Managed web services

MANAGED WEB SERVICES

Linux Security, Administration and Management for Your Web App. Now, Sleep Better…

The Managed Web Services offered by OPG are designed to help you sleep better at night without knowing anything about servers, hosting, DNS, security or other technical (geeky) terms. Most small businesses do not have a team of Linux engineers on staff who monitor their own web platform, detect and respond to downtime or security related events, ensuring that the platform stays updated and current and otherwise “oversee” all of the bits and bytes that are necessary to keep their web applications running. OPG provides this service for you, with a low level of budget requirement and helps ensure these items are not ones you need to worry about.

Managed Web Services Core Solutions

When you run a website, or build a web application, there are many systems that are necessary to make that tool visible to the world. Servers, script interpreters, databases, domain names, DNS, security settings, and so many others are in play. In fact, many businesses have no idea how many components are packed into that hosting account that you pay a few bucks a month for to make your website available. The goal of this service to have OPG provide direct involvement and oversight of these systems to ensure the highest level of uptime and the best experience possible for end users. Some of the key service areas of OPG Managed Web Services include:

Server/Hosting

Your current vendor will continue in its role of primary server and hosting management. This includes server management, hardware issues, network uptime, DDOS and network layer security (depending on your configuration), general hardware level security, etc. OPG serves as an intermediary between the client and their hosting company as required.

DNS Management

OPG will gather and consolidate your DNS and DNS hosting into a central location, and will advise the use of an “enterprise” DNS provider to ensure you have the power and control of your DNS routing at all times. This ensures control and maximum uptime for DNS service and provides for a service where updates needed to DNS entries are reflected in the shortest possible time for propagation.

Security

Primary server and hardware security will remain the responsibility of Hosting company. However, OPG provides an extension of the default services offered by most hosts to include a security hardening checklist that extends the protection of your platform dramatically. The checklist currently stands at over 130 points that are checked and addressed to ensure that a “default build” server does not remain that way. Doing these things heads off many attack vectors before they can even begin. Application level security is also considered so that roles and responsibilities are assigned and executed as required for the client environment.

Monitoring and Alert Systems

OPG deploys external monitoring services to detect downtime on any site on the production server. This also tracks any related “uptime” concerns such as detection of specific text on pages and similar to ensure no site issues go unnoticed. In addition to “uptime” monitoring, OPG will install a server management monitoring suite that will alert of items such as high load, high CPU usage, growing disk usage and many other factors. These solutions allow OPG to be proactive and to respond to areas of concern quickly and before they become a customer-impacting incident.

Site Inventory

An inventory of all currently hosted and in-development servers, sites, domains and other known assets will be developed and maintained across your platform. This will include the host names, IPs, access credentials, database names, database credentials, SSL renewal periods, domain renewals (where applicable) etc. Finally, you will know all the details of all the components of your web platforms at all times.

SSL Certificates

An inventory of all currently valid SSL certificates is created and maintained. This ensures that the source of the SSL, the expiration dates and other details are available and monitored.

Upgrade Management

OPG will monitor the primary service areas as noted in the platform overview on a monthly and quarterly basis to determine any upgrade patterns required. More brief weekly reviews of system monitors and other details are also provided. For the monthly and quarterly review, this includes the operating system, web server, scripting languages, database platforms and other relevant services. Any security concerns that affect these items that require “immediate” patches will be managed and applied by the OPG team. OPG will define a schedule for upgrades (e.g. monthly) so that any scheduled upgrades to any of the core platforms are planned and consistently deployed. This is essential in ensuring that new vulnerabilities do not remain exploitable within your platform.

The total scope of even more basic hosting environments is far greater than most businesses realize. Having a service like Managed Web Services ensures that all of those pieces not only fit together well, but stay safe, stable and secure for the long term.

To learn more about this service, please reach out!  We’d love to talk to you!