2019 is getting off to a great start with improvements and upgrades in our Data Center!
The back-end technology we utilize to accomplish our mission is out of sight (downstairs) and out of mind, but it really is the backbone and driving force behind our day-to-day operations. Without it we could not process the volume of work we do during the ten week tax season.
Our Data Center at bara.net occupies 3,600 square feet downstairs and is state of the art. We have Eaton Corporation uninterruptible power supplies providing bridge up-time until our Generac 36kw Natural Gas Generator takes control (15 seconds on average). The result is, our entire building is protected from power outages. Our servers never stop.
We replaced one server that was decommissioned and added another server to help with the increased activity. Unless you are a geek or interested in the technology all of this matters less than the timely, accurate and professional service we provide.
Well, all of this critical activity in December and January has kept me very busy and I wanted to share it with you. Especially the following ….
Our web server that is serving this web page to you has been upgraded to Windows Server 2019 running IIS 10, PHP 7.2 and MYSQL 8.0. That means that you are likely receiving this information over HTTP/2.
HTTP/2 is the first major HTTP protocol update since 1997 when HTTP/1.1 was first published by the IETF. The new HTTP protocol is needed to keep up with the exponential growth of the web. The successor of HTTP/1.1 brings significant improvement in efficiency, speed and security.
HTTP/2 is binary, instead of textual. It is fully multiplexed, sending multiple requests in parallel over a single TCP connection. It uses header compression HPACK to reduce overhead. It allows our servers to “push” responses proactively into client caches instead of waiting for a new request for each resource. It uses the new ALPN extension which allows for faster-encrypted connections since the application protocol is determined during the initial connection. It reduces additional round trip times, making our website load faster.
This is all very exciting to me! Thanks for taking time to read about our advances.
Greg Cook is an Enrolled Agent, licensed by the U.S. Treasury Department to represent taxpayers before all administrative levels of the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). He is also a Certified Public Accountant licensed by the states of Alabama and Tennessee.
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