Latest Product and Feature Updates: Feb 2021

LayerStack is consistently committed to improving and providing our valued customers with superior cloud computing services. We have adjusted the plans and offers on LayerPanel as well as introduced new features, the highlights are listed below:

Global Private Network:  We are excited to announce that the Global Private Network is officially launched, it is now available in Hong Kong, Singapore and Japan. Users can transfer data through the private Layer 2 connection (dedicated VLAN) between cloud servers regionally and globally. Through the private data link layer networks between instances, it increases security and privacy during data transfer by end-to-end encryption.

Cloud Servers with Enterprise PCIe Gen 4 NVMe SSD:  High Frequency CPU and Dedicated CPU cloud servers are equipped with the ultra-fast PCIe Gen4 NVMe SSD (enterprise version).  NVMe (Non-Volatile Memory Express) SSD enhances consistency, reliability and performance while increasing the efficiency for data storage, management, and accessibility.

Updates in Memory Optimized Cloud Server Plans: The specification of HM24-HK & HM48-HK have been upgraded while HM90-HK has been removed since 09 Feb 2021. Moreover, HM64-HK & HM128-HK have been newly added. For more details, please view the price plan.

You can check out the release notes to get up to date information about product updates, and read about updates from the previous month here. 

We hope you’ll give the new products and updates a try. If you have an idea for improving our products or want to vote on other user ideas so they get prioritized, please submit your feedback on our Community platform. And if you have any questions, please feel free to ask in the Community.

Dedicated GPU For Cloud Servers

Dedicated GPU Cloud Servers

It is pleased to announce the new Dedicated GPU option specially designed for users with intensive and special computing needs. Users can harness the full power of dedicated GPU to achieve ultra-high performance computing cloud servers specialized in Data Parallel Computation, Machine Learning and Graphically-Intensive Projects.

Machine Learning

GPU is widely used in deep learning because of the strong capability of parallel computing. Compared to CPU, GPU has much more cores to learn representations automatically from data such as images, video or text. Thus, it helps to reduce machine learning training time from days to minutes, enabling researchers and developers to obtain faster, more accurate information from deep learning.

Graphically Demanding Applications

Besides, GPU is effective in video and image rendering. The long rendering time is always a major issue to creative professionals that tied up computing resources and stifled creative flow. Modern GPUs enable and accelerate the cloud servers to process video and graphic in higher-definition formats. Obviously, it is also powerful in computationally intensive gaming, providing gamers with smoother and higher-quality gaming experience.

Specification

LayerStack offers NVIDIA® Tesla T4 GPU for intensive users. T4 is a high rating GPU with 2560 CUDA cores and 320 Tensor cores, it has 16GB GDDR6 Memory and 40 RT core. Work together with best-in-class AMD EPYC2 CPU to deliver the best cloud performance for most demanding applications.

　

We very much value your feedback for future developments, please let us know your comments and suggestions on LayerStack Community.

NVMe SSD Boosts Cloud Performance

NVMe SSD Boosts Cloud Servers and VPS Performance

We are pleased to announce that LayerStack launches the NVMe SSD (Enterprise PCLe Gen 4 NVMe SSD) for High Frequency CPU Cloud Servers and Dedicated CPU Cloud Servers. NVMe (Non-Voliatile Memory Express) is an interface protocol built especially for Solid State Drives (SSD). It works with PCI Express to connect SSDs to a server and accessing high-speed storage. NVMe takes full advantage of CPU utilization and high-performance flash memory. This increases the performance and efficiency of instances incredibly. It runs multiple I/O operations simultaneously, enabling the processing of multicore and provides the Quality of Service. 

Faster Read-Write Speed And High-Speed Storage

Faster Read-Write Speed And High-Speed Storage For Cloud Servers

Compared with SAS/SATA SSD, the enterprise NVMe SSD can handle multiple streams of data at the same time.  It results in a faster storage speed. In addition, data can be written simultaneously by allowing the data division and streamline through NVMe.  This results in faster interfaces and optimized routines for writing data to the SSD.

Facts & Comparison

NVMe is 4 time faster than traditional SSD

PCIe sockets applied by NVMe transfer 25 times data than their SATA equivalent. For Input/Output Operations Per Second (IOPs), NVMe results in at least 4 time faster than traditional SSD in the market. The NVMe can deliver sustained read-write speed of 2000MB/s which is way faster than the speed limit 600MB/s of SATA SSD III.

New Deployments Get Configure Advanced SSDs

As of now, new deployments of High Frequency CPU Cloud Servers and Dedicated CPU Cloud Servers will get advanced NVMe SSD storage, the pricing of plans remain unchanged. Check out our plans and pricing HERE.
　
We very much value your feedback for future developments, please let us know your comments and suggestions on LayerStack Community.

Global Private Networking – Transfer Data Across Regions In Secure and Low Latency Environment

New global private network for sensitive data to be transfer regionally and globally.

LayerStack Private Networking gives users increased flexibility when it comes to transferring sensitive data. All data is transmitted via a high capacity and low latency isolated network. In fact, we are seeing private networking grow at an exceptional rate. It’s our privilege to help users run their cloud servers within a private environment. As such, we are delighted to announce that Global Private Networking is officially launched on LayerPanel, available in Hong Kong, Singapore and Japan.

Introduction of Global Private Network

The global private network is the upgrade version of the original private network. Users can now transfer data in end-to-end encryption through the private Layer 2 connection regionally and globally. All selected region of the  private networks include two items:

1) 1,000 Mbps network connection within the region &

2) 10 Mbps global bandwidth which allows users to transferred across regions to other endpoints with the private network.

Data can only transfer between activated regions, so users need to activate at least two regions to transfer data across regions. Traffic over private networking is free and does not count against servers’ data transfer.

Upgraded global private network allow data to be transmitted across regions securely

How does Global Private Network work?

Principle of global private network

When two or more regions are picked for the global private networking, data can be transferred between regions. It include the first 10Mpbs bandwidth, users can buy additional bandwidth to increase the port speed for specific regions. Global private networking is rare in the cloud industry at the moment due to technical limitations, most of the globalized cloud providers do not have similar offers.

Use Case: Cross-Region VPC

Cross-Region VPC to protect sensitive and important data

Virtual Private Cloud is instance that logically isolated from the public internet. With the new global private networking, VPC will be available for enterprises to place sensitive data in different countries. Moreover, Cross-Region VPC can work as a part of users’ disaster recovery plan. Data can by mirroring data to a standby server housed at a different datacenter to ensure minimal recovery time objection (RTO).

Use Case: Internal Load Balancing

Sometimes servers may meet overloaded data transfer due to diverse reasons like website traffic spikes. An internal load balancer can optimize your workload performance and help prevent overwhelmed on a single server to meet activity spikes. With quick response times and full isolation via the private network subnet, load balancing optimizes resource allocation and gives users the flexibility to scale out their application environment to meet the traffic growth.

Internal Load Balancing to deal with data and traffic spikes

We very much value your feedback for future developments, please let us know your comments and suggestions on LayerStack Community.

Millions-Invested LayerPanel For Your Superior Cloud Experience

Millions Invested LayerPanel For Your Superior Cloud VPS Experience

LayerPanel is a multi-functional cloud control panel for users to deploy, manage and analyze their cloud servers. It is one of the key values for users to subscript LayerStack’s cloud servers as they can take benefits from the one-stop panel and manage the cloud effectively. This article will discuss the values of the panel.

Launched in 2019, LayerPanel (full name LayerPanel 2) is the cloud control panel developed by LayerStack. Millions of US dollars have been invested in R&D on LayerPanel aiming to build a simple, scalable and stable cloud environment for cloud users. It supports RESTful API which is very useful for businesses to build, expand and maintain their systems.

Quick cloud servers deployment and condition tracking

The powerful panel allows users to quickly deploy a server in 1 minutes with few clicks. Users can select the type of instances, operation system, private networking and many more in the cloud deployment process. Users can also easily manage multiple accounts and servers on the panel, those servers can be analyzed by tracking the CPU and RAM usage, disk read/write, and bandwidth usage through a simple web-based interface.

With frequent updates, many new products and features are launched on schedule. For example, the Dedicated CPU Cloud Servers is launched on the panel in Q4 2020, new Dedicated GPU and Global Private Network will be launched in the upcoming Q1 2021. Users can set up or purchase all the services easily on Layerpanel, the cloud efficiency has been enhanced as a result.

Control panel enhances cloud server VPS security

As for security issue, Layerpanel also plays an important role. User Permission Management allows users to allocate authority to 3rd parties accessing or managing the servers without security concerns. Moreover, build-in Firewalls and DDoS Protection add-on are effective in protecting the businesses’ server and network which can be all set on the panel.

In addition to the functions, users can get comprehensive support on the web-based panel. Many documentation and technical tutorial are available for users to deal with difficulties. They can also get help from our 24/7 support term or open tickets for critical issues.

Let us know your comments and suggestions on LayerStack Community.

LayerStack x unwire Cloud Trial Event 2021

Today, LayerStack partners with unwire HK, a well-known technology information website, to launch a joint promotion – Cloud Trial Event 2021. The program is open to all HK-based businesses, regardless of size or industry. No prepayment or credit card information is required, successful applicants can get 1-6 months free trial on cloud servers. Interested parties can click HERE to access the event page and fill in the application form, our CS team will then contact you in few days.

We must give a credit to unwire HK for the detailed introduction of LayerStack, the full article is available at https://unwire.hk/2021/01/14/layerstack-x-unwire/headline/. Please let us know your comments and suggestions on LayerStack Community.

The Differences Between High Frequency CPU and Dedicated CPU Cloud Servers

Differences of CPU-Focused Cloud Servers Plans


To cope with diverse needs in cloud solutions and improve users’ cloud experience, LayerStack has made significant updates to the offers in Q4 2020. It newly launched two cloud servers plans, the High Frequency CPU Cloud Servers and Dedicated CPU Cloud Servers. It is no doubt that both of them are specially designed for CPU demanding workloads and applications, so what are the differences between the two new plans? This blog will identify the differences and provide some use cases for cloud users.

High Frequency CPU Cloud Servers

Effective in AI and machine learning

Launched in October 2020, it utilizes top-class 2nd Gen AMD EPYC with a turbo boost of 3.4 GHz which is the fastest architecture available on LayerPanel. It is specially designed for applications that rely heavily on computing speed and faster data processing. Moreover, dedicated GPU will be available soon for users who are seeking ultimate ML performance on High Frequency CPU Cloud Server.

CPU Comparison

According to the CPU comparison conducted recently, CPUs applied in LayerStack’s cloud servers are scoring 71362 and 67185 by PassMark which are way ahead of the processors used by other top cloud providers. Obviously, LayerStack’s High Frequency CPU Cloud Servers is utilizing top-level processors in the cloud industry. Users’ most demanding workloads can be handled rapidly with superior clock speeds, large bandwidth, and fast I/O transfers.

Dedicated CPU Cloud Server

Suitable for latency-sensitive applications

Launched in Nov 2020, it is powered by another AMD EPYC2 which can be boosted up to 3.3GHz in turbo mode. The CPU cores are dedicated to specific servers that users can harness the full power of the CPU for their workloads. This servers plan is specially designed for long-running or latency-sensitive applications that require significant computing power to support.

Use Case

Although both new plans are CPU-related providing users with strong computing power, they are best suit in different cases. High Frequency CPU Cloud Servers is very effective in compute-intensive applications like machine learning, computer aided design (CAD) and video encoding. Dedicated CPU Cloud Server, on the other hand, is performing well in long-running projects, technical analysis, CI/CD and batch Processing.

　

Let us know your comments and suggestions on LayerStack Community.

Why Should You Adopt Cloud Servers?

Why Should You Adopt Cloud Servers? Benefits of Cloud Servers.

Cloud Servers has been a business trend for years. With cloud servers, documents and applications can be accessed through the internet on a quicker basis, cloud users can also practice Virtual desktop infrastructure (VDI) with any smart device for remote working.

It is accounted that more than 85% of businesses worldwide are making use of cloud technology to store and process data. In fact, 67% of enterprise has already turned into cloud-based. It is not surprising that the numbers keep rising today and cloud computing will become even more common in the coming future (Bulao, 2020) .

Below are some reasons why you should definitely adopt cloud solutions:

Reduce Cost

Reduce Cost with cloud servers

It is commonly agreed that application of cloud servers is able to help the organizations to cut cost which is the major reason for most of the enterprise moving workloads to the cloud. Companies can save costs from several aspects such as IT infrastructure, Energy cost, IT specialist and Data security. You can reach another blog article HERE for more details.

Scalability

Scalable Cloud Server

Scalability is another selling point of cloud servers. It may involve big investments and some time-consuming workloads to activate a physical machine, and that time lost may eventually affect your businesses. However, it takes only 5 mins to resize cloud servers to perfectly meet the changing needs and traffic spikes in a simple and cost-effective way.

Data Privacy and Security

Data Privacy and Security

Data security is the major concerns resisting businesses to apply cloud solutions. However, cloud servers are proved to be more secure than legacy system in most cases. Many cloud services possess different security solution like Firewalls, DDoS Attack Protection, Online Backup, Private Networking. You can reach another article HERE for more details.

Cloud Management

Simple Cloud Management

Cloud providers are responsible for the cloud management, once there is any error occurred, the trained specialist would respond immediately. Thus, employers do not need to worry about the IT training and the potential of human error which may lead to businesses disasters. Moreover, cloud users may apply backup solutions to prevent possible data corruption.

Conclusion

The business environment is changing rapidly, more and more workloads were moving to online to meet the changing needs. This move has been speeded up due to the outbreak of Covid-19, remote working has become more common today. Surely, there are many benefits for businesses to apply cloud computing solutions which are not discussed in this article. It is no doubt that you should get on board now and start enjoying the benefits of this megatrend!

　

Let us know your comments and suggestions on LayerStack Community.

Affiliate Bay – LayerStack Review 2020

Affiliate Bay is an independent informative site that covers a wide range of platforms, products, and online services. It has conducted a review on LayerStack cloud computing service. In the review, different elements and offers has been evaluated in detail. It is giving audience An comparatively complete picture of the quality of LayerStack service can be given to audience. It is our honour to be rated 9 out of 10 on service quality and concluded as a reliable cloud service provider. We will always maintain the high standards and a world-class cloud service to our valued customers.

Full review at: https://www.affiliatebay.net/layerstack-review/.
Let us know your comments and suggestions on LayerStack Community.

Faster than Light – LayerStack High Frequency CPU

CPU is the core power of cloud computing deciding the data-solving capability of the servers. Some CPU-intensive workload such as machine learning and financial calculations rely very much on the computing power. In fact, a CPU can be evaluated by several aspects, like cores/threads, clock speed, TDP, etc. According to the CPU comparison on PassMark, the CPU installed in LayerStack High Frequency plan outperform similar cloud servers of other top cloud providers. Reach the full article at Serchen Blog.

Let us know your comments and suggestions on LayerStack Community.