Pingdom offers uptime chart for web hosting users

A 'cheat sheet' which converts uptime percentages to downtime has been developed by Pingdom.

Users can view a small-scale version of the sheet directly on the Royal Pingdom blog, or download a PDF version which presents all the conversions on a single page.

"Print it out and use it as a reference when you need to quickly check how much downtime in a month 99.5 per cent uptime actually allows for (just an example)," the blog suggested.

It added: "It's very handy."

Earlier this month, the blog offered a number of tips to avoid turning a system outage into an "outrage" by improving the lines of customer communication.

It suggested that web hosting firms should follow three steps - taking preparations, outlining any urgent actions that need to be taken and following up on any questions or errors, making apologies and remuneration when necessary.

And while it acknowledged that "crisis management is never easy", the blog suggested that a company which continues to communicate actively with its customers during times of interruption may emerge from a crisis situation with minimal damage.

Written by Tim Dunton