FAQs
Will I be able to upgrade my box in the future?
Yes, certainly. Right now we’re working on our account admin system, where you’ll be able to login and upgrade your boxes and extra services. In the meantime, just submit a support ticket and we’ll arrange an upgrade for you.
How many Rails apps can I host?
In theory, there is no limit to the number of Ruby on Rails apps you can host on your Brightbox. However, each mongrel process typically consumes between 60-90MB of RAM (depending on your app) so a single app running two mongrels might use up to 180MB RAM.
Can I cluster several Brightboxes together?
Yes, certainly. If you’ve got at least two 512 Brightboxes and you’d like to load balance between them (for high availability and/or high performance reasons) we can setup a cluster so you can run the same app on multiple boxes. Please submit a support ticket and we can discuss your requirements.
What stuff can I install/run on my Brightbox?
Pretty much whatever you want – you have root access to your Brightbox, so you’re in control. Subject, of course, to the Acceptable Use Policy :)
How are Virtual Server resources fixed?
Each Brightbox has a dedicated amount of RAM (256,512,1024 or 2048MB) and a percentage of total CPU usage (proportional to the RAM size), so a 512 box has twice the scheduled amount of CPU usage of a 256 box. CPU usage is also burstable up to around 95% of the total CPU of the host server.
Do I need to be a Sys Admin to use Brightbox?
Not necessarily, but it’s worth remembering that a Brightbox is a self-managed server so you’ll probably benefit from learning a bit about basic server administration to help you maintain your server.
Do you offer support and consultancy services?
Yes, please check out our Professional Support section for more information.
How does billing work?
You can choose to be billed on a monthly or yearly basis. Yearly purchases are discounted so that you only pay for 10 months to get a whole years service.
How many MySQL databases do I get?
We don’t limit the number of databases you can create (within reason). Instead, each Brightbox comes with a number of connections to our managed MySQL servers (1 mongrel = 1 MySQL connection).
Do you have reseller or referral programme?
Yes, we have an affiliate program which pays out a generous one-off payment per sale (between £39 and £199). If you’re interested in reselling our services, please email hello@brightbox.co.uk
What if I go over my bandwidth quota?
If you occasionally go slightly over your bandwidth quota that’s not a problem. If you exceed your quota considerably, then you’ll be charged £5 +vat per 5 gigabytes (or part of) for traffic in excess of your quota at the time of billing.
If you have a question that’s not answered here – please let us know
