Hurricane Irma

[UPDATE: 9/12/2017@8:44am EST]

All systems are back to normal. Our data center has switched back to normal utility power and all is well.

[UPDATE: 9/11/2017@12:05am EST]

We have thus far withstood the worst “we” should see from “Irma”.
Our data center has been running on generators for the past 11 hours and have done a fantastic job of keeping all of our servers online throughout the Hurricane. We are not out of the woods yet, but so far we have been able to stay online and we’ve had no issues at all.

We wish all who have been, or expect to be affected by “Irma” and their families well and hope for the best for all involved. Be Safe!

VERY IMPORTANT!!
As some may already know, our data center is located in Florida and is in the path of Hurricane “Irma”.
We will keep the grid online as long as possible, but at first sign of any issues at the Data center we will be shutting down the servers in hopes of protecting them from damage.
We do have backups stored on Amazon and Azure, but due to the sizes of the files it would take a very long time to transfer these files back to Florida after the storm and then rebuild any damaged servers, so it would be best to try protecting them from damage in the first place.
Without being able to know what the actual impact of the storm may be, we are actively monitoring the situation with the data center and will do what is best to save the equipment.

Our plan is to leave the servers running for as long as we can.
The data center has dual backup generators with enough fuel to stay online for 2 weeks and the building is a very well constructed building rated to withstand a cat 5 hurricane. It is a multifloor building and some of our servers are on the first floor and some of our servers are on the 2nd floor.
The most serious issue we are looking at is “Storm Surge” which is expected to be between 1-3 feet at the data center. If this should happen, some of the first floor servers will be at risk of flooding and in this situation they will be shutdown if needed without warning.

Additionally, even though the data center has backup generators, power won’t do us any good without data connectivity, so if something were to happen there, we’re at the mercy of repair crews.
While we expect to keep running for as long as we can, it would be wise to expect sudden loss of service in case we need to shut down servers, or in case of damage to data lines in the area.

Please watch our google+ page for additional details as we get them.