Cumulus Channel : FAQ’s / Your Reseller Hosting and Cloud questions answered?

Welcome to our Cumulus Frequently Asked Questions page. If there is anything else you would like to know please don't hesitate to get in touch with us.

Cumulus Channel Reseller

Why should I partner with Cumulus?

Cumulus Channel was created to focus 100% on using our world class hosting platform to give IT resellers and other channel partners, to easily integrate high demand cloud (or hosted) services into their business. Our team have over 15 years’ experience in infrastructure development, virtualization and application integration & deployment. The platform was built from the ground up with the channel in mind and our services are sold as white labeled solutions, allowing partners to sell them as their own service, without having to invest the six figure sums involved in developing a robust, secure and reliable data centre infrastructure of their own. The allows our partners to sell and support cloud services for their clients and maximize their margins building a subscription based income stream.
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Why choose Cumulus for Hosted Exchange?

Simply, our team are second to none when it comes to developing Hosted Exchange. In November 2010 we were one of the first handful of UK Exchange providers approved by Microsoft to roll out Hosted Exchange 2010. That tells you everything about the quality of platform. More recently we were the first UK Exchange provider to successfully integrate Blackberry with our Exchange service, and even more recently become the first provider in the world, to successfully launch Blackberry Express integrated with an Exchange control panel for automated provisioning and setup.

If that’s not enough, our team have conducted over 1000 Exchange migrations from a wide variety of providers and solutions from older versions of exchange, to web based solutions like Google mail and even more complex migrations from Lotus domino and many more. At last count we have over 22’000 users and growing rapidly, but more importantly than that, our service has a reliability that has created an enviable customer loyalty and a growing volume of migrations to our service, through our partners from clients previously with our major competitors.
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What’s included in a Cumulus Exchange 2010 Mailbox?

Unlike most of our competitors, we give our reseller partners a complete mailbox solution for a single price, which is competitive enough to allow them to package the service as they choose and make significant margins. We include for example 25gb Mailbox as standard, FREE Blackberry connectivity (typically a £3-4.00 extra with many providers), and Free Permanent Archiving through the class leading GFI Archive solution. Our aim is to give you the partner, the ability to grow a business and make strong margins!
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Why Cumulus for Hosted Desktop?

Cumulus Hosted Desktop gives you everything your clients will need for computing at the desktop, or on the move. It includes everything from latest Windows 7 based operating system and Office 2010 Professional, to Free storage and fully automated backup. For a minimal extra cost you can even integrate our market leading Hosted Exchange mailbox and Barracuda Spam and Virus Firewall.
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Why Cumulus for Online Backup?

Like all of our services, Cumulus Online Backup has been developed from the ground up as a true business class backup and disaster recovery solution. It’s fully automated and works with almost any operating system, to backup servers, PC’s and Laptops using a single client account. Our award winning software is among the most advanced in the marketplace and is packed with features that ensure your clients mission critical data is encrypted, compressed and storage securely in our UK data centre’s. To provide additional security all data is then replicated to an alternate data centre, and your clients can restore their data quickly and simply from any location in the event of a disaster.

Cumulus online backup already provides the trusted backup solution for over 500 UK businesses, schools and healthcare organisations. In over 4 years providing our backup service across the UK we have seen an almost zero client attrition rate from our resellers clients moving to other providers. This shows that clients are happy with the solution and the price, while our resellers are happy with the margins that can achieve for a service they can confidently promote to their clients.
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Can I brand the Backup Software?

Yes! Our software can be customized by our marketing team to be branded with your company image, and the daily email backup reports are completely non branded.
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How is the Online Backup service charged?

Again this is simple, our partners are invoiced once per month for the total volume of compressed data stored in the data centre for each of your clients, on a cost per gigabyte basis. You then simply invoice your clients for this volume at the price you have agreed with them on a cost per gigabyte basis.
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Can I offer a Free 30 day Trial to my Clients?

Yes, in fact we suggest you sell it this way as over 95% of clients stick with the service at the end of the trial! If you choose to give your clients the backup service Free for the first 30 days, all you do is select the Free Trial option in the setup wizard during installation and it’s done.
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Cloud Computing

Q. What is Cloud Computing?

A. Cloud Computing, or computing in “the cloud” may refer to a company's own network, but it typically refers to the Internet and the use of Web browser-based or rich client applications. In these applications, the software or service comes from the Web Servers, and the data along with the application may be saved on the servers as well.
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Q. How can Cloud Computing really help my business?

A. Everybody is talking about Cloud Computing, but what is it and what can it do for your business? Put simply, cloud computing is a method of securely storing your company files, data, applications and emails in a central off-site location or data centre. Instead of investing capital on a server sitting in your office, your information or services is hosted out in “the cloud” where it can be accessed virtually by you and your staff, often from any location. This not only saves you money by removing capital expense and maintenance costs for on-site hardware, but also offers a more flexible approach to IT, enabling employees to access everything they need to work remotely, no matter where they are in the located.

In addition, your data can be safely backed up away from your office meaning instant continuation of service in the event of fire, flood, theft or equipment failure. So if the worst happens and your business experiences a disaster, you can be operational again in no time at all. So! Cloud Computing can help your business. Our solutions are flexible, cost effective and a secure solution to your IT needs, provided by a skilled team on a reliable and secure platform.
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Q. What is a Public Cloud?

A Public Cloud is a service that anyone can tap into with a network connection and a credit card. "Public Clouds are shared infrastructures with pay-as-you-go economics. Public Clouds are easily accessible, multi tenant virtualised infrastructures that are managed via a self-service portal. Users can typically subscribe for services on a long and short term basis as required.
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Q. What is a Private Cloud?

A Private Cloud attempts to replicate the delivery models of public cloud vendors, but does so completely within the firewall for the benefit of an organisation’s own users. A Private Cloud would be highly virtualised, pulling together mass quantities of IT infrastructure into one or a few easily managed resource pools.
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Q. How can Cloud Computing save me money?

Cloud Computing can save your company huge amounts of money while significantly reducing your IT time. The benefits of Cloud Computing are huge and instant. Here's just a few ways that Cloud Computing can have a positive impact on your business:

Reducing Costs: Pay for the resources you need, when you need it. Through Cloud Computing, you pay for those services you need today Not what you plan to need years from now. As your company's needs grow, Cloud Computing can instantly scale. So why buy new servers every few years, when you can just pay for the amount of space and processing power you need when required.
Flexibility: Cloud Computing offers flexibility unlike anything companies have known before. For instance, software. Currently, every computer in the office needs to have a copy of a specific software app, e.g. Microsoft Office. When it came time to upgrade that software, an technician would need to go from computer to computer to make changes. With Cloud, all of the software is stored in a central location, and is available on demand, That means that software updates are instant, keeping your software up-to-date faster than ever before.
Improved Quality of Service (QoS): When you have an server onsite, if something goes wrong, you could be down for hours, even days. With Cloud there are backups and more backups, so any unforeseen issues are dealt with quickly and a mirrored environment is brought up instantly so you can continue working while issue are dealt with.
Less Need for Onsite Support: When all of your software and data is hosted in one place, the need to have full-time IT support is no longer needed. Instead, you pay a much-reduced cost for your provider's shared IT resources.
Mobility: With on demand software access, your employees can access their software and files from any computer.

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Backup

Q. How does Online Backup Work?

Online Backup is a unique online service that allows you to back up and instantly restore all data and files held on your system. With Online Backup, you can:

Securely encrypt and back up ALL your files, emails and databases to our secure off-site servers.
Automatically back up your data over the internet throughout the day and night.
Restore all your data saved in the past – from a few hours before to a version you kept last year.
Simple subscription based service with a 30 day Free Trial and you only pay for what you use.

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Q. How long does it take to back up?

For a normal system on a typical broadband line — and assuming you continue working on the computer during the backup process — Backup backs up data at about 2-4 GB per day. If left undisturbed on a fast connection, however, you can back up around 9-10 GB in a day. Speeds depend on your broadband connection.

After your initial backup, subsequent backups are relatively quick. Chances are that you won't even notice them. This is possible because Backup performs incremental backups, which means that it only backs up the portions of your files that have changed since the last time they were backed up. This saves lots of time, bandwidth and storage space.
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Q. How does Cumulus protect my data?

Your data is stored in its encrypted state in our data centres with 24/7/365 on-site monitoring and security, redundant power distribution units and safeguards that can withstand an earthquake. In addition, we use a mirrored data centre structure to ensure that your data is safe, even in the event of multiple hardware failures.
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Q. Which operating systems does Cumulus Backup support?

Cumulus Backup currently supports Windows 7, 2000, XP (32 and 64 bit), and Vista (32 and 64 bit), as well as Mac OS X 10.6, 10.5, and 10.4. Also supports Windows Server 2000, 2003, 2008, Windows Home Server, and Mac OS Server.
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Q. What is the recommended bandwidth?

It really depends on what kind of data to be backed up, e.g. for personal file backups, the daily data transfer should be limited, while MS Exchange backup could be significant.
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Q. The Installer doesn't seem to work. How can I manually install OBM on Windows?

A: To manually install the OBM on Windows, you’ll need to copy and zipping the program directory (e.g. C:\Program Files\OBM) from another machine with OBM installed. Then do the followings on the machine you wish to manually install:

Create the directory C:\Program Files\OBM
Unzip the OBM program directory archive to C:\Program Files\OBM
Run C:\Program Files\OBM\bin\install.bat
Run C:\Program Files\OBM\bin\Install-Scheduler.bat

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Q. How does OBM detect changes in files? Does it use the Archive bit? Some tape backup software resets the Archive bit. Would this affect OBM when backing up the same data?

OBM compares timestamps of files on the server with the corresponding copies on client machine. Archive bit is not used as it does not detect relocated files. Therefore tape backup would not affect OBM.
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Q. Does OBM copy the same set of files regularly?

After the initial upload, subsequent backup jobs will only transfer the modified or new data to the Backup server. It depends on the nature of the data, but normally, less than 2% of all data is modified.
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Q. Transfer Block Size is 128Kb by default. Is there a reason for this?

Backup data is transferred in blocks (instead of file by file) to minimize connection negotiation roundtrip's. It is not the TCP/IP block size. This setting is optimal for the backup operation.
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Q. How can I backup a huge data set over the Internet?

If you have a lot of data (e.g. 300GB) to backup to the Backup server, it would take a considerable amount of time to perform the first full backup over the Internet. You can try the following method:

Use the Seed Loading Utility to backup your backup set to a local hard disk (instead of directly transfer to the Backup server)

Send the backup data, using a removable hard disk, to Cumulus directly.

We can then load all your backup files from your removable hard disk into your backup account. This could save you days (even weeks) of performing your first full backup.

In addition, subsequent backups are incremental (only new or updated files will be uploaded to the server), the amount of data transfer should be relatively small.

Please refer to the User’s Guide for details on the “Seed Loading Utility”.
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Q. What is the best way to restore a huge data set?

You can copy the data of the particular backup set on OBS to a removable media, e.g. external hard disk, and ship it to your client. Your client can then use the “Decypt Files Tool” in OBM to restore the backup data from the removable media to its original format.
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Q. What is the average compression ratio?

All backup files are compressed and encrypted before uploading to the Backup Server, the average compression ratio for text-based file is around 4:1. However, no further compression can be made on files that are already in compressed format (e.g. JPG, ZIP). In general, you can assume a 2:1 compression ratio when you are backing up a file set with variety types.
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Q. Can I change my encrypting key?

The encrypting key cannot be changed once you setup your Backup Set. This is necessary for the integrity of the Backup Set, making sure that backup data is only encrypted by one key. Otherwise, you will have problems remember two encrypting keys when you want to restore your files in the future.

You need to recreate your Backup Set if you really want to change your encrypting key.
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Q. What kind of encryption used by the OBM?

There are two encryptions being performed by OBM:

Encryption of backup data - This is being done by 128-bit symmetric key encryption (AES, TripleDES, TwoFish). 256-bit is not available because it requires too much CPU and it is not really required. (128-bit is currently being used by most banks)

Encryption of backup traffic - This is being done by 1024 bit RSA public key encryption. The strength of the encryption depends on the key size you use when you generate your CSR before submitting to your CA. 1024 bit is what is being used by most CAs
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Q. Scheduled backup jobs are not running on my Windows machine, why?

Please try the following:

Check if [Control Panel] -> [Administrative Tools] -> [Services] -> [Online Backup Scheduler] is available and started
Check if C:\Program Files\OBM\home.txt contains the home directory for your backup account (e.g. C:\Documents and Settings\Administrator\.obm)
Check if C:\Program Files\OBM\jvm\bin\SchedulerOBM.exe exists
Check if C:\Program Files\OBM\log\Scheduler\info.log contains the startup loading entry, e.g.
1. [2005/12/12 12:42:44] OS Name=Windows XP
2. [2005/12/12 12:42:44] OS Version=5.1
3. [2005/12/12 12:42:44] Scheduler Version=5.0.1.3e
4. [2005/12/12 12:42:44] Java Vendor=Sun Microsystems Inc. Version=1.4.2_10
5. [2005/12/12 12:42:44] [info] Starting Scheduler, User:'backup-account', Home:'C:\Documents and Settings\Administrator\.obm

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Q. Can I backup an entire Operating System?

Currently, it is not possible to do hard disk image backup with OBM. However, you can still backup/restore the operating system by doing the following:

To backup all files including the operating system, please do this:

Add all files to your backup source
Add a SystemState backup type to your backup account (Windows only)

To restore all files including the operating system, please do this:

Re-install the operating system and applications
Restore the SystemState backup to your machine (Windows only) - To restore the System State data on a domain controller, you must first start your computer in a special startup option called "Directory Services Restore Mode". To access "Directory Services Restore Mode", press F8 during startup and select it from the list of startup options.

Restore all files to your machine
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Q. What are the advantages and disadvantages of backing up multiple computers using a single backup account?

Advantages:

You require less backup accounts
You can use one username and password to configure the backup setting for all Backup Sets

Disadvantages

You must use different backup sets for different computers
Whenever a new backup set is created under the backup account, you need to go back to all computers using the same backup account to uncheck the “Run scheduled backup on this computer” option for the new backup set (Since backup setting is saved on server and new backup set is default to run on all computers, i.e. with the option checked).
Improper configuration could easily cause problems, which are difficult to debug.

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Q. What is incremental backup and how does In-File Delta work?

In an incremental backup, only modified files will be uploaded to the Backup Server.

On the other hand, In-File Delta is applicable to the physical files to be uploaded to the Backup Server, does not matter whether it is a MS SQL database file, MS Exchange transaction log file or any normal file in a FileBackupSet. Specifically, only the changed blocks in comparison to the original file on the Backup Server (delta file) will be uploaded.

For each modified file, OBM would determine whether the entire file or only delta file should be uploaded. If the entire file is to be uploaded, the old version of the file will be moved to the Retention area. Else if only the delta file is to be uploaded, the previous delta files will be moved to the Retention area and the Data area should contain the original full backup file, checksum file and the latest delta file of this file.
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Microsoft Hosted Exchange 2010

Q. What is Hosted Exchange?

Microsoft Hosted Exchange is an email-based collaborative communications solution that is hosted off-site by a provider such as Cumulus. Hosted Exchange is made up of Microsoft Office Outlook and Managed Email service Exchange delivering the following advantages to your business:

Share email, calendar and contact information - always available, secure and synchronised between devices.
Access information anywhere from a wide variety of devices and from any location.
Enjoy peace of mind knowing you have an expert managing and securing your email system constantly.

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Q. What is my Hosted Exchange mailbox limit?

The mailbox limit is on our Hosted Exchange 2010 service is an industry leading 25g. For clients using our 2007 platform this limit is 5gb. However all your email will be archived into our advanced archiving solution and kept there for you to access indefinitely, even after you delete it from your mailbox.
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Q. Will I stop receiving e-mail if I go over my storage limit for my account?

Yes, you will be warned when you reach 90% of your limit but will continue to send and receive until your limit is reached. You may then need to archive some emails.
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Q. I currently use Outlook with a POP3 / IMAP account. Why would I want to use a Hosted Exchange service?

Outlook offers mail, calendar, contacts and tasks for a single user. When you add an Exchange server, you now have access to the same features for your group, including meetings, and access to any shared calendars. You also have access to public folders, which can be shared between group members. These folders can contain email messages, files, contacts, calendars, tasks, and memos, allowing you to get the best from Outlook as a group.
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Q. How often do you patch/update the Exchange server?

Our servers may have to be taken off line for essential maintenance and software updates from time to time, you will be given prior notification and the work will be undertaken between 11pm and 4am to reduce impact on your email.

During this downtime, you may not be able to connect to the Exchange servers via your MS Outlook or via WebMail (Outlook Web Access). Depending on which servers are being worked upon, you may intermittently lose access for some or part of this downtime.

NB: During downtime you will not miss any email as all email will be collected on our failover servers and automatically routed to your inbox as the primary servers come back online.
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Q. Do you offer Sharepoint?

Yes, we do provide hosted Sharepoint services for your hosted Exchange account(s), contact us for information.
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Q. What versions of Outlook are supported?

Currently Microsoft Outlook 2003 (with Service Pack 2) and Microsoft Outlook 2007 are fully supported for use with the 2007 Hosted Exchange service. For clients on Exchange 2010, this product does not support Outlook 2003.
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Q. Wouldn't I be able to better protect my messaging solution by keeping it in-house?

Your email system is more secure with experts like Cumulus, who react to evolving security threats and deliver data loss protection with automated back-ups and disaster recovery services. You can also protect your confidential data with advanced security features such as requiring password access and remote over-the-air data wipe in the event of a lost or stolen device.
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Q. My current solution is free or less expensive. Why spend more just for e-mail?

Hosted Exchange is a better way to share email, calendar and contact information and get more done. Your employees can have "Anywhere Access" to email. Customers can benefit from greater information sharing and collaboration. And your business is always online so you can increase connectivity, without increasing your IT staff.
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Q. What if I can't access my computer when I'm traveling? How do I stay in touch?

Mobile devices can connect conveniently to your Hosted E-mail so even if you're without your laptop, you're still connected. You can even log on to your email via Outlook Web app from any device with an internet connection, anywhere in the world.
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Q. Are there any hidden fees?

A. There are absolutely NO hidden fees. Pricing for our Hosted Exchange service is clearly published on our website based on a per user per month service. Unlike many of our competitors, the price you see is the price you will pay. We do not charge extra for key services such as support, Blackberry integration or Archiving.
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Q. Won’t I have more control with an Exchange in-house solution?

With our easy to use web-based control panel you have instant control of your email. While we take full responsibility for many of the day-to-day administrative functions like patching, security and data backup our customers use simple online administrative tools to control user accounts, manage quotas and folders. As a result, you retain control of the critical business components of the messaging solution while we focus on the underlying operations.
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Q. How do I migrate my exchange mailboxes?

We want your migration to Cumulus to be as smooth as possible, and our team have over 10 years’ experience in working with exchange. In addition we have conducted over 1000 migrations so our team are experienced in planning for any potential issues you may face based on what solution you are moving from.

All you need to do initially is place your order with us either online, or through our sales team on 0844 376 0057. Once your order is received one of our technicians will contact you to discuss the migration, agree a migration plan and schedule this in. Once you’re services go live only then will we ask you for payment of any setup costs, along with your first month’s subscription.
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Q. Do I have to pay setup/migration costs?

In some cases yes. We do not charge setup and migration costs for up to 15 mailboxes. Beyond this our team will properly evaluate what steps need to be taken in your individual situation to migrate your services to Cumulus, and we will provide a fix cost for you based on this time, and that’s all we charge even if it takes longer.
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Hosted Desktops

Q. What is Virtual Desktop?

Virtual desktop infrastructure (VDI) is the practice of hosting a desktop operating system within a virtual machine (VM) running on a centralised server. VDI is a variation on the client/server computing model, sometimes referred to as server-based computing. The term was coined by VMware. In the past couple of years, some large organisations have turned to VDI as an alternative to the server-based computing model.
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Q. Is there a minimum term contract?

Yes, Cumulus hosted desktop does have a minimum subscription period of 6 months. Beyond this each hosted desktop is on a month-to-month contract. One of the benefits of the hosted desktop is the flexibility it gives your IT infrastructure in that it can be expanded or reduced rapidly to meet the seasonal demands on your business.
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Q. Do I need to any special equipment?

No, you can use any PC, Mac or Linux machine to connect to your hosted desktop. One of the initial cost-savings is the ability to continue to use your existing PCs. As the processing power, RAM, and storage are provided by our servers you are even able to use older PCs that would be unable to run a new Operating System, thus extending their useful life.

You may decide to purchase thin client machines which are cheaper than PC’s, and would further enhance the benefits of moving to a hosted desktop environment. Thin clients are physically smaller PCs; they cost less than a normal PC, and use a lot less energy.
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Q. Can I access my desktop at any time of the day?

Yes. There is no restriction on when or where the hosted desktops can be accessed.
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Q. Is all my data and files backed up?

Yes. We backup all your server data to an offsite location, you can also if you choose, use our remote backup service to backup your hosted desktop through an automated backup system.
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Q. Can I put my own applications on the hosted desktop?

Yes. We can add almost any application to your network, and make it available on whichever desktops you choose. Please note it is your sole responsibility to ensure that you have the correct software licenses for use on a multi-user, hosted infrastructure.
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Q. What if I can't access my office PC?

A Hosted desktop can be accessed where required from anywhere with an Internet connection, for example, your home, business centres with hot-desks, a clients office and even hotel rooms; anywhere with an Internet connection, all connections to your remote hosted desktop are 100% encrypted, not just the log-on process.
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Q. How Do I get started?

The first steps are to decide if a hosted desktop environment is suitable for your business. Our skilled team can discuss this with you and understand more about your business. We can then advise you of the potential benefits and possible drawbacks for your business.
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Q. How do I order my Hosted Desktop?

You can do this simply online from the hosted desktop page by clicking the enquire now button. All you need to do is complete a short order form and submit this. Our team will then contact you to discuss your requirements in more detail and agree a solution for you.

Once you are happy with the proposed solution, one of our technicians will work with you to setup and launch your services.
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Q. Do I have to pay setup/migration costs?

Yes. Setup and migration are treated as and charged as separate elements; Setup costs include configuration and delivery of the Hosted Desktop plan you have chosen, and providing you with your access information e.g. username and passwords for your users to login into their Desktops. At this point you will be charged for any setup and desktop license costs.

Migration is a separate function and can involve the migration of both Data and Applications from your legacy network, or other hosting providers. Your may prefer to perform these migrations, however where migration support is required, Cumulus’ expert team can work with you to migrate everything you need to and we’ll agree a cost for this with you as an on-going project. Please note, desktop license and setup costs are payable during any migration process as depending on the applications being migrated and the support required from the vendor, it can take some time to complete migration of some applications.
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Q. Do you have a test environment for me to evaluate?

Yes, we have a fully operational test environment for which access can be arranged on application during the sales process. As there may be a number of potential clients using this environment for evaluation purposes at any time, it has less user rights than a full hosted desktop and is regularly switched of for cleansing and updating.
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Q. Can current applications be moved to my hosted desktop?

Yes, As long as these applications are compatible with Windows operating systems, and for clients on our 2008 environment, that the application supports 64bit. To date we have been able to host almost any application our clients have requested within their hosted desktop. We do not recommend moving certain media intensive applications such as CAD or Photoshop into the desktop though.
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Q. Can I use the computers I already own?

Absolutely yes, provided they support remote desktop services (RDS) which includes all Windows XP, Vista and Windows 7 machines. Alternatively login can be done through a web browser (required Active-X to be enabled).
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Q. Can I print to the printers in my office?

Yes, If a printer is already setup for your machine to print to it, this will also apply to the hosted desktop when setup.
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Q. How fast will my applications run?

Typically your applications will run faster than they normally do on your local desktop. This is because you are utilising powerful processors on the hosted server rather than that on your PC. You will also note that internet speeds and navigation are faster, as you are accessing via a secure 10gb link from the data centre rather than your lower speed local broadband service.
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Cumulus Business VoIP

Why should I use a VoIP phone system?

With VoIP you can:

Avoid buying an expensive phone system
Have phone extensions in multiple locations
Save money on calls - Make calls between remote offices for free
Have inbound numbers in different area codes - be local in yellow pages but a single office
Have a flexible voicemail system with SMS and Email
Have unlimited capacity for calls - grow quickly
Get detailed call statistics
Create different routes for calls to your office at different times of day

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Will my VoIP phone work if the power fails?

No . As VoIP relies on your internet connection, if your broadband router has no power, your phone won't work either.
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Do I need to have a broadband connection to use VoIP?

Yes, ISDN and dialup modem users may find the sound quality is much more variable. It's important to make sure you are using the correct codec to compress the voice data if you are using a lower bandwidth line. The g729a codec is recommended for dialup and ISDN use.

On an ADSL line with 256k upstream, you can get 3 to 4 concurrent calls. When using our service in a busy office of upto 10 people, customers typically dedicate one broadband service to their phone provision.
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Can I use my existing numbers?

If they are supplied a company we have a porting agreement with, you can keep your number. Please visit our 'Keep My Number' section for more information.

You sign up with a temporary new number, then we put the port through, and replace the temporary new number. Number porting takes 7 - 14 working days for a single line and costs £20 + VAT. It is important to remember that when you port a number away from your provider, they will cease that line, and all its associated services, such as broadband.
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Can I choose my new number?

We can provide you with a local geographic number (01, 02 or 03), a national non-geographic number (08) or you can choose a memorable number from £20 + VAT. Special numbers, classed as Gold, Silver or Bronze will cost more. We also provide a wide range of International numbers.
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Are call charges from landlines and mobiles to VoIP different?

No, we provide you with a UK landline phone number, or you use your ported number, so people pay the same to call you as they would with a traditional landline.
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Business Broadband

How do I migrate to Cumulus broadband?

All you need to do is contact your existing broadband provider’s customer service and obtain your Migration Authorisation Code (known as a MAC key). Then, you simply place your order online and enter your MAC key when prompted.

Not all MAC keys are compatible with Cumulus broadband. The MAC codes that are compatible should be in the following formats:

4 letters, 7 digits, forward slash, 2 letters, 2 digits, 1 letter. For example, LLLN0189907/DF34L

4 letters, 7 or 8 or 9 digits, forward slash, 2 letters, 2 digits, 1 letter (example BBIP1757713/DJ29K or FTIP01753715/BD19J or FTIP012345678/BD23J).

It’s a good idea to check your current contract, as some providers charge their customers for moving to another provider before a specified date. Once we have your MAC key and your completed order we can start moving you over to Cumulus. The entire process will take around two weeks. During the changeover you will briefly lose your broadband connection, but we’ll ensure that it’s up and running in as short a time as possible.
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What speeds will I get?

Customers on our LLU (Local Loop Unbundling) network have experienced speeds of up to 16Mbps. The actual speed that you will receive is based on three factors: the length of the wire that connects your premises with the BT exchange, the quality of the copper, and signal interference from other users or devices.
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What operating system do I need to be able to use your service?

We support both PCs and Macs and any operating system that supports TCP/IP communication and has an Ethernet port, i.e. Windows, Linux, Mac.

Any PC that supports TCP/IP can be connected to our service. To use wireless network features you will normally need a wireless network adapter on your computer, most laptops have this included, if you have a desktop PC you may need to purchase additional equipment (Cumulus does not supply Wireless networking equipment).
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Will I need to change my telephone number to use Cumulus broadband?

No. Our service is provided over your existing BT telephone line, so if you have a serviceable BT line already, your telephone number will not need to change.
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Cloud Servers

Q. How do I order a Cloud Server?

All you need to do is visit our Cloud Servers page on the website, select the level of server that suits your requirements and click on the Buy Now option. This takes you to the new order page. All you need to do is complete your details, select the server you want and add either 25gb or 50gb or extra backup, and submit your order.
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Q. How long does it take to get my server set up?

Typically all our standard server configurations will be set up within 1 business day. Factors contributing to longer setup times may include server add-ons, custom configurations or addition of applications.
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Q. Can my server's specification be upgraded?

Yes, you can upgrade your server to a larger plan at any time. You may also "add-on" additional hardware, software, and features to your server as required.
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Q. What is RAID and do I need it?

RAID, or Redundant Array of Independent Disks, is a method for striping your data across multiple hard drives, then linking the disks so that the operating system on your server views them as a single drive. We offer RAID for your hard drives in 3 different configurations with our Cloud Servers:

RAID-1: This type of RAID uses a method of data storage known as mirroring. This refers to the fact that every piece of data is written to at least two disks. As a result, RAID-1 offers a high degree of data security, but has a slight performance decrease because it requires capturing all data on two disks. You can purchase backup for your server as well to further improve your data security.
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Q. Who is responsible for the server hardware?

Cumulus manages the functioning of all Cloud Server hardware components and will replace any failed component at no cost to you. Hardware repair/replacement will begin immediately upon identification of any hardware issue or failure. Hardware is defined as the Processor(s), RAM, Hard Disk(s), Motherboard, NIC Card, and other related hardware on the host server.
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Q. Will I have Root Access?

Cumulus Cloud Servers offer control over all aspects of your server. It is the equivalent of root access. However, true root access of your server is managed by Cumulus.
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Q. Are the Datacentre’s constantly monitored?

Yes, we monitor our Data Centres and servers 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, and 365 days a year.
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Q. Who is responsible for system administration of the Server?

Cumulus staff will pre-install the base operating system on the server in its default configuration, assign it to an IP address then connect it to the network so that you can access it remotely. All further software installation, configuration and administration work is the responsibility of the customer. However, if you would prefer Cumulus do offer various support services as options on your package. Our highly skilled staff will also be available to provide ad-hoc support for an hourly rate.
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Q. Why do you include firewalls as standard when your competitors charge extra?

Cumulus are Cloud to security, and believe that no Internet site should be without firewall protection. We utilise advanced Cisco firewalls that protect our entire network, and that includes your server. This means we don’t need to charge you like many of our competitors.
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