 saw the first commercial dial-up ISP, The World.

#7: MP3 File format was first accepted as a standard in 1991.

#8: The first webcam was deployed in 1991 at a Cambridge University computer lab, with the sole purpose of monitoring a particular coffee maker so lab users could avoid wasting time going to an empty coffee pot.

#9: .gov and .org domain names were first used in 1993 when the White House and the United Nations went online.

#10: 1998….. GOOGLE! #ThatIsAll

We received an overwhelmingly positive response when we announced our ADSL line price-cuts – an indication that the broadband war is still raging. Well, we’re taking it to the next level – we’re taking the price cuts to the businesses.

In addition to lowering the line rental costs, we’ve also adjusted our data prices to be more competitive, and we’ve implemented extra features. Our Business DSL products offer a true business-grade service, with lower contention ratios, higher redundancy, network prioritization for business uses and business features like static IPs and soft-capping.

Here’s how our new pricing compares to the competition:

*Telkom prices as of 17/10/2011 & include VAT.

We’ve noticed that the majority of the customers who have moved across to us since we launched our cheaper line rentals, are frustrated Telkom users who are looking for a better deal; and we fear that a large portion of the market is unaware that they can have their ADSL line hosted with an ISP other than Telkom… like us, for example. Transferring your ADSL line to us is quick, easy and involves no additional costs, simply speak to one of our Helpdesk Consultants and they’ll take care of the rest.