frequently asked questions

Domain Answers

Australian Domains

.au Registration Service Levels

Registrations of Australian domains are subject to checks to ensure compliance with auDA policy and as such can not generally be fully automated.

Our staff review all Australian domain orders to check for compliance with auDA policy. We endeavour to process all registrations that we receive within business hours on the day of receipt. Regardless of the time of day or day of week an order is received, we will complete the order by no later than the following business day.

Generally we have staff checking orders for policy compliance regularly including times outside of normal business hours. In practice, our domain orders are typically processed more quickly than this and frequently within a matter of minutes.

Our service levels are based on a number of assumptions, including:

  • that you provide all the required information to meet auDA policy requirements;
  • that we are able to independently verify the information you provide, which may require use of third party databases such as the ASIC company database, Australian Business Register, or IP Australia's trademarks database;
  • that we have received full payment for your domain registration;
  • that the registry systems are operating normally and we are thus technically able to effect the registration of your domain(s).

Update Service Levels

Updates to domain records, such as changes to delegation or contact information, are normally processed live to the registry. This relies upon us receiving the correct Domain Password and/or other relevant password information in order to authorise the changes, and also that the registry systems are operating normally when we receive the update request.

How can I get a .au domain from outside Australia?

If you are located outside of Australia but would like a .au domain, please contact us for assistance. We offer specialist professional services in this area that will make you legitimately eligible for as many .au domains as you may require.

We strongly discourage registration via "agents" who obtain domains for you in their own name, since these are clear breaches of .au policy and have a high likelihood of you incurring unexpected fees or having the domain names deleted.

Payments

What payment methods are available for domain registrations?

We recommend payment by credit card as this will allow us to process your order immediately without any delay waiting for your payment to arrive.

We accept Visa, Mastercard and American Express in most major currencies, as well as Diners Club in Australian Dollars.

Payments can also be made by BPAY or electronic funds transfer from an Australian bank account, and we welcome Australian Dollar cheques too. For payments by these methods, we need to wait for the payment to reach us so there is typically a delay of 1-2 business days (and typically a little longer still for cheques).

Are there bulk discounts available by buying multiple domains?

Yes, we offer automatic discounts on domain name registration orders from as little as 2 domains per order - as well as the ability to tailor a quote to your specific needs for larger or more unusual jobs.

A sample of our automatic, everyday discounts are provided below. Note that these are a guide only and the actual current discount will be displayed for you during your online domain registration. (Don't panic, if anything has changed, it has very likely got better not worse!)

Discounts across all domain name types

In recognition of the value of orders for several domains across different TLDs and country codes, we also offer a general discount for all orders containing more than one domain name.

  • For any 2 domains, we will discount the total by 3%
  • For any 3 domains, we will discount the total by 5%
  • For any 4 domains in an order, we will discount the total by 7%
  • For 5+ domains in an order, we will discount the total by 10%
  • For 10+ domains in an order, we will discount the total by 20%

Note these discounts are based on our normal retail prices. The discount will be applied prior to calculating the total payment value for the order, so these savings are real, cash discounts.

If we are unable to complete the registration of any one or more domains in your order, the discount level will be adjusted to that which would have applied for the remaining names (e.g. if you register a .com and a .com.au in the same order, but the .com.au cannot be completed due to not meeting the registration criteria, then no discount will apply for the .com as it will be the only domain left in the order).

Can I pay for domain registration with BPAY?

Yes, BPAY is accepted for domain name orders at Sublime IP and GoDomains (as well as for other services we offer such as web hosting and colocation).

With BPAY you do not have to send credit card details across the Internet and can rely instead on the security of your existing phone banking or Internet banking services with your bank.

BPAY is also relatively quick, with most payments received within one or two business days. This makes it a much better alternative than cheque and money order payments, where you need to allow for postal delays as well as clearance times. (Note that for even faster turn-around on your domain orders, you may wish to consider credit card payment.)

When you register a domain with Sublime IP and pay by BPAY, we will give you a special customer reference number to include with your payment. This will ensure your domain registration is processed as soon as possible and your payment is applied quickly and automatically to your order.

To find out more about BPAY, please visit the BPAY website or contact your participating financial institution. Most Australian banks, credit unions and building societies offer BPAY, so you should be able to use this payment method from your existing Australian bank account.

If you're still stuck, please contact us and we'll see what we can do to help.

Are domain payments refundable?

Domain name registrations, transfers, renewals and applications are final, and cannot, under any circumstances, be cancelled.

Please be sure that you fully understand this before you attempt any domain name registrations or renewals. In almost all cases, we have no means of retrieving money from the registry for domain transactions, so we cannot refund clients who register or transfer names in error.

In cases of refund dispute, please contact sublime//ip. Sublime IP will decide on refunds solely based on the discretion of the management.

Ownership

Who is the registrant name for a domain name?

The registrant name of a domain is the name of the legal owner or licence holder of the domain: the individual or organisation that registers the domain.

It is important that the registrant details are entered correctly, since if any disputes arise about the ownership of the domain it can be a critical issue. For example, if the registrant name was incorrectly entered as a company that never existed (or existed at the time of domain registration but has since been closed down) then someone else may apply to have the domain deleted on the basis that there is no real legal owner for it.

If you sell your business, or restructure your operations in some way (e.g. converting from a sole trader to a corporation) then it is important to check that domain names are transferred correctly to the appropriate new registrant. We can advise on this process and assist with making any necessary changes.

How can I change the ownership of a .au domain name?

Registrant changes may be required for various reasons, such as changes to company structure, sale of a businesses, legal disputes and so on.

Sublime IP can assist with transfer of registrant (domain name license holder or "owner") for .au domain names.

We are very familiar with the transfer policy as well as the technicalities associated with who is eligible to hold a .au domain name and so on. Consequently, we are pleased to be able to assist with .au domain name transfers between registrants and to provide helpful advice to ensure your domains are registered to a valid and correct legal entity.

How to arrange a .au ownership transfer

To arrange a registrant transfer for a .au domain name we require the following:

  • completed declaration - we can prepare this automatically for you in the correct form
  • payment of a transfer and processing fee of AUD$165 including GST, which includes a new 2-year license for the new registrant

If your .au domain does not currently have Sublime IP as registrar, you can carry out a free transfer first and we can then carry out the registrant change for you as above.

Transfer documentation

Generate the transfer form simply and easily online with our .au registrant transfer details page.

Additional information

Please let us know if you need any more information.

How can I change the ownership of a gTLD domain name (e.g. .com)?

Sublime IP can manage gTLD (generic Top Level Domain) name ownership transfers on behalf of clients. An ownership change may be required for various reasons, such as:

  • Domain name sold by the original owner to a new owner
  • The company name of the original owner changes and a new legal entity name is required
  • The original owner changes its legal form and thus the legal name changes (e.g. an individual wishes to transfer ownership to a newly formed company; or a sole proprietorship becomes a company)
How to arrange a gTLD ownership transfer

All we need to do to have a transfer of ownership is:

  • the name of the domain to be transferred
  • the current Domain Password for the domain
  • the current (or "old") owner's full legal name
  • the proposed new owner's full legal name
  • where to send the new Domain Password once ownership has changed

There is a transfer fee of AUD$55 (incuding GST if applicable) and the new owner retains whatever paid up period of the domain name license you have remaining. For example, if your name still has 18 months of its current license still to run, the new owner will enjoy this benefit and not need to renew until the end of that term.

Once ownership has changed

Once the domain registration ownership has changed, we will assign a new Domain Password for the new owner (so please let us know where to send this). Once they have this new key they can use it to update any other contact details that need changing, e.g. postal address, phone/fax details etc.

Eligibility

Who can register a .au domain?

Australia's .au domain name space has relatively strict policies, by world standards. The policies are managed by auDA and outside our direct control, although we are very familiar with them and happy to assist with any queries you may have regarding domain name eligibility.

While the rules vary for some of the .au second level domains, for the most popular .com.au domain space, the rules are as follows.

Who is eligible for com.au domains
A registrant is eligible for .au if they are one (or more) of the following:
  • an Australian registered company; or
  • trading under a registered business name in any Australian State or Territory; or
  • an Australian partnership or sole trader; or
  • a foreign company licensed to trade in Australia; or
  • an owner of an Australian Registered Trade Mark; or
  • an applicant for an Australian Registered Trade Mark; or
  • an association incorporated in any Australian State or Territory; or
  • an Australian commercial statutory body

Who can register a .eu domain?
  • Undertakings having their registered office, central administration or principal place of business within the European Community;
  • Organisations established within the European Community without prejudice to the application of national law;
  • Natural persons resident within the European Community

If you are located outside of the European Community but would like a .eu domain, please contact us for assistance. We can refer you to a company registration in a jurisdiction such as the UK to give you a European corporate presence, which will then make you legitimately eligible for .eu.

We strongly discourage registration via "agents" who obtain domains for you in their own name, since these are clear breaches of .eu policy and have a high likelihood of you losing rights in the name.

Technical

What is DNS caching?

DNS lookups are the process by which IP address lookups (e.g. converting google.com to an IP address like 72.14.204.99). This enables the use of easy to remember domain names rather than IP addresses for visiting your favourite web sites, sending email to people and so on.

DNS is an integral part of how the Internet works, and almost everything you do online makes at least one DNS lookup. Because so many DNS lookups happen, there is some "caching" or remembering of the answers for a period of time to improve the overall efficiency and speed of the system.

How long does the cache persist?

The length of time a DNS result is cached depends on the value known as the "time to live" (TTL) set by the authoritative DNS server for the domain.

Registration

How can I check if a domain is available?

We offer a domain name search that can show you whether a domain is already registered or not.

There is no obligation to proceed to an order, although if you find available domains you can add them to a cart and order easily and securely online.

General

What are name servers?

Name servers (also spelt as nameservers) are otherwise known as domain name servers.

They are servers that provide the mapping of human memorable domain names and hostnames to IP addresses.

If I make changes to my DNS records, how quickly do they take effect?

Changes within your DNS zone

When you make changes within your DNS zone (such as changing the IP address of your web server), they are updated immediately across all our DNS servers. You should expect to wait several hours and generally longer for everyone to see your new DNS records, due to the effects of DNS caching.

Delegation changes

When delegation changes are made, the DNS entries at the registry level are also changed. It can take 24 hours or more for these changes to be visible to other name servers since the results are cached for a given period of time in the domain record.

Therefore, it is advised to keep your old name servers online for a few days after making any nameserver changes.

What is domain redelegation?

The process in which one sets up a new website with an existing domain name is called domain redelegation.

This means that the existing domain name registrar associates the existing domain name to new website hosting and e-mail services.

What is a domain name registrar?

A domain name registrar is a company or service that registers the names of websites and integrates them into domain name servers, the "address books" of the Internet, which are made available on the Internet.

A registrar is accredited by the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) or by a national country code top-level domain (ccTLD) authority.

Sublime IP holds accredited registrar status in several countries.

How are Sublime IP's DNS servers set up?

Most Internet service providers rely on only two name servers for DNS hosting, whereas Sublime IP has five DNS servers that are globally distributed across multiple continents for high redundancy.

Management

How do I recover a lost domain password?

Your domain passwords can be viewed securely via the Sublime IP Customer Service web site in the Domain Portfolio.

The Customer Service site is the preferred and most secure way to obtain your domain password. If you have lost your login details and not kept us up to date with your email address, you will need to send us an "offline" request to re-issue the Domain Password (Registry Key).

In such a case, download and complete the Domain Password re-issue form and fax or post this back to us as indicated on the form.

Transfers

How do I transfer a co.uk domain name?

To transfer a .uk domain to Sublime IP, please contact your current .uk domain tag holder (registrar) and ask them to update your domain's tag holder to be JUSTNET.

If you are unsure who the current registrar is for your domain, please contact us for assistance.

How do I transfer a gTLD domain name?

To transfer a gTLD domain to Sublime IP, such as a .com or .net domain, click on the "Add Domains to the Portfolio" button at the end of the Domain Portfolio page in the Customer Service Site.

Once the domain is listed in your portfolio, there is a "Transfer" button to click where you can provide the Auth Info (transfer password) to authorise the transfer of your .com domain to Sublime IP.

How do I transfer a .au domain name?

To transfer a .au domain to Sublime IP, (e.g. .com.au, .net.au, or org.au domain), click on the "Add Domains to the Portfolio" button at the end of the Domain Portfolio page in the Customer Service Site.

Once the domain is listed in your portfolio, there is a "Transfer" button to click where you can provide the Auth Info (transfer password) to authorise the transfer of your .au domain to Sublime IP.

Transfer of .au domains to Sublime IP as your registrar is a free service.

How do I transfer a .nz domain name?

To transfer a .nz domain to Sublime IP, (for example for .co.nz and .net.nz domains), click on the "Add Domains to the Portfolio" button at the end of the Domain Portfolio page in the Customer Service Site.

Once the domain is listed in your portfolio, there is a "Transfer" button to click where you can provide the Auth Info (transfer password) to authorise the transfer of your .nz domain to Sublime IP.

Transfer of .nz domains to Sublime IP as your registrar is a free service.

Colocation Answers

General

What is colocation?

Colocation is where a company's equipment is hosted in a third party facility which provides a secure environment with stable power, cooling and Internet connectivity.
 

What is a data center?

Wikipedia defines a data center (or datacentre) as a facility used to house computer systems and associated components, such as telecommunications and storage systems. It generally includes redundant or backup power supplies, redundant data communications connections, environmental controls (e.g., air conditioning, fire suppression) and security devices.

It is sometimes referred to as a server room, carrier hotel, telehousing suite or a computer closet in some organisations.

 

What is a rack unit or "RU"?

A rack unit, frequently abbreviated as "RU" or just "U", is a standard size measurement for equipment to be mounted in 19-inch racks of the kind used in almost all data centres worldwide.

Individual pieces of rack-mountable equipment such as servers, switches, routers, blades and so on can vary in size. Racks typically accomodate equipment 19 inches (482.6 mm) wide. So the size variance is sometimes a matter of depth; for example some simpler switches and routers are relatively shallow devices compared to a typical server, though are still the standard 19 inches wide.

The main significant variance, however, is the height of the equipment and this is where the RU comes into play. The height of rack-mount equipment is standardised as multiples of 1.75 inches (4.445 cm) and this is what is known as a "rack unit", "RU" or "U".

RU sizing and colocation pricing

The RU size of a server or other piece of equipment in a data centre is one of the factors affecting the cost, since a larger server will take up more rack space which is often at a premium. (The other main components of the cost of colocation are power and bandwidth.) Consequently, it is usually best to use the smallest possible server that meets your requirements. Often it makes financial sense to pay a premium for better, more compact servers due to the ongoing savings in rack space over the life of the server.

Sizing of equipment and racks

A server may be described as "1 RU" or "1 U" if it occupies a single rack unit. A full rack of equipment typically accomodates around 42 RU, heights vary between models and manufacturers and some racks may be somewhat shorter or taller than this.

What are the advantages of colocation?

There are numerous benefits however the main ones are:

  • High capacity and quality bandwidth
  • Stable and redundant power and cooling
  • Better security than regular office
  • Advanced fire detection and suppression
  • Improved uptime of services
  • Greater availability of a range of services
  • 24/7 access to experienced IT staff


 

Are there any disadvantages to colocation?

In some instances colocation is not the best solution for your business. The reasons for this are numerous but some examples are; hardware costs, lack of sufficient IT skills, costs not feasible and so on.

Alternatives include virtual hosting, content delivery services (CDN), virtual private servers (VPS) and dedicated or managed servers.

Sublime IP can provide all of these services and more to meet your IT needs.

 

What is the difference between a colocation and dedicated server?

Colocation is where the hardware remains the property and responsibility of the company or customer. The host provides secure environment with stable power, cooling and internet connectivity.

In the case of dedicated or leased hardware it is the property of the host and the customer pays a fixed fee to lease the hardware. Any problems with the physical hardware are the responsibility of the host.

 

Do you lease space by rack units (RU) or only full cabinets?

We lease everything from 1 rack unit (1 RU) up to full racks, floor space and cages.

What services does Sublime IP offer?

We offer services such as data center space, connectivity/data, remote hands, remote installation service, server monitoring, assistance with international shipping of equipment, etc.

Do you offer managed services?

We offer a range of managed services from backups, server management, firewall services, hardware maintenance and so on.

Please contact us so we can provide a proposal that meets your individual requirements.
 

Does Sublime IP offer 24/7 support?

We have 24/7 phone support with a number of local numbers that can be called. In additional email is monitored regularly and we have monitoring setup for our sites which provide alerts.
 

Do you provide SLAs?

In most of our locations we can provide SLAs and we work towards 99.99% uptime for power and network outside of scheduled maintenance for all sites.
 

Global Locations

Which global colocation locations does Sublime IP offer?

Sublime IP offers colocation and related services in over 60 countries spanning North and South America, Europe, Asia, Africa, Australia and New Zealand. In each region we typically offer colocation in the business capitals of each country. We can also provide telehousing in smaller business centers however connectivity and services are typically better in the major cities.

See our list of global colocation sites for more details on specific locations.

Where should I colocate my server?

It depends on various factors such as proximity to customers/end-users, whether you need regular access to your hardware, or if you have special telehousing or data needs. While some locations may be cheaper than others it doesn't mean it is the best place to host your equipment.

Why does the cost of telehousing change between countries?

There are a number of factors, but the largest is simply due to availability and competition. In less developed countries often data centers and the corresponding carriers are controlled by a handful of telecommunication companies which pushes up prices. Also where infrastructure is lacking the costs are far higher to provide the same level of service in developed nations such as the US.

 

Are all colocation facilities the same?

Generally speaking they vary widely from the high level data centers designed for large corporations down to smaller single room facilities. The main differentiating factors are the quality of the building structure, power redundancy, security, environmental controls, range and quality of internet carriers, technical staff abilities and so on.
 

Does Sublime IP operate its own data centers?

No, we work on a virtual network operator (VNO) methodology.

A VNO is a provider of management services and a reseller of network services from other telecommunications suppliers that does not own the telecommunication infrastructure.

These network providers are categorized as virtual because they provide network services to customers without owning the underlying network. A VNO typically leases bandwidth at the wholesale rates from various telecom providers in order to provide solutions to their customers.

Do Sublime IP facilities have ISO certification or Uptime Institute Tier rating?

Some do have ISO certification or Uptime Institute Tier ratings, but vary between locations. For more details and requirements in specific location(s), please contact us.

Can I get mutiple Points of Presence (POPs)?

We offer colocation in a diverse range of cities and countries and can cater to any companies needs whether big or small. We specialise in providing colocation in different countries such as if a company wants a prescense in North America, Asia & Europe we can for example provide telehousing in New York, Hong Kong & Frankfurt.

If you are unsure which locations would suit your business best please do not hesiate to contact us as we can provide advice to suit your needs.

Please see our list of colocation sites or contact us for more details.
 

Am I able to order my own Internet bandwidth?

In some cases we can offer 'carrier free' telehousing however more commonly we provide space that includes managed bandwidth where we provide IP transit, IP addresses, routing and so on.
 

Connectivity

What is the difference between data carriers?

Some data carriers have better peering, faster connectivity, more redundancy, etc.

Are your facilities carrier neutral?

As our facilities vary between locations we cannot offer carrier neutral services across all sites. A majority of telehousing facilities worldwide are not carrier neutral as they rely on reselling bandwidth as part of their business.

What data carriers do you offer in your data centers?

It varies between locations. Generally, our managed bandwidth product is a mix of quality transit providers and local peering connectivity.

Is data transit priced per Mbps or per gigabyte?

The pricing models varies between locations and depends on the availability of internet transit in that city.

Please contact us so we can provide pricing that suits your requirements.
 

Why does the cost of data transit vary between locations?

The cost of internet bandwidth varies mainly due to the level of infrastructure combined with the level of competition in the market. Generally speaking data costs are lower in developed countries such as the US however there is some degree of price fixing.

Also pricing and quality of data varies greatly even between cities in established markets such as the US. This is because infrastructure tends to be concentrated in particular cities/states (in the case of the US, San Francisco, Chicago & New York) in order to reduce infrastructure costs.
 

Do you provide access to peering points from your meet me room?

We provide access in some locations. For more information on peering, please contact us.

A "meet me room" (MMR) is a place within a colocation center where multiple telecommunications companies can physically connect to one another and exchange data without incurring local loop fees. Services provided across connections in an MMR may be voice circuits, data circuits, or Internet protocol.

Peering is a voluntary interconnection of administratively separate internet networks for the purpose of exchanging traffic between the customers of each network. A peering point is a place where many networks interconnect together to exchange traffic on a peering basis.

Do you offer leased lines or MPLS circuits?

Yes, most locations can accommodate leased lines or MPLS circuits.

A leased line or a dedicated line is a telephone line that has been leased for private use. It is a service contract between a provider and a customer whereby the provider agrees to deliver a symmetric telecommunications line connecting two locations in exchange for a monthly rent.

Multiprotocol Label Switching (MPLS) is a mechanism in high-performance telecommunications networks which directs and carries data from one network node to the next.

Can I get telephone lines POTS/PSTN?

We can offer telephone lines in many of our facilities at varying costs. Please speak to our sales staff to discuss your needs.

 

Do you have mobile GSM reception in your facilities?

Generally yes. Please contact us if specific carrier services are required at a particular location.

Power

How much power do you offer per rack?

It varies between locations and can usually be increased on request to accommodate larger power requirements.

How can I estimate my power (electricity) costs?

Your power costs can be estimated by having a track on the rate of power consumption by servers, air conditioning systems in the server rooms, monitoring systems and power backup systems.

How can I reduce my energy use in the data center?

Energy use in data centers can be reduced by the following:

  • Buying new servers for better energy efficiency and performance
  • Balancing the data center power load correctly
  • Server virtualization
  • Efficient data center design
  • Planning different levels of redundancy

Access

Can I get into the data center 24x7 unescorted?

It depends, as we operate from a large number of facilities and each operator has different policies. Generally, only customers with a full rack or more can have unescorted 24x7 access.

Insurance

Does Sublime IP insure my equipment when in the data centers?

No. The customer is required to take out insurance of its own as per our colocation terms of use.

Hosting Answers

Storage Space

How do virtual web hosting storage quotas work?

We use a soft quota method that allows you to upload and use more storage as needed. This means you have the ability to use more space than is allocated in your hosting plan. This is particularly helpful when uploading new content before deleting the previous content, but can also allow for temporary storage of large files and other similar situations.

To view how much storage has been used at any given time, please visit the Customer Service site. You can find the disk space usage information in the "Web Hosting" area under "Managed Hosting". Additional charges may apply for use of storage space that exceeds your plan allocation.

Email

How do I log in to webmail?

To log in to Sublime IP Webmail go to webmail.sublimeip.com in your web browser and enter your mailbox username and password.

Scripting

What is the sendmail path?

If you have a Perl script that needs to know where our Sendmail program resides, it is /usr/sbin/sendmail

Which hosting plans include ASP support?

At present we do not support any propreitary scripting langagues including ASP on our shared hosting offerings.

For larger projects, you may consider a cloud-hosted Windows server with us based in the USA, Europe or Asia. Alternatively, you could colocate your physical Windows server with us at your preferred location in 60+ countries, then run ASP and whatever other software you need on your own equipment.

Which hosting plans include Perl support?

All our virtual web hosting plans include support for Perl (currently PHP 5.8.9).

This includes all Economy and Performance hosting plans.

Perl is enabled by default, so you don't need to specially request it from us. All you need to do is ensure the following steps are taken:

  • Set your file name to end in .pl
  • Make sure the file has the "execute" permission bit set (Unix mode 755) via your FTP program
  • Ensure the path to Perl is set correctly at the top of the Perl file. Our Perl lives as /usr/bin/perl

Which hosting plans include PHP support?

All our virtual web hosting plans include support for PHP (currently PHP 5.2.x).

This includes all Economy and Performance hosting plans.

PHP is enabled by default, so you don't need to specially request it from us. All you need to do is ensure your PHP script file names end in .php

Databases

What version of MySQL do you use?

We use the latest version in the MySQL 5.0.X series.

What databases do you support?

All our virtual hosting plans can support MySQL databases. We also support SQLite.

MySQL is a relational database management system (RDBMS) that runs as a server providing multi-user access to a number of databases. It is one of the world's most popular open source database software due to its superior speed, reliability and ease of use. MySQL is used as the back-end for a large number of popular web applications.

SQLite is an almost ACID-compliant embedded relational database management system contained that is relatively small and light-weight and is being adopted by some projects for simple database requirements.

Security

What are the advantages of EV SSL certificates?

EV SSL certificates triggers the display of the green address bar in high-security browsers. Visitors to your web site get an easy and reliable way to establish trust online.

Only SSL Certificates with Extended Validation (EV) will trigger high security web browsers to display a green address bar with the name of the organisation that owns the SSL Certificate and the name of the Certificate Authority that issued it.

The green bar shows site visitors that the transaction is encrypted and the organization has been authenticated according to the most rigorous industry standard. For better online performance and added customer confidence, choose secure hosting with an EV SSL certificate.

Why does my browser address bar go green with some sites?

Extended Validation (EV) SSL certificates triggers the display of the green address bar in high-security browsers.

Sites with this level of SSL encryption have been through additional validation of the owner such as confirming that the company is registered, its registered address and so on. This allows a greater sense of trust: not only is your communication encrypted, you can also know definitively know you are communicating with.

Trademarks Answers

General

What is a trademark?

A trademark is a distinctive sign or indicator used by an individual, business organization or other legal entity to identify that the products or services to consumers with which the trademark appears originate from a unique source, and to distinguish its products or services from those of other entities.

A trademark can be a word, phrase, letter, number, sound, smell, shape, logo, picture, aspect of packaging or a combination of these. It is unique for each trader and gives one the legal right to use, license or sell it within Australia for the goods and services for which it is registered.

What is the difference between a registered mark and a non-registered mark?

A registered mark is approved and entered in the trademark register held by any trademark office (national or regional). Hence, it confers legal rights and becomes incontestable.

An unregistered mark does not have similar benefits, but may receive common law trademark rights. However, it may be difficult to prove ownership and exclusive rights without a registration.

What is the difference between a trademark and a domain name?

A trademark is used to distinguish goods and services from a particular source or of a defined quality, whereas a domain name is an identification label that defines a realm of administrative autonomy, authority, or control in the Internet, based on the domain name system (DNS).

A domain name can be used as a trademark if desired, but should be registered with an ICANN-accredited registrar.

I have a company or business name. Do I still need a trademark?

Yes, in many cases it is wise to have a trademark for your company or business name since registering a trademark heightens the protection it receives, deters others from using your trademark, and increases the remedies should someone infringe upon the trademark.

Registration

Can I register a trademark with Sublime IP?

Yes. In Australia, we have in-house trademark attorney services and can register an Australian trademark for you.

Can I register a design or patent with Sublime IP?

No, our in-house attorneys work with Australian trademarks only. See the IP Australia attorney directory for a list of Australian patent attorneys.

Does Sublime IP register national trademarks outside of Australia?

No. However, you can find a list of international trademark attorney firms at http://www.ipmenu.com/patentattorneylistings.htm.

For an image trademark, how do I submit details?

We would prefer a good quality digital image by e-mail (e.g. TIFF, PDF, JPEG, etc.). Otherwise, a printed copy of the trademark image can be posted to us at the postal address mentioned in our website.

How long does a trademark registration last?

A trademark registration lasts for 10 years in Australia which may be extended for additional periods of 10 years. Failure to use a registered trade mark for a period of three years or more may expose the registration to cancellation on the grounds of non-use.

What types of trade marks would be difficult to register?

The trademarks that indicate the kind, quality, quantity, intended purpose, value, time of production, geographic origin, surnames of goods and services are usually difficult to register.

Registrability

What types of trademarks can Sublime IP register?

Most marks are simple words or two-dimensional images. While traditionally image trademarks were lodged in the register in black and white, it is now possible to have a full colour mark registered.

Some unusual marks also exist, such as for three-dimensional shapes, scents and colours.

Can I register a generic word as a trademark?

Generally this is only possible if the generic word or words are unrelated to the class of goods or services for which you intend to use the trademark. This is because a trademark is, by definition, a sign used commercially to distinguish the goods or services of one trader from those of another in the marketplace.

It is only in quite unusual circumstances that a trademark will be registrable if its main feature is a letter, word, phrase, name, number, device, shape, colour, sound, scent or symbol commonly used by other traders in a similar field. (See Section 41 Trade Marks Act 1995)

What is meant by "capable of distinguishing"

Examiners rely on court cases and legal precedent in deciding whether a trade mark is capable of distinguishing goods and services. Under the Trade Marks Act, if a trademark is not capable of distinguishing the goods or services of the applicant, the trademark must be rejected.

However, one of the main criteria which is considered is whether other traders are likely, in the ordinary course of their business and without improper motive, to need to use the same or similar trade mark in relation to their own goods or services. Traders should not be granted a monopoly in words, expression or logos which other traders may legitimately need to use to describe their own goods or services.

Renewals

How does the trademark renewal process work?

We send a renewal notification by e-mail and post in advance of the expiry date.

It is important you keep us updated to changes in your contact details so that you can receive the renewal notices. Contact updates can be made securely via our Customer Service web site.

Webdesign Answers

General

Do I need to have my site designed by Sublime IP to use your hosting?

No, certainly not. You can still use our hosting services without having your website designed by Sublime IP.

Do you have some recommendations for web design software?

Our most recommended web design software is Adobe Dreamweaver, since it is the most widely used and professional software available. It is an advanced yet reasonably straight-forward piece of software used for designing, developing and maintaining websites.

There are plenty of alternates to Dreamweaver that could be useful at a lower cost, even free, such as Mozilla SeaMonkey

Increasingly more sites are created using a Content Management System (CMS) and we use and support popular CMS software such as WordPress or modx.

Does Sublime IP provide web design?

Yes, but this service is not included in domain name registration or hosting. This is as a separate service of Sublime IP and the prices start from approximately USD 5,000 or local currency equivalent.

Note we don't offer a low-end web design service, but are quite able to host any web sites and the majority of our clients have web sites that have been designed by themselves or by a third party designer, and not by us.

Do you have a list of good web designers I could use?

We don't push a list currently, but please contact us if you require web design work and we may be able to refer you to a suitable web designer who works with us.

Dialup Answers

Access

From what locations is DIALix available?

DIALix is available at a local call from around Australia, via a single national number. Your call is answered by our dialup service in the nearest Call Collection Area (CCA), in one of 66 different zones around Australia.

The call answering points are as follows. (Note that even if you are not exactly in one of these areas, your call will be routed to the nearest POP and is still a local call charge.)

Adelaide Albury Alice Springs Armidale Ballarat Bathurst Bega Bendigo Brisbane Broken Hill Broome Bunbury Bundaberg Cairns Campbelltown Canberra Coffs Harbour Darwin Dubbo Gawler Geelong Geraldton Gisborne Gladstone Gosford Goulburn Grafton Griffith Hobart Kalgoorlie Karratha Katanning Kawana Waters Launceston Lismore Mackay Maroochydore Maryborough Melbourne Mildura Morwell Mount Gambier Mount Isa Murray Bridge Newcastle Nowra Orange Penrith Perth Port Augusta Port Macquarie Richmond Rockhampton Rockingham Shepparton Southport Sydney Tamworth Taree Toowoomba Townsville Wagga Wagga Wangaratta Warragul Warrnambool Wollongong

What is the call charge for an 0198 number?

0198 numbers must be charged as a "low cost call" (currently around 25 cents) by all Australian telcos. If your normal local calls cost less than 25 cents from your phone company, calls to 0198 numbers will normally be at the same price as any ordinary local call - but you may wish to check with your phone company in case they happen to do something odd, e.g. charge 15 cents for normal local calls but 25 cents for 0198 for some reason. If you find any problems in this regard please let us know.

Please note that if you are calling from a hotel, hospital or similar situation where your calls are not billed to you directly by a telco, you should check to see what call charge will apply. (This should also be a normal local call charge, but as these organisations are not obliged to charge such calls at a local call price you should check first just in case.)

What is the dialup number to access DIALix?

The Australia-wide dialup number to access the DIALix ISP service is 0198 333 887.

The DIALix 56K service is a true national roaming service. All DIALix accounts work from any of our POPs, and your call will automatically be answered by our nearest POP. So if you are travelling just dial in as usual on the 0198 333 887 number and use the Internet as normal.

What is the history of DIALix?

DIALix was conceived in a suburban garage in Woodlands, a suburb of Perth, Western Australia, in late 1989. DIALix offered modem dial-up access to a commercial Unix system - at a famously low price of 1 cent per minute.

Soon afterwards, DIALix obtained a UUCP (email and Usenet news only) connection to the outside world by way of AARNet (the Australian Academic and Research Network), providing email access for the first time to many Perth residents. In doing so, DIALix was arguably the first business in Australia providing Internet access to Australians outside of the academic environment.

DIALix was unique and inexpensive enough to attract customers from not only Perth but also the other states of Australia and even overseas - all calling long distance into the single Perth POP. For a while in the early 1990s, the main Internet connection for Indonesia was a phone call into DIALix!

In 1992, DIALix expanded east with the installation of a POP in Sydney, providing local call access to a whole new market at a time when ISPs were very few in number.

By 1994, DIALix had established sites in the five mainland Australian states and the ACT.

On 1 January 2000, many aspects of the DIALix business including the "DIALix" name and rights to collect revenue from the DIALix customer base post-January 1 were acquired by Sublime IP (known back then as JustNet), a company with a close association with DIALix during its early years (most notably as publisher of the original DIALix User Guide).

Under new ownership, DIALix upgraded all services to full 56K modem access, introduced a number of new dial-up locations to extend DIALix's reach, added new facilities including more flexible pricing plans, easier ways to pay and much more detailed account management information. National roaming is now available for all accounts. Broadband services have also been introduced in more recent times.

DIALix continues to operate as an ISP business and now claims over 21 years of continuous service to the Australian public providing quality Internet access.

Email

What are the email settings for DIALix?
For dialup accounts

Incoming (POP3) Mail Server is mail.dialix.com.au

Outgoing (SMTP) Mail Server: mail.dialix.com.au

For broadband ADSL accounts

Incoming (POP3) Mail Server: mail.dialix.com.au

Outgoing (SMTP) Mail Server: mail.adsl.dialix.com.au

How do I check my DIALix email via the web?

To log in to Sublime IP Webmail go to webmail.sublimeip.com in your web browser and enter your mailbox username and password.

Cdn Answers

General

What is a Content Delivery Network (CDN)?

A content delivery network or content distribution network (CDN) is a system of computers containing copies of data, placed at various points in a network so as to maximize bandwidth for access to the data from clients throughout the network.

The end-user (often automatically) accesses the a copy of the data nearest to the client, as opposed to all clients accessing the same central server. This avoids bottlenecks near the central server as well as providing the highest bandwidth and lowest latency to end-users.

Locations

From which locations can Sublime IP provide CDN service?

Our CDN architecture includes local POPs on four continents; North America, Europe, Asia, and Australia. Our POP locations include Los Angeles, San Jose, Ashburn VA, New York, Chicago, Seattle, Dallas, Atlanta, London, Amsterdam, Paris, Frankfurt, Tokyo, Hong Kong, and Sydney.

The CDN network can be complemented with our even more extensive network of data centres if coverage is required in more obscure locations.

How are your CDN locations chosen?

They are the key strategic Internet exchange and peering locations around the world, where the majority of the Internet traffic is exchanged from carrier network to carrier network. From these locations, your users are only milliseconds away from your content on our CDN.

Having our POPs located directly at these peering points allows us to tap into both public and private inter-network peering opportunities available to us at these exchange points.

Vpn Answers

General

What is a Virtual Private Network (VPN)?

A virtual private network (VPN) is a network that uses a public telecommunication infrastructure, such as the Internet, to provide remote offices or individual users with secure access to their organization's network. It is cost-effective and aims to avoid an expensive system of owned or leased lines that can only be used by one organization.

How does it work?

A packet is transmitted from a client through a VPN router or gateway, which adds an Authentication Header (AH) for routing and authentication. The data is then encrypted and, finally, enclosed with an Encapsulating Security Payload (ESP). This latter constitutes the decryption and handling instructions.

The receiving VPN router strips the header information, decrypts the data, and routes it to its intended destination (either a workstation or other node on a network). Using a network-to-network connection, the receiving node on the local network receives the packets already decrypted and ready for processing. The encryption/decryption process in a network-to-network VPN connection is transparent to a local node.

With such a heightened level of security, an attacker must not only intercept a packet, but decrypt the packet as well. Intruders who employ a man-in-the-middle attack between a server and client must also have access to at least one of the private keys for authenticating sessions. Because they employ several layers of authentication and encryption, VPNs are a secure and effective means of connecting multiple remote nodes to act as a unified intranet.

OpenVPN is our preferred method of operating VPNs.

What kinds of businesses can use a VPN?

Any business with more than one location; or staff that needs to securely access office servers while at home or traveling.

Can you set it up for us?

Yes, of course. We undertake all set up of VPN services as required.

Do you provide ongoing support?

Yes. Automated monitoring of VPN services is undertaken and complemented by human supervision and testing.

What custom solutions do you offer?

It depends on the client's imagination. We have skills to customize in many ways to meet special needs.

Please contact us to discuss any unusual VPN requirements you may have.

Where could I use a VPN in my business?

You can use a VPN for the following functions in your business:

  • Joining multiple sites to a data centre
  • Linking a network of stores or branch offices to one or more head offices
  • Securely connecting any two or more sites
  • Linking operations between countries

Support

Does Sublime IP manage its VPN product in-house?

Yes, we have a specialist division, Sublime IP Bandwidth Pty Ltd, which provides global managed VPN services, including all support plus build and test and delivery of hardware worldwide.

Hardware

What hardware do you use?

We use a variety of embedded devices (small, high reliability computers with no moving parts) selected to suit particular client needs.

We also deploy rack mount servers in data centres to complement the design of the VPN.

Technical

Do you support Cisco IPsec?

We can support Cisco IPsec, although we normally use OpenVPN for most purposes as we believe it is a superior solution for our typical client needs and prefer this method of operation.

We may be able to offer a bridge between an existing IPsec network and an OpenVPN network to preserve your investment in existing infrastructure while allowing greater flexibility at new sites.