Q2 2024 — PlanetHoster near you

In this second blog of 2024, we report on the latest advances in the development of our suite of web-based tools. We pay particular attention to the deployment of the N0C platform for HybridCloud® and the transition from cPanel to N0C. We also talk about our participation in various events in Canada and Europe. Finally, we give a sneak preview of the new features soon to be available to our customers.

N0C Now Available on PlanetHoster’s HybridCloud

N0C has long been available only on The World web hosting platform. Now it is the turn of HybridCloud dedicated servers!

In fact, it is now possible to migrate accounts from The World to a dedicated cloud server hosting solution. For PlanetHoster, this is a major step forward in the world of web hosting.

The availability of N0C for HybridCloud dedicated servers is a project we have been working on for a very long time. Our team is all the more proud to announce its deployment, as the development process has been complex and full of challenges, fertile with lessons learned and the acquisition of new expertise. Mission accomplished!

Readers will find interesting technical details in the blog PlanetHoster Unveils HybridCloud N0C® , a Next-Generation Dedicated Server Offering.

A Few Words About the HybridCloud Plan

The HybridCloud plan is a dedicated hosting service for web professionals who need high performance and greater flexibility than shared hosting. What is more, the PlanetHoster team supports them free of charge at all times.

This solution offers you several advantages over the cloud server, such as complete isolation of your resources on a dedicated HybridCloud and the ability to increase the resources available at any time. And all at very competitive rates. The return on investment of our hosting plan is real, whether in terms of performance, access to multiple CMS (as with WordPress and PrestaShop hosting), security or storage space.

Switch From cPanel to N0C: New Rates and Benefits

N0C is used by default for new accounts.

In the case of existing accounts using cPanel, PlanetHoster had to make a decision that had difficult consequences for some customers, but was necessary. We had to migrate gradually from cPanel to N0C.

We are convinced that this transition will improve our customers’ web hosting experience and offer them greater flexibility and performance.

Why this Decision?

Our readers may still be wondering why PlanetHoster decided to make such changes to its hosting infrastructure?

The subject has been discussed in our previous blogs and also in the many e-mails sent to our customers. But it is still worth putting things into context.

Since 2018, cPanel has been sold to a venture capital firm. This has led to significant increases in licensing fees and changes to the business model. These fees increases led us to develop our own control panel: N0C.

Staying with cPanel would have entailed many risks. As there would be no more updates, stability and security would be compromised. Worse still, in the event of a bug, cPanel will no longer provide support. We cannot allow our customers to be at the mercy of such risks. The probabilities and negative consequences are high.

Does N0C Deliver as Much as cPanel?

Yes, and much, much more! In fact, N0C is a more robust, cost-effective solution tailored to your needs. Judge for yourself:

• Optimum performance: the N0C platform is designed to deliver enhanced performance and security. Each site benefits from a unique space on separate infrastructures in France and Canada.
• Modernity and flexibility: PlanetHoster’s control panel features modern technologies for fine-tuned resource management and advanced customization.
• Cost transparency: unlike cPanel, the invoice PlanetHoster issues for N0C is not for each additional account. So you save on license fees.

For more information on N0C and the transition, the paragraph What is the difference with cPanel? in the blog What’s new in 2021 – Welcome to the N0C Hosting Platform provides a lot of useful information to know.

What do I Need to Know About Billing?

Quality always comes at a price. With 100 % of cPanel licenses due to be invoiced from June 15, it was to be expected that our customers would see an increase in the price of their invoices.

PlanetHoster’s managers are also savvy consumers, just like you. They are therefore able to put themselves in customers’ shoes and propose win-win solutions. That is why all our customers were advised to request a free migration to N0C HybridCloud before June 15. Customers who took advantage of this offer in time appreciated it!

Unfortunately, a number of customers were reluctant to take up the offer, and were disappointed to see their bills increase as a result. We are very sorry about this unfortunate situation. However, we knew that our decision was necessary for the common good and given the circumstances. But these customers can rest assured: our support team is still on duty, ready to stand by them 24/7.

Registry Lock Available

PlanetHoster has recently deployed a feature that lets you enable and disable a registry lock.

In the next few lines, we will explain what a registry lock is. First, however, it is absolutely essential to grasp the meaning of domain name hijacking.

What is Domain Name Hijacking?

Domain name hijacking occurs when a hacker takes control of a strategic domain name, so that he or she can modify its information to his or her own advantage.

By doing so, cyber-criminals can divert Internet traffic to other addresses, causing major damage: loss of user confidence, disruptions or information leaks are just a few examples of the many consequences you could face.

What is a Registry Lock?

Basically, the registry-level lock is designed to secure the most critical domain names against domain name hijacking. To circumvent this form of hijacking, the registry lock:

• blocks DNS server modifications;
• blocks domain name transfer;
• blocks contact modifications; and
• blocks domain name deletion.

Once the registry lock is in place, any modification request triggers triple authentication. This means that the selection of domain names to be locked must be made with care.

The article How to Manage the Registry Lock illustrates how to enable the lock, make a change request and how to disable it via PlanetHoster’s Domain Management interface.

Best Web Host

Since its very beginnings, PlanetHoster’s reputation as a web host in Canada, France and Switzerland has grown steadily. In 2023, Futura Science and les10meilleurs ranked PlanetHoster first among the best web hosts. In early 2024, pme-web.com and LeParisien.fr came to the same conclusion!

Always at the Forefront

Whether it is domain management, shared hosting or dedicated hosting, PlanetHoster takes the lead!

All these services and tools are always available at very attractive rates, sometimes even free of charge, which you can benefit from in just a few clicks! For example, PlanetHoster offers free hosting with the World Lite plan for small websites.

Values, Mission and Value Proposition

PlanetHoster’s reputation stems from our values, our mission and our value proposition. In fact, here are the key elements:

1. Security:

• data confidentiality (especially encrypted data and communications); and
• cyberdefence.

2. Performance :

3. 5-star customer experience (high-end) :

• easy-to-use interface; and
• 24/7 team with ongoing training and latest-generation tools.

PlanetHoster’s reputation for eco-friendly web hosting is proof of our long-term vision for future generations.

PlanetHoster Promotions

In addition to the many advantages for its customers, PlanetHoster offers a wide range of promotions. The article Coupon Code — Discount — Promotion lists some of them.

Eventually, we will publish a blog to keep you up to date on our promotions.

New Service Offerings for SMEs and Large Companies

The following table summarizes our service offerings for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).

Service Offer	Special Features
The World Pro	Best value for money in corporate-quality hosting
HybridCloud N0C	High performance Customized security High availability Managed
Domain names	Protect your brand Top-quality, high-value domain names Registry lock Brokerage and Escrow

Here, we summarize upcoming service offerings for large corporations and government organizations:

Service Offer	Special Features
Private Cloud	Customized private cloud Very high availability On-site, hybrid, multi-tenant solutions
Low-latency private and point-to-point networks	Low-latency encrypted network
Encrypted data storage	Military-grade encryption for your data
Cyberdefence	Advanced packet filtering DDoS protection

Participation in International Events

In an ever-changing world, collaboration between organizations is vital, so PlanetHoster takes part in many international events. Here are just a few from France, Switzerland, Belgium, Spain and Canada.

Events in France

Vivatech 2024

As seen on our Twitter account, PlanetHoster supports VivaTech, Europe’s largest event dedicated to start-ups and technology. The eighth edition took place from May 22 to 25, 2024 in Paris, at the Expo Porte de Versailles.

By connecting start-ups, technology leaders, major corporations and investors responding to our world’s greatest challenges, VivaTech contributes to the acceleration of innovation.

NDDCamp

PlanetHoster also supports NDDCamp, a series of conferences and workshops dedicated to key domain name topics. Indeed, these initiatives reflect our dedication not only to domain name registration, but also to contributing to the information and communication technology community.

This year’s event was held in Strasbourg, Alsace, on March 21, 2024. Topics covered included new extensions, legal protection, referencing, domain name selection, development and monetization, and secondary market takeovers, to name but a few. Throughout the day, attendees were able to enjoy refreshments and chat with each other and the organizers, including sponsors such as PlanetHoster and the speakers.

The next NDDCAMP will take place in Paris on September 13, 2024. It is a date!

SEO Camp’Us Paris 2024

This is the second year PlanetHoster has participated in this event. It was great to meet some of our customers and get some great feedback!

Our employees, Sylvain Mroczko and Isaac B. — members of PlanetHoster’s development and support teams respectively — gave us the key points from an SEO point of view that they took away from their participation:

• the speakers demonstrated that artificial intelligence (AI) is really being used a lot to compensate for missing skills and save time for certain positions, and to help creativity in the field;
• Google does not penalize AI-generated content;
• backlinks (external links pointing to a given domain) are still the number 1 factor for a good position in Google;
• when it comes to creating a website, it is important to bear in mind that its performance will always be crucial to good SEO;
• clicks do not directly influence positioning;
• we must do our utmost to create content that is adapted to users’ search intentions; and
• increasingly, tracking is done on the server side to bypass adblock/tracking blockers. However, it is mandatory for the site to request the user’s consent beforehand.

City of Lyon

We are proud to support such fine projects for the City of Lyon, together with Plan Rhône-Saône, Préfecture Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes, Agence de l’eau Rhône Méditerranée Corse, CNR (Compagnie Nationale du Rhône), HULA HOOP, 6e Sens Immobilier, EDF Renouvelables, GL events, Voies navigables de France, Musée des Beaux-Arts de Lyon, Bibliothèque Municipale de Lyon, Musée d’art contemporain de Lyon, Initiatives pour l’Avenir des Grands Fleuves (IAGF), Club des Acteurs Economiques de Lyon Confluence, ONLYLYON, OnlyLyon Tourisme & Congrès, Métropole de Lyon and République française.
We wish to thank Jocelyn Blanc, Guillaume MARIN and Mission Mécénat Ville de Lyon for their confidence to host entre-rhone-et-saone.fr at PlanetHoster.

Events in Switzerland

DevOps Day Geneva

In its 15 years of existence, the idea for this event has rapidly grown into a global movement. In fact, DevOpsDays spreads the principles of collaboration, innovation and continuous improvement in IT and software development practices to dozens of cities around the world.

From May 13 to 14, 2024, we took part in DevOpsDays in Geneva.

Symposium Valaisan de la Donnée

Also in Switzerland, this time on May 15, PlanetHoster was present at the Symposium Valaisan de la Donnée.

Jointly organized by Trust Valley and Groupe Mutuel, this event is part of the Tech4Trust Roadshow series, which supports start-ups in the field of cyberdefence and digital trust. Interesting presentations by start-ups initiated in-depth discussions. Attendees learned about the issues and challenges involved in ethical and explainable AI, the data economy, data privacy and data security.

“The Best of the Web” and “The Best of Advertising”

Once again, PlanetHoster, Europe’s leading green web hosting provider, has proudly announced its partnership as Platinum Sponsor of the prestigious “Le Meilleur du Web” and “Le Meilleur de la Pub” events.

As explained in the blog PlanetHoster, Platinum Sponsor of “The Best of the Web” and “The Best of Advertising” Events”, these events in French-speaking Switzerland celebrate innovation, talent and expertise in the Web and advertising fields. They offer a unique platform for highlighting the remarkable achievements in the industry.

Most recently, colegram agence de communication Genève won the Planethoster CSR Campaign Cube 2024 with its project for the Geneva State Chancellery. The campaign helped to combat electoral abstention. In the photo below, Thierry Weber, Mina Shenouda and Remo Zottarelli can be seen with a hostess hired by Lauris.ch.

Discussion with JJ Cooling Innovation

Last week, Mina Shenouda, our President, had the opportunity to discuss the future of high-performance server cooling with Dr Jackson Marcinichen and his innovative team at JJ Cooling Innovation.

Their revolutionary solutions for cooling processors, GPUs and artificial intelligence chips offer exceptional capabilities at competitive prices.

Mr. Shenouda looks forward to working with them in the near future to deploy customized Private Clouds with advanced AI/GPU capabilities in high-density configurations.

Events in Belgium

FOSDEM

FOSDEM is a free event where software developers can meet, exchange ideas and collaborate.

Every year, thousands of open source developers from all over the world gather in Brussels. An interesting feature of this event is that there is no need to register, as all you have to do is turn up and take part!

PlanetHoster will be present at FOSDEM 2025, just as we were in 2024.

Config Management Camp

Another Belgian event, this one in Ghent, caught our attention. It was the Config Management Camp, held this year from February 5 to 7, 2024.

This event is designed for technologists interested in open source infrastructure automation and related topics. This includes, among other things: open source configuration management, IT service allocation (provisioning), orchestration, choreography, container operations, and many other topics.

We will be keeping an eye out for the 2025 edition, which will take place from February 3 to 5.

Events in Spain

MWC

Global mobile operators, device manufacturers, technology providers, vendors, content owners or those interested in the future of technology… Everyone is invited to take part in this major event, as much for its importance as for its influence on the connectivity ecosystem.

Tens of thousands of senior executives from the world’s largest corporations, international governments and pioneering technology companies are making decisions at this event.

Back from MWC 2024, PlanetHoster was inspired by the discovered technologies. Get ready for revolutionary hosting solutions!

Events in Canada

numériQC Week

Québec numérique is a non-profit organization. It promotes the growth and development of the digital ecosystem of this city by creating contexts that encourage sharing and exchange between those interested in the subject. The flagship event of the Semaine numériQC, the Web à Québec (WAQ), is an outstanding example of this, as it is the largest French-language digital event in North America.

The enchanting setting of the Port of Quebec lent itself to a magnificent day that we spent there from May 28 to 30. We saw the incredible Dominic Guay, whose positive energy, full of projects and infinite possibilities, will always be appreciated. We were delighted to continue our discussions with Guillaume Bregaint and Guillaume BODEREAU from Axeptio and Axeptio.Ca. Meeting the Vooban team once again, including Lisa Tremblay and Mathieu Larouche Dubé, was equally enriching.

Networking offers the advantage not only of seeing people you hold in high esteem, but also of making new acquaintances, like Santane Weill of Solutions Kumojin and Raphael Calgaro of Intelligence Guarana.

Thanks to Thirdbridge for providing us with delicious coffee, and to Ciao – Services-conseils en TI for organizing such a festive 5@7. Thanks also to the talented André-Olivier Lyra of Lyraphoto, who captured the great atmosphere of the Web à Québec 2024 on camera.

Impact IA

Organized by Vooban on June 5 at the Port of Montreal’s Grand Quai, in collaboration with the CDPQ, Impact IA lived up to its promise: an immersion in the experiences of managers from Quebec companies regarding their digital transformation and AI integration journeys. Their successes, but also the challenges encountered, were shared.

Mr. Mina Shenouda, CEO of PlanetHoster, and Mrs. Violetta Potapova, PlanetHoster’s Marketing and Partnerships Manager, attended various conferences. Among others, the first lecture, “How to encourage innovation in a traditional company”, given by Jean Fahmy, The CSL Group Inc. with Hugues Foltz, from Vooban, caught their attention.

Confoo 2024

ConFoo is a multi-technology conference for developers. Popular international speakers deliver presentations focused on pragmatic solutions for developers.

Our developers who attended at Montreal’s Bonaventure Hotel from February 21 to 23, 2024 had access to a wide range of topics, including: architecture and design patterns, software quality, DevOps, security and management. Not to mention the latest advances in programming languages: PHP, Java, .NET, Python and JavaScript. For us, these are proud moments that highlight our commitment to growth and innovation.

Pictured below are some members of the PlanetHoster development team: Nicholas Bérubé, Javier Cordero, Sylvain Mroczko, Anthony Béchard and Normand Lemay (Director of Development).

To make sure you do not miss the 2025 edition, the dates of February 26 to 28 are marked on our calendars!

Remember when PlanetHoster was not only a participant, but also the official sponsor of ConFoo? A true highlight of our support for the technology community and lifelong learning.

Forum In

On February 15, PlanetHoster took part in the Forum IN! organized by Laval Innov, focusing on the integration of artificial intelligence in business. Thanks to the Quebec Innovation Council for this panel.

Together with Hydro-Québec and Laval économique, PlanetHoster is a 3.0 partner of ForumIN!

The next event is scheduled for February 2025. We will be there!

LanETS Diamond Partner

PlanetHoster recently announced a partnership with Lan ETS, Canada’s largest gaming party. Lan ETS is an annual LAN party organized by a student club at École de technologie supérieure university in Montreal.

This significant collaboration includes access to PlanetHoster’s cyberdefence technologies, access to HybridCloud N0C dedicated servers, domain name registration with DNSSEC protection, data storage, e-mail communications, exclusive goodies for Premium attendees, as well as surprises.

The event this year took place from June 28 to 30 at the Palais des congrès de Montréal.

Vision PDG

Vision PDG is organized by the Quebec Technology Association. The event is a unique North American summit exclusive to visionary CEOs who want to make their mark here and abroad. By participating, PlanetHoster joins the most influential leaders in Quebec’s technology industry.

The next edition will take place from April 8 to 10, 2025, at the Fairmont Mont Tremblant. The enchanting setting of the Laurentian Mountains, just north of Montreal, lends itself perfectly to the networking and exchange of views conducive to the blossoming of new ideas.

Salon Connexion

On May 9, 2024, we attended Salon Connexion, the digital transformation trade show.

As the organizers explain, this is an event designed for business leaders, innovators and thinkers who want to explore the digital technologies and trends that will shape the future.

Donations and Support to CFP des riverains

The Centre de formation professionnelle des Riverains school offers a variety of study programs, including computer support. PlanetHoster makes donations to support this CFP.

Follow-Up on Current Web Hosting Projects

Following on from our previous blogs, here are some news about our many projects.

Strapi

It will soon be possible to install Strapi on your The World hosting with PlanetHoster.

Strapi is a headless CMS, which means you can create a customizable back-end application that generates an API for you. Then, you are free to use the software infrastructure (framework) of your choice and call on this API to display the content on your website.

As a prerequisite, you will need to have your Strapi project up and running locally. It is advisable to have a The World with at least the following resources: 4 CPU, 4 MEM and 8 MB/s IO.

Upgrade to VPN Version 2 (VPN V2) from PlanetHoster

PlanetHoster VPN will also be upgrading to version 2 very soon.

Future Permanent CDN

Although our customers do not generally need a Content Delivery Network (CDN), every site is different.

So, if your sites are subject to frequent DDOS (brute force) attacks, or if they have high traffic but you want to stay on a shared site, among other things, you will need to use cloudflare. To make life easier for you in cases like these, we are about to set up a permanent CDN.

All the more reason to choose a web host like PlanetHoster in Canada, France, Switzerland and Belgium.

New Ideas

We would like to remind you that, aware that it is crucial to satisfy our customers whose needs are constantly changing, we encourage them to give their opinion and enter their ideas for new features via the https://features.planethoster.com link.

Subscribe to Our Newsletter

Would you like to subscribe to our newsletter on web hosting and domain names? Simply enter the following URL in your browser and complete the questionnaire: https://my.planethoster.com/v2/newsletter/signup?email=.

The PlanetHoster Team

On June 20, the “Super Team PH” celebrated the arrival of summer in an atmosphere of friendly competition between colleagues. In fact, during a 5 to 7 at Tag E-Karting, in Ste-Thérèse, north of Montreal, they were able to fraternize in an informal setting, further cementing their team spirit.

A Company Committed to the Employees Health

PlanetHoster’s humanist values are reflected not only in the donations we make to the community, but also in the well-being of our team: knowing that a healthy employee is happier and more productive, PlanetHoster puts forward a number of initiatives.

Our readers may recall that, since last year, the company has been awarding scholarships to young students at the charitable Argenteuil kung fu school¹. In recognition of PlanetHoster’s generosity to the students of his martial arts school, and knowing that the health and fitness benefits of this discipline are well known, Louis Roy — our technical editor — is now offering free kung fu classes to his colleagues. The classes take place in their spare time, on the premises of the Laval offices.

Talent Acquisition

As a hosting service provider and designer, we know that customer satisfaction depends on the competence of our staff. That is why we are always on the lookout for talented people to join our team.

Do not hesitate to make yourself known by sending us your CV! Our featured positions are displayed on this page: https://www.planethoster.com/en/Carrieres.

Conclusion

We hope this blog has given you the opportunity to share in our enthusiasm. The deployment of HybridCloud for N0C, in particular, fills us with the legitimate happiness of a job well done. Indeed, this project has proved to be complex and rich in lessons learned of all kinds, from its inception to its completion in May 2024.

Ideas abound at PlanetHoster. Right now, to serve you better, we are putting particular effort into completely redesigning the PlanetHoster website (http://(https://www.planethoster.com/en/). The eventual addition of MemCached to the choices available in N0C and the addition of other SQL engines to the development schedule are examples of high-priority projects.

1. A 3^rd-degree black belt in Wing Chun, Louis is running the School on a voluntary basis. He founded it 5 years ago in May 2019. ↩︎

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