In benneumann.comhis blog posting late last night, Globat CEO Ben R. Neumann offered a full explaination for the network outage. The primary switch in Globat’s main data center in downtown Los Angeles failed completely at approximately 5:00 a.m. PST yesterday, says Neumann. Globat’s technical emergency response team tried to bring the network back online but could not.

The company then switched over to the back up circuitry, at which time the entire devise, including the backup system, failed completely. Globat rush ordered a new switch from its vendor’s nearest warehouse, and after installing and testing the equipment, it was able to successfully bring all of its services back online. However, it experienced another five hour outage for email services and an eight hour outage for Web related services, which affected its own website and its phone lines.

Since it was unable to communicate with customers through telephone or email, Globat staff members posted updates on popular Internet forums to update customers on any new information.

Neumann apologized to customers for the outage in his blog:

I would like to tell you that we ABSOLUTELY KNOW you count on Globat.com to maintain a high degree of uptime to host your Web sites and that we take this trust very seriously. Today, however, my team and I let you down and we all feel terrible because of that. This has never happened before and we will do whatever it takes to never let it happen again! I deeply and sincerely apologize for this outage and the inconvenience and problems it may have caused.

Commenters in a message thread on forum DigitalPoint said the service began experiencing trouble late Wednesday night. Many reported their sites going offline completely Thursday morning.

Posters reported busy signals when trying to reach the company by phone – not an unusual result during a major outage, due to the flood of incoming phone calls.

Late in the morning, participants in the DigitalPoint thread began reporting that they had gotten through to Globat. Initially reported a “hardware failure in the data center” and estimated that Web systems would be back up in approximately five hours.

At about the same time, customers began reporting that their email was back online.

Around 1:00 p.m. Eastern Time, users said domain servers that had previously been unreachable had come back online. And other users began reporting that their sites had come online as the afternoon progressed.

Globat’s own site appears to have come back online somewhere shortly before 6:00 p.m. and is now running normally.

One of the most interesting aspects of the outage was certainly the use of the forum to disseminate information about the outage. Many of the posters on the thread said they were new to the forum, and had come across it via a “Globat down” Google search.

A poster in the forum said “My contact there told me that he’s going to do a full blog post once the down sites are back up,” so Globat customers can probably anticipate that a more complete explanation of the outage is forthcoming.

“CompleteHostingSolutions.com brings to the table unique features that have made them one of the fastest-growing Web hosting companies, says Globat CEO Ben R. Neumann. “With services such as complete access to cron and shell access via SSH, we can now offer even more options to our customers. Being able to meet our customers’ needs has always been a major priority for us. We will also benefit from the fresh expertise of the people who have made CompleteHostingSolutions.com a success.”

The acquisition is part of Globat’s aggressive growth strategies as it actively seeks out other Web hosting companies, says Globat. The acquisitions will provide more hosting options for its customers, as well as bring new talent to the company.

The company says the acquisitions also help strengthen the company’s position in the industry while increasing its growing visibility among more experienced Web hosting consumers.

The acquisition enables Globat to begin offering multiple Web hosting platforms, including cPanel and Plesk to its customers. It also strengthens the company’s stronghold in the industry and its growing visibility among more experienced Web hosting consumers, says Globat.

“Newista has been very successful in the hosting industry since 2003 and is known for intensely focusing on personalized customer service. Customer experience has also always been Globat’s number one priority,” says Globat’s CEO Ben R. Neumann. “It was a natural fit. The combined strengths of both companies will allow us to offer an even wider range of Web hosting choices along with nearly unprecedented customer care.”

Newista says it has always been proud of its offerings and has had a strong footing in the industry but it is very happy to become part of the Globat family and become an even stronger player in the industry through this acquisition.

Globat currently offers the TeraByte Xtreme Web hosting package, which offers 1,000GB of hosting space and 1,000GB of monthly data transfer bandwidth. During this sale, customers will receive four months free.

“People tend to associate St. Patrick’s Day with pots of gold, rainbows and the lucky four-leaf clover,” says Ben R. Neumann, president and CEO of Globat. “Well, now people can get lucky with a Globat.com Web hosting account. Not only will they get four months free, they’ll also get a great foundation for broadening their business or personal pursuits online.”

To enhance these online pursuits, each Globat hosting package comes with a site builder, fast one-click installation of Web site software and a marketing package filled with free advertising credits and search engine tools, all of which are available free for four months.

Globat says all of the company’s Web hosting packages will be $1 per month for the first three months. The discount applies to the TeraByte Xtreme and to the company’s premium TeraByte XS package, which offers 5,000 GB of disk space and 2,000 GB of monthly data transfer bandwidth.

“Presidents Day celebrates great men who took action and provided leadership. As a leader in Web hosting, we are here to help others take action and get their business ideas, portfolio or personal projects online,” says Ben Neumann, president and CEO of the company. “Our packages are already the best value on the Internet, but we wanted to do something special for the holiday. Naturally, the first president, George Washington, came to mind. With him on the $1 bill, we decided to offer web hosting for just $1 a month.”

The company says the special $1 pricing is valid on standard one year, two year or three year plans. In addition, each plan will have no setup fees, free registration for a new domain name and free DomainPrivacyGuard.

Globat says its new TeraByte Xtreme and TeraByte XS packages, starting at $6.95 per month, come with 1,000 and 5,000 GB of hosting space, respectively. Both packages include large allotments of monthly bandwidth to meet the demand for traffic-heavy sites, especially video and media-driven Web sites.

The new packages replace Globat.com’s previous Web hosting offerings, solidifying the company’s stance on providing value. Each package comes with support for QuickTime, RealVideo and RealAudio streaming along with easy-to-use self-publishing tools.

“The Web hosting industry is changing, and we see more and more people wanting to host video and media on their Web sites,” says Ben Neumann, president and CEO of Globat. “Media files, especially videos, are quite large and they can take up a lot of disk space very quickly. Also, showing them on a Web site requires a great amount of bandwidth. At Globat, we’re always aware of the changing needs of our customers, and of course, we’re one step ahead to make sure their needs are met.”

Diamond promote the company’s new Web hosting packages, TeraByte Pro and TeraByte Commerce, which offer 100GB and 200GB of hosting space, respectively. Both packages include 1000GB of monthly transfer. Though pricing remains the same, Globat has more than tripled the amount of hosting space and bandwidth previously offered on its popular TeraByte T01 Plus package.

“We looked towards a celebrity spokesperson to spread our message of ‘Web Hosting Made Easy’ and to show that getting a Web site is fun and affordable,” says Ben R. Neumann, president and CEO of Globat. “Dustin Diamond, whom many of us know as Screech from the popular sitcom Saved by the Bell, was a natural fit. With his quirky comedy and natural technical abilities, Dustin’s the perfect person to introduce these packages and show people the fun side of Web hosting.”

Diamond will be involved in numerous media campaigns, including video, print and online promotions at the Globat Web site.

As a result of the new partnership, the two companies will be participating in several cross-marketing promotions to offer their customers new benefits.

“At Globat.com, we’re always looking for ways to improve the user experience and provide benefits beyond Web hosting for our customers,” says Ben R. Neumann, president and CEO of Globat. “We’re currently doing that with our feature-rich hosting packages, which include our easy-to-use Web site builder, GloBuild, and one-click installation of our blog and photo gallery. Template Monster and Globat were a natural fit.”

Los Angeles-based Globat provides Web hosting services to over 75,000 customers worldwide. Template Monster provides Web design with an emphasis on affordable Web design products and services, offering a selection of over 5,000 Web site template designs.

Globat drew media attention earlier this year when it sponsored Francis’ birth to Samiah. The 5′3 Francis had a pre-pregnancy weight of 120 lbs., and reached 185 lbs. during her pregnancy. To shed her baby fat, she will participate in a 60-day weight loss program.

“Losing weight is no easy task, but we know Asia can do it,” says Ben R. Neumann, president and CEO of Globat. “We hope that our participation keeps her motivated and gets her back in those jeans!”

Francis will be wearing Globat items during the 60-day period and will be tracking her progress in a weight loss blog on DefyingGravity.com.