Why is google never down, and never slow? Maybe because it’s a rich company… but the real answer I suspect is this:
Google understand that a slow website would kill their business instantly.
When your entire business is built around web pages, you better damn be sure you serve them up fast. Literally *nothing* else is this important. That means serious backup infrastructure and emergency planning. redundant systems, and a rock solid set of hardware. When I worked for datastream/ICV we had a 15 minute response time. If a client of ours had a software problem, 15 mins from picking up the phone he had it fixed. guaranteed. because we would be at his desk (from another place in the city believe it or not) within 15 mins with an entire replacement PC. We swapped out the whole thing, then diagnosed the bug in our time back at the office. To ensure this *never* went wrong, we always sent out 3 engineers in a van when we could. 1 to drive the van (no time to park), 1 to carry the replacement PC, and 1 to open doors for the guy carrying the PC. The van contained 2 complete units, in case (never happened) somehow the PC got dropped or died between leaving the office and landing on the guys desk.
Needless to say, Datastream/ICV give great support. And uptime is great. Their satellite link died for 15 minutes once. People went ballistic. I have little doubt people were sacked as a result. Of course, also needless to say, a support contract with them is expensive to say the least. we are talking megabucks.
The thing is, if you are a big city share trader, you realise that if your real time data feed is dead, you are rapidly heading towards business disaster, minute by minute. So it’s worth paying to get it right. Right now, I’m trying to buy Sound Effects from 2 different sites, and both are slow and dying on me (all other sites are fine). These guys are literally throwing money away right now.
if my site is ever down or slow, tell me. I REALLY need to know!