Hardware-Level Threat Blocking at the Network Edge

We've deployed advanced access control lists (ACLs) directly on our edge routers at both of our facilities. These aren't software firewalls that consume CPU resources - they operate at the hardware level within the network switch chips, dropping malicious traffic before it ever reaches the routing layer. This means:

• Zero performance impact - blocking happens in silicon at line rate, with no effect on your traffic
• Coverage across all upstream paths - every internet-facing link is protected, including redundant paths
• Large capacity - our edge hardware supports thousands of blocking rules per device, giving us plenty of room to respond to new threats as they emerge

Known botnet command-and-control networks, persistent vulnerability scanners, and brute-force attack sources are identified and blocked at the network perimeter. When our systems detect a high-volume scanner or attack source targeting customer infrastructure, we add it to the hardware blocklist across all edge devices. The traffic is silently dropped before it reaches your server.

Daily Health Reports with Threat Intelligence

Our network operations team reviews automated Daily Health Reports that incorporate data from multiple sources:

• Spamhaus blocklists - we monitor whether any of our IP ranges appear on the Spamhaus Block List (SBL), Exploits Block List (XBL), or Policy Block List (PBL). If a listing is detected, we investigate and take action to resolve it promptly.
• Traffic flow analysis - we monitor traffic patterns across the network to identify anomalies such as DDoS attacks, unusual traffic spikes, or scanning activity targeting customer services
• BGP route health - we verify that our internet routing is clean and that no unauthorized or malicious route announcements are affecting reachability to your services
• Inbound prefix filtering - our edge routers reject traffic from reserved and bogus IP address ranges (as defined by the IANA Special-Purpose Address Registry), preventing spoofed traffic from entering the network

Multi-Layer Monitoring

Beyond the hardware-level blocking, our infrastructure is monitored around the clock by multiple independent systems:

• Real-time alerting on all critical network links, BGP sessions, and inter-site connectivity
• Centralized syslog analysis for detecting unusual events across all network devices
• Configuration version control - every change to our network devices is tracked and auditable

What This Means for You

No action is required on your part. These protections are applied automatically at the network level for all customers. Whether you're running a hosted server, using our internet services, or operating any other internet-facing infrastructure through our network, you benefit from these protections automatically.

If you're experiencing issues with unwanted traffic or suspect your services are being targeted, don't hesitate to reach out. We can investigate using our traffic analysis tools and, where appropriate, add targeted blocks to protect your specific services.

New: Channel Usage Dashboard

You can now visualize your SIP trunk's concurrent call channel usage directly from your service page. The new Channel Usage tool gives you powerful insight into how your trunks are performing:

• Interactive charts showing your channel usage over time
• Overall view of total concurrent channels across all your trunks
• Per-server breakdown so you can see usage distribution across our platform
• Flexible date range — view up to 7 days of data at a time, with history going back 6 months
• CSV export — download your channel usage data for your own reporting and capacity planning

Refreshed SIP Trunk Pages

All trunk management pages have been updated with a fresh, consistent design:

• DID Management — searchable, sortable DID list with quick-access buttons for CNAM, SMS, and reporting
• CNAM & 911 Emergency Contact — streamlined forms that are easier to read and fill out
• SMS Configuration — clearer layout for setting up email-to-SMS, 3CX integration, webhooks, and forwarding
• Call Forwarding — all seven forwarding types displayed in an organized card layout
• Inbound Block List — simplified interface for adding and removing blocked numbers
• CDR Reporting — improved date pickers and smoother download experience
• DID Ordering — both Canadian and US/Toll-Free ordering pages updated

Smoother Downloads

Downloading reports, rate sheets, and CSV exports is now seamless — no more loading screens interrupting your workflow.

https://lookingglass.incentre.net

This service provides access to south side and downtown edge devices, plus an in-cloud (chr1) device from which to test how your remote IPs can access our network.

To access the order process please go to Services > VoIP SIP Trunks > [trunk name] > Order DIDs - USA.

Note that this service requires a trunk on the new sip-x.incentre.net cluster. If you're on our legacy SIP please email support@incentre.com for migration instructions.

Requires valid + active DID in system. API reflects GUI options. If you have any questions about using the API please email support@incentre.net

New port submissions will be automatically processed and associated with your trunk, and port status updates are available via the LNP History link. This includes most historical ports for your SIP trunk(s).

To add/update/delete CNAM and 911 information for a DID:

1. Click on your "Client Area" first to login.
2. Once logged-in, select "Services" > "VoIP SIP Trunks"
3. Click on the appropriate trunk
4. Select "List DIDs / DID operations"
5. To the right of the DID you wish to manage, click "CNAM/911"
6. Update information on the following page as desired

Changes are effective immediately. Note that some carriers may cache inbound CNAM for up to 72 hours, and outbound CallerID settings from your PBX may override this value.

To order DIDs:

1. Click on your "Client Area" first to login.
2. Once logged-in, select "Services" > "VoIP SIP Trunks"
3. Click on the appropriate trunk
4. Click "Order new DID" on the menu
5. Choose the appropriate Rate Center, and select an available DID
6. Click "Place Order" (will not be active until a DID is selected
7. Wait for confirmation

To perform an operation on a DID:

1. Click on your "Client Area" first to login.
2. Once logged-in, select "Services" > "VoIP SIP Trunks"
3. Click on the appropriate trunk
4. Select "List DIDs / DID operations"
5. To the right of the DID you wish to cancel, click "cancel". Confirm.
6. Wait for confirmation

DIDs will be immediately activated on the selected trunk. Please test the number before publishing.

Migrated from 2x Quad Core to 4x Quad Core Xeon 3.0Ghz on each of our servers:

The benefits of this upgrade are very significant because the new Quad Core processors include two separate dual-core dies, as opposed to our former dual-core where a CPU only included two cores per physical processor in one CPU package.

In our new setup cores 1 and 2 would share a memory cache, as would cores 3 and 4. If core 1 or 2 needs to communicate with 3 or 4, it will be done via the frontside bus.

Upgraded to 64GB RAM per server

In our computing environment, server memory is one of the most critical server components, and with this latest upgrade our servers achieve their optimal performance. This upgrade will have a very significant impact especially when running multiple memory-intensive applications at the same time.

By upgrading the amount of memory inside our units, we have unleashed their full potential to accomplish the challenges our business faces every day, while making sure that compatibility, longevity, and reliability are preserved.

Upgraded drives to new 15K SAS for extra read/write speed

Besides the recording technology, drive rotation speed is the most important factor for a drive’s throughput. Faster rotation speed means higher data transfer rates. Combining high rotation speeds with top-notch recording technologies has allowed us to significantly increase the read/write speed in our servers.

Other performance factors will benefit from high rotation speeds, such as seek time. It is important to differentiate between seek time and access time, because only the latter is really relevant for our everyday applications. Access time is the combined latency of the seek time and rotational latency, which applies when the heads have been positioned above the required track, while the required sectors still have to pass by the heads. Therefore, faster spindle speeds have allowed us to achieve decreased rotational latency, with an end result of decreased average access time.

Upgraded Apache to optimize PHP execution

We have given a special attention to the optimization of PHP applications and MySQL databases running under our Apache HTTP Servers, in order to boost the performance of popular Content Management Systems such as WordPress, Joomla or Drupal. Customer Relationship Management software, eCommerce applications, and many other packages that make an extensive use of PHP/MySQL will also benefit from these upgrades.

All these upgrades represent a major improvement for all the packages our clients have hosted on our servers. If you have any questions or need more information please don't hesitate to contact us.

We are pleased to announce that all of our web hosting accounts now include Installatron, a one-click web application installer that provides a graphical interface and automation tools designed to simplify the process of deploying and managing web applications.

Installatron allows you to easily install and effortlessly manage web software such as blogs, photo galleries, forums, shops, and other top web applications, right from your cPanel hosting panel. The installation procedure takes only seconds and can be performed by non-technical users. All the hard work of creating and setting up MySQL databases, unzipping files, assigning permissions, etc., is done by the application installer in the background, while for the user all it takes is just a few clicks.

Only the most mature, thoroughly tested, and genuinely top-shelf web applications have been selected, and potential additions are evaluated regularly. All these software packages are designed to manage, enhance, or add functionality to a website. Examples include Content Management Systems like WordPress, Drupal and Joolma, Wiki programs like MediaWiki (used by Wikipedia uses), Help desk/CRM programs like SugarCRM and Zurmo, e-Commerce software like Magento or OpenCart, and an assorted lot of very useful apps like phpBB, Pligg, Piwik, or Form Tools. 

Please read the related announcement at our Blog for more information.