VPSBenchmarks, the world leading service for measuring the cloud performance, has created a new server evaluation report on November 18, 2020 using benchmarks that were run between October 30, 2019 and November 05, 2020.
VPSBenchmarks purchases the servers directly from providers, then installs test software on each new instance. Four type of benchmarks are running including Web, Sysbench CPU, storage and memory, Network Transfers and Endurance. Results are generated from benchmarks and grouped into performance categories (Web, CPU, Disk IO, Network and Stability). A grade from A to F will then be assigned to each category. Full VPSBenchmarks report can be reached Here.
This report compares the cloud performance of below listed cloud servers.
In result, LayerStack HK04 server is ranked 1st place in this report, it is rated with 3A and 2B which receives an overall score of 84. Following by Vultr High Frequency server with 81 score and Linode Dedicated server with 66 score.
We are honored and grateful for the result, we will continue to keep improving our service in order to provide our valued customers with superior cloud computing solutions. More innovative cloud features will be released in the coming future aiming to enhance customers’ working effectiveness and efficiency.
** This report is conducted by 3rd party – VPSBenchmark and it is for reference purpose only. LayerStack bear no responsibility for any listed information. Please let us know your comments and suggestions on LayerStack Community.
It is pleased to announce the launch of our new cloud server plan – the Dedicated CPU Cloud Server. Same as other LayerStack cloud servers, it is powered by 2nd Gen AMD EPYC 64-Core CPU to deliver high cloud performance for most of the general and CPU-intensive workloads especially for the ones need sustainable computing support like machine learning. In contrast to standard servers, dedicated CPU server is installed with entire CPU cores that are accessible only by your instances, thus your software and applications can always run at peak speed.
Dedicated CPU’s Specifications
The selected 2nd Gen AMD EPYC processor has 64 cores and supports 128 threads with a TDP of 225W. The base clock speed is 2.0GHz which can be boosted up to 3.3GHz in turbo mode. It works perfectly on diverse tasks relying on CPU power, such as analytics, app development, CAE/CFD/FEA ERM/SCM/CRM apps, VDI and many more.
Benefits of AMD EPYC on Cloud Server
The AMD EPYC™ processor secure root of trust is designed to validate the initial BIOS enabling software boot without corruption. It also helps safeguard privacy and integrity by encrypting each virtual machine with up to 509 unique encryption keys known only to the processor.
Most Common Use Case of Dedicated CPU Plan
Harness the full power of the CPU for applications and workloads. Fast loading and responsive applications in the absence of other clients competing for computing power. Scalable on-demand and intended for heavy workloads, such as AI, machine learning, CI/CD, batch processing, and video encoding.
Big News! LayerStack R208-HK is rated the Best VPS Oct 2020 by VPSBenchmarks. In the past October, VPSBenchmarks – an independent cloud benchmarking platform, has purchased and tested 15 cloud server plans offering by top cloud providers like Google, AWS, DigitalOcean etc. Those servers will be then evaluated on cloud speed, stability and affordability and a grade from A-E will be assigned to 5 evaluative categories. According to VPSBenchmarks report, LayerStack is scored 79 and ranked the first place among tested cloud providers.
In fact, LayerStack R108-HK was also awarded with Best Value VPS July 2020. VPSBenchmarks had compared the 14 most similar plans offering by top providers, it had included the indicator of price in the analysis which is slightly different to the recent evaluation. As of result, LayerStack was ranked top 3 among listed plans. We will continue to improve our service and provide our customer with superior cloud computing solutions.
LayerStack is consistently committed to improving and providing our valued customer with superior cloud computing service. We have made some adjustments on the plans and offers on LayerPanel, the highlights are listed below:
New High Frequency CPU Cloud Server: We are exciting to announce that High Frequency CPU Cloud Server is officially launched, it is powered by 2nd Gen AMD EPYC 7742 with base clock speed 2.25GHz and a turbo boost of 3.4GHz. Specially designed for most demanding and CPU-intensive workloads. The plan and pricing information is available at https://www.layerstack.com/pricing-cloud-servers.
Withdrawal of High Storage Plan: The High Storage Plan is no longer available on LayerPanel. It is removed from our official website on 27/10/2020.
Changes in LayerStack Template: Template is now integrated with VM Import on LayerPanel supporting five VM image format including VDI, VMDK, VHDX, QCOW2, and RAW. Every account can create or import 3 templates with max. size 150GB each. Full Template details at https://www.layerstack.com/templates.
New Feature to Private Networking: Labeling function is now available, cloud users can add customized label to different Private Network.
Price Adjustment on Acronis Offsite Backup Service: A new price list is applied to Acronis Offsite Backup Service. The updated pricing can be reached at https://www.layerstack.com/pricing-acronis.
Price Adjustment on DDoS Attack Protection Service: The cost for DDoS protection add-on is adjusted from US$ 18 to US$20.5 per month. Full DDoS Protection details at https://www.layerstack.com/ddos-protection.
You can also check out all the previous updates at LayerStack Release Note. It is very appreciated if you have any ideas for improving our products, please let us know your comments on LayerStack Community.
LayerStack is coming up with an exciting, one-of-a-kind High Frequency CPU Server Plan unmatched in the cloud-computing industry. Applications that depend upon higher computing power, faster network speeds, and lightning access to storage infrastructure will significantly benefit from the plan. The plan utilizes high-rating CPU – the AMD EPYC 7742 which boasts a superior performance with 64 cores and 128 threads. It comes with a high base clockspeed of 2.25 GHz, capable of a turbo boost up to 3.4 GHz. The 2nd generation EPYC processor is based on Zen 2 microarchitecture, with a TDP of 225 W and built on the 7 nm process technology.
Uses of High Frequency CPU Server
High Frequency CPU Servers handle high-performance computing (HPC) workloads easily due to their superior clock speeds, large bandwidth, and fast I/O transfers. The ability to perform quadrillions of calculations is immensely useful in data-sensitive applications, hyper-converged infrastructure, increased VM density, and processing complex calculations with humongous data in real-time.
The EPYC server series provides the computing backbone for Google Cloud, Amazon Web Services, and Microsoft’s Azure services. Research labs use clusters of high-frequency CPU servers for predicting and tracking storms and testing new products. Live event streaming, rendering mind-blowing special effects, and 3D imaging need powerful CPUs. Artificial intelligence and machine learning use HPC in applications ranging from detecting credit card fraud to teaching self-driving vehicles. Real-time stock trends and automated trading platforms use high-frequency servers extensively.
Comparison of CPU’s used by LayerStack and other top cloud providers.
LayerStack uses AMD’s powerful EPYC series processors in all its plans. According to Passmark’s CPU benchmarking test, LayerStack CPUs’ score is significantly higher than the CPUs selected by most of the top cloud providers, we have picked a few providers and compare the CPU efficiency.
*The comparison below is for reference purpose only, the information may vary due to different cloud server deployment, LayerStack bears no responsibility for any listed information.
LayerStack
The Standard Plan uses AMD EPYC 7662 and 7702, with clockspeeds between a base 2.0 GHz and max turbo 3.35 GHz. They both have 64 cores and supports 128 threads simultaneously, with a TDP up to 225W.
The High Frequency CPU Plan uses the AMD EPYC 7742 which is highly scored by PassMark Software.
DO Cloud Provider
The Standard Plan uses Intel Xeon E5-2650 v4, with clockspeeds between a base 2.2 GHz and turbo 2.9 GHz. Launched in Q2 2016, the Xeon has 12 cores and supports 24 threads, with a TDP of 105W.
The CPU-optimized Plan uses Intel Xeon Gold, with clockspeeds between a base 2.3 GHz and turbo 3.7 GHz. Launched in Q4 2017, it has 18 cores and supports 36 threads, with a TDP of 140W.
L Cloud Provider
The Standard Plan uses both Intel Xeon E5-2697 v4, with clockspeeds between a base 2.3 GHz and turbo 3.6 GHz, and AMD EPYC 7501 between 2.0 GHz and 3.0 GHz. The Xeon has 18 cores and supports 36 threads, while the 7501 has 32 cores and supports 64 threads.
The Dedicated-CPU Plan uses AMD EPYC 7601, with clockspeeds between a base 2.2 GHz and turbo 2.7 GHz. Launched in Q4 2017, the 7601 has 32 cores and supports 64 threads, with a TDP of 180W.
Comparison Result
LayerStack’s EPYC 7702 and 7742 have the highest CPU Mark scores, followed by L Brand’s EPYC 7601 and 7501. DO Brand’s Xeon E5-2560 scores the lowest.
To cope with the demanding workloads, LayerStack maximize the cloud performance with AMD EPYC to deliver the best cloud computing service to our valued customers. Today, AMD dominates the cloud computing market, the 2nd Gen AMD EPYC™ Processors series is specifically designed for cloud-based solutions which sets a higher standard for cloud deployments. Innovative design makes AMD EPYC™ #1 in performance across industry to propel cloud users’ workloads simply and cost-effectively.
LayerStack Cloud Configuration & Use Case
LayerStack cloud servers are configured with top-class AMD EPYC aiming to provide leading cloud efficiency in the industry. It delivers outstanding values for users to manage most of the general and CPU-intensive workloads such as machine learning, video editing, compiling programs and AD serving.
LayerStack standard cloud servers uses 2nd Gen AMD EPYC 64 Core CPU. All selected CPU are with 64 cores and 128 threads and launched after Q3 2019. They runs with base clock speed 2.0 GHz and max. turbo boost 3.4 GHz. Moreover, LayerStack’s coming high frequency CPU servers are configured with AMD EPYC 7742 with higher operating frequency and turbo speed.
CPU Comparison By Geekbench Browser
The new High Frequency CPU Cloud Server (Launch on 27/10/2020) is specially for CPU-intensive cloud usage. We have conducted a simple comparison for the CPU used by top cloud providers with Geekbench Browser on 23rd Oct , a cross-platform processor benchmark to evaluate single-core and multi-core performance. We purchased the most similar optimized-CPU servers with 2 vCPU and 4GB Ram directly from each provider for comparison. It can be seen that LayerStack High Frequency CPU Server is rated the highest with 7919 multi-core score. Vutlr is ranked second with 7820 points. AWS Lightsail and DigitalOcean are at the third and the fourth place with 6246 and 4670 points respectively.
VPSBenchmarks is an independent platform for measuring the performance of cloud pr. Every year, more than 30 providers and 150 servers are tested and reported performacne at https://www.vpsbenchmarks.com. Recently, LayerStack commissioned VPSBenchmarks to evaluate the performance of virtual machines (VMs) from several different Cloud Service Providers (CSPs): Amazon Web Services, Google Compute Engine, Microsft Azure, DigitalOcean, Linode, and Vultr. The performance of Web, CPU, Disk IO, Network and Stability has been evaluated to conduct below report.
The similar-sized servers of top cloud providers are selected to compare.
Test Methodology
VPSBenchmarks buys cloud servers directly from cloud providers. It sets them up with Ubuntu 18.04 or 20.04 and installs test software on each new instance. The specifications of tested servers are collected and uploaded to VPSBenchmarks. Four types of benchmarks are running on every instance: Web; Sysbench CPU, storage and memory; Network Transfers; Endurance.
Numerous metrics are generated from each benchmark and they are grouped into performance categories (Web, CPU, Disk IO, Network and Stability). Then a grade from A to F is calculated in each category for the evaluated server.
According to the result, LayerStack’s VM performance was superior in nearly all measured VM performance dimensions. In addition, in both Web Performance and Network Performance categories, LayerStack was scored as B grade providing the most compelling performance per dollar available in the industry.
Summary
The VPSBenchmarks report reveals LayerStack is competitive with the hyperscale providers such as AWS, Google Cloud and Azure. LayerStack shows excellent performance values in all areas. Besides, LayerStack combines an aggressive pricing strategy with outstanding web performance and excellent computational performance. This positions LayerStack as a world class Cloud Service Provider which offers machines for a variety of use cases, meeting requirements that span individual end-users, developers as well as large-scale enterprises.
** This report is conducted by 3rd party – VPSBenchmark and it is for reference purpose only. LayerStack bear no responsibility for any listed information. The full report is not published yet, if you want to get access to full report once it has launched, please send an email to [email protected]. Please let us know your comments and suggestions on LayerStack Community.
Cloud providers are offering diverse cloud features and add-ons aiming to enhance cloud efficiency and data security. In most case, users just need to pay a small cost to enjoy the powerful features like private networking, auto-backup and DDoS protection. Some of the listed features are even free to enjoy, such as template and unlimited traffic. In this article, a simple feature comparison of top cloud providers is conducted for cloud users’ reference.
In this feature comparison, AWS, Azure, Google Cloud, Linode, DigitalOcean and Vultr have been chosen to compare. This report is for reference purpose only, all related information is accessed on their official website, the content may not be completely true or may become untrue in the future, we bear no responsibility for any listed information. Besides, we have conducted a simple Price Comparison Report, interested readers can reach the article HERE.
Private Networking and VPC
Private networking and VPC are the uprising features for clients to place sensitive data like customer information and transaction data. Although Lindoe states itself offering private network, the network connects the whole datacenter and users need to block traffic with Firewall. The data security concern still exists when there is no dedicated VLAN for specific instances. Moreover, LayerStack’s global private network is ready to be launched which protect users to send sensitive data across regions. This feature is currently supported by global brands like AWS and Azure, but other providers do not offer related options.
Template, also known as snapshot, is widely provided by all the brands. Users can save a template of instances at a point of time, it is useful when cloud users want to deploy multiple cloud servers with the same configurations. Todays, LayerStack’s template is integrating with Image Import, users can export a virtual machine image from your virtualization environment for quick server deployments.
As for Custom ISO, the scenario is in contrast to global VPC. Cloud-based companies do offer similar options allowing users to install their own operation system on cloud server, while global brands AWS and Azure do not support this function. Custom ISO is especially useful for companies who need to run specific OS (or specific version of OS) for business applications and industrial software.
LayerStack exclusively offer free unlimited traffic to customers which is not offered by any listed cloud providers. In general, most providers are charging users for data transfer. A study shows that data usage costs often end up contributing 30% of total cost (Cloud Evangelist, 2019). In brands like Azure, AWS and Google, users are charged approx. US$ 0.12 for every GB downloaded from cloud or moved to another server. On the other hand, package-based cloud providers charge users US$ 0.01 for each additional GB usage after accounts have reached the transfer limit. However, LayerStack would not charge any cost for data transfer.
Multi-cloud is the use of two or more cloud providers. Many enterprises divide the businesses into several parts and place in different cloud environment. Although multi-cloud strategy might give businesses extra values, the risks of multi-cloud outweigh the benefits. Placing data in several providers may reduce the data security because securing a multi-cloud environment can be significantly more difficult than with a single cloud provider. In fact, moving the workloads from multiple cloud providers to one can also enhance the efficiency and lower the cost. In this article, it will discuss about the benefits of cloud integration and what solutions are available to keep your data secure.
Save Cost
One key selling points of cloud is the scalability, cloud server can be freely upgraded and downgraded. In fact, the subscription fee of larger-sized server tends to be much cheaper than small-sized server combinations. Besides, cloud users are installing diverse software in servers, the IT expenses of software licenses like antivirus software can be reduced.
Employee Training
The systems of cloud providers are most likely different, it requires large effort and is time-consuming to train IT staff to control multiple cloud computing platforms. It is also very hard for them to manage the cloud and the data in usual as cloud structure is complicated especially when workloads are involved with hybrid cloud infrastructure and multi-cloud strategy.
Security Concern
Cloud providers are offering different solutions to protect clients’ data, such as auto-backup and DDoS protection. Auto-backup refers to automatic snapshot of the cloud server that users can restore the servers in any disasters. Due to the big cost saved from single cloud, they can activate these features without any extra investment to enjoy entire protection to the cloud.
Virtual Private Cloud
For sensitive data, global virtual private cloud(VPC) is an advanced solution for users to keep data like confidential projects, customer information and transaction data. It works with global private network and a true isolated instance. VPC is also effective in safeguarding business from disasters. Data can be real-time mirroring to those isolated instances and work properly to minimize the negative impacts.
Expanding your business is a crucial decision that involves meticulous consideration related to a multitude of factors. When you are considering Asia business expansion, you cannot rule out well-developed world city like Singapore because of infrastructures, tax policies and trade openness, as well as the maturity of data center. Reach the full article at Serchen Blog.