It’s never not a busy time for the web hosting industry. But right now is a particularly eventful period. With issues such as protocol adoption, hacking, growth and industry surveys, to name but a few. And all are happening at the same time. Read on for the low-down on insider juice and to find out what’s happening in the wonderful world of web hosting news. Because, well, you know what they say – Information is ammunition. Especially for you infrastructure providers out there!

1. IPv6 hits 10% deployment just in time for 20th anniversary

Twenty years ago this month, Internet Protocol, Version 6 (IPv6) Specification was launched. But this had only been adopted by half a percent of the Internet’s users each year over the past two decades. Google calculates that the world has now reached 9.98% IPv6 deployment, up from just under 6% a year ago.

However, every piece of network equipment on the internet will have to be upgraded to IPv6 before IPv4 can be retired. So even though all operating systems and nearly all network equipment have supported IPv6 for many years, if just one device doesn’t understand the new protocol, IPv4 has to stay in action.

2. IT systems in Utah face 300mn hacking attempts every day

A massive botnet is attacking the NSA’s Utah data center, producing up to an eye-watering 300 million intrusion attempts per day. According to a statistical survey, the computer systems in the US state of Utah started experiencing hacking a few years back. In fact, soon after the NSA revelations emerged by global surveillance whistleblower Edward Snowden. Remember him? He revealed the presence of the data center in Bluffdale, Utah.

Security officers identified a sudden influx of IP traffic traced into foreign IP ranges. They described the incident as a model of a botnet attack. In order to try and reduce how effective the attack was, the installation’s security staff have blocked a number of IP addresses from China, Russia and Indonesia. Surely some web hosting news to munch on!

3. Cloudflare records massive network growth in Q1

Global content delivery network (CDN) provider Cloudflare announced record network growth in the first quarter of 2018. Cloudflare now protects more than 8 million domains, websites, APIs, mobile applications, and anything connected to the Internet.

The company announced three major new products in the quarter. Including Cloudflare Access, a solution for accessing internal enterprise applications. Then Cloudflare Workers – a “better, faster” way for developers to deploy and execute code directly at the edge of Cloudflare’s global network. And finally, the Cloudflare Mobile SDK – a free solution that lets any mobile app developer understand network performance and metrics.

Together with IBM, Cloudflare also launched Cloud Internet Services–a package of Cloudflare’s security and performance capabilities designed to protect enterprise public-facing web content and applications.

Check out Server Shield by Cloudflare, available in our Extensions Catalog.

4. Billions pumped into building new, large-scale data facilities

Up and down the US, data center hubs have been transforming communities and expanding hosting and connectivity capabilities. One of those hubs is located in Des Moines, Iowa. Here you’ll find more than 6,150,000 square feet of data center space, either built or slated for building.

Billions of dollars are being invested in the region. So we’re seeing Microsoft, Facebook and Apple set up bases with large scale facilities. The world’s largest data center owners call Iowa home. Facebook, Microsoft, Apple and LightEdge Solutions own nearly 4 million square feet of floor space between them in the region.

5. Joint survey by Intel and Dell about DCIM products use

Last but not least in web hosting news! Almost 50% of the IT admins out there have little idea about what is happening inside their data centers. Because a survey by Intel and Dell has revealed that they haven’t adopted data center infrastructure management (DCIM) products.

The survey shows that only about half of IT admins use DCIM. Even though 44% of respondents reported regular power problems in their data centers and 37% said they experience frequent cooling problems. Meanwhile, 75% of the respondents who had deployed DCIM did it primarily to cut costs.

The survey also revealed that the majority of those that use DCIM do so as a substitute for power management tools. Just over half use detailed power monitoring tools where they’re provided by DCIM systems. And 64% used DCIM for reasons of environmental friendliness.

That’s enough web hosting news for this month

When we know more, you’ll know more as we keep the monthly web hosting news roundups going. Have you heard any further news that we’ve missed? Let us know in the comments below. In the meantime, stay tuned for more juicy stuff in June, as told by Plesk!