Most hosting providers don't care about your freedom or your privacy. Since the Summer of Snowden what we have feared had become true: almost all modern hardware platforms used for hosting contain potential backdoors or exploitable bugs.

Vikings plans to change that. We will build a state-of-the-art data center that will cover all your hosting needs; based on fully libre[1] software, libre boot firmware and performant libre-friendly hardware. We will always respect your freedoms and your privacy - we don't spy on you.

Vikings will provide great services like email, VPS (virtual private servers), VPN (virtual private networks), dedicated servers and co-location.

No matter if you're a private user, a seasoned sysadmin or a large company, Vikings shuts out the middle-men and provides hosting services directly from the data center.

In short: 100% libre software, ranging from the server's boot firmware to the operating system and on to the software on top of that. With Vikings, security and privacy comes per default and you are in control of your computing and always will be.

Another goal is to perfect and release the software we're going to develop to run our platform, including the parts you won't see, as fully libre software.

More details are provided below the Services section.

==========================================================

Services

All our services share the following basic features. They will be:

based on 100% libre software and libre-friendly hardware with Libreboot, including our front- and back-ends

running with certified green energy

ad-free

as secure as humanly possible

backed with xkcd/705 & 806 compliant[2] customer service

There won't be exeptions. Never. Ever. Email between 2 and 25 GiB email storage included (upgradeable) IMAP support unrestricted user names between 5 and 25 custom aliases up to 75 MiB attachments included in all tariffs no promo message signature, we don't tamper with your data we will never read your email (many large providers scan your emails and sell your data - we don't!) quite effective anti-spam measures with standard tools, such as DNS-based blackhole lists no more spam folders you need to watch (unless you really want to) web-mailer will be included (may be introduced after a short delay) possible to stay completely anonymous, even we won't know your name Virtual Private Servers - VPS between 1 and 80 GB of RAM (more available soon) between 25 and 200 GB SSD storage included (upgradeable) between 1 and 20 CPU cores SSDs only redundant & fast internet connection based on the qemu-kvm virtualization solution choice of distribution (we will begin with Debian images and expand from there) between 2 and 30 TB traffic inclusive (depending on tariff) /64 IPv6 subnet included 1 dedicated IPv4 address included (upgradeable) reverse DNS administration Virtual Private Networks – VPN a VPN encrypts your connection and provides you with an IP address of Vikings'; protecting your privacy based on openVPN no traffic limit no logging of your connections up to 1 Gbps bandwidth per VPN IPv6 support possible to stay completely anonymous, even we won't know your name Dedicated servers / Root servers rent your unshared server hosted in Vikings' data center based on Vikings D16 server-grade server hardware with libre boot firmware up to 32 CPU cores with up to 3.4GHz up to 128GB ECC RAM (256GB ECC RAM will be available soon) hard drive: SSDs and spinning rust available, software-RAID 1 between 15 and 150 TB traffic inclusive (depends on tariff) /64 IPv6 subnet included 1 dedicated IPv4 address reverse DNS entries



Note: We only offer two configuration types during the campaign, which can be upgraded with add-on packages if needed.

Colocation

* self-contained rack segments with 11 or 23U compartments, up to a full rack with approx. 45U * rack size at least 600mm x 1000mm / 23.6" x 39.7" * 1 Gbps-port to router (upgradeable) * 2 x 16A to 4 x 16 A, depending on rack size (upgradeable) @ 230 V power supply * access to the colocation floor * access to separate work area * uninterrupted power supply (UPS) * diesel power generator * IPv6 subnet (/56) at no cost * IPv4 subnet on request * power charge based on power consumption (approximately 0,29 EUR/kWh incl. tax), no additional charge for costs of cooling etc. * reverse DNS entries * backup space available on request

==========================================================

Vikings D16 Server

The "libre heart" our project will run on. The Vikings D16 server is a modern, re-branded ASUS KGPE-D16 G34 (AMD) server mainboard. The libre boot firmware was developed and released in 2016 on coreboot and then ported to Libreboot. It is one of the first perfomant server hardware that is actually available with libre boot firmware today. It is a good fit for hosting because of its versatility,efficiency and performance.

It runs without CPU microcode updates and/or binary blobs and allows:

up to 2 CPUs with up to 3,4 GHz and 32 CPU cores

256 GB RAM (read more below)

SATA and SAS connections and more

Vikings already runs the Vikings D16 server in a test environment and a few live servers. It is a stable system, as one would expect from high-end server hardware and we are very happy with it.

There are two additional development goals we have integrated into this campaign as stretch-goals:

fix a bug/regression that allows to run the board with 256 GB RAM instead of currently 128 GB of RAM (currently more is possible, but unstable)

develop a BMC (Baseboard Management Controller) module based on openBMC. This would allow to control the server when it's off or unreachable. You will get a remote screen and watch or control many other useful features, such as controlling fan speeds, sensor management, firmware flashing etc.

==========================================================

Environment

Vikings aims to be as environmentally-friendly as possible. Almost 100% of the energy used inside a data center is converted to heat. As a result, the cooling of the server room is one of the critical aspects in operating a data center. Vikings will either use indirect adiabatic cooling, direct free cooling, indirect free cooling, riverine water or a combination of the aforementioned systems, depending on what's most suitable at the location we will choose. All methods have in common that they need very little or no mechanical cooling at all throughout the year, reducing the environmental impact to a minimum.

A stretch goal is to ban battery based UPSs out of the data center and rely on flywheel based UPSs instead. With the effect that less space is needed, no additional cooling is required so that the UPS can be placed inside the server room. What's more, a flywheel requires little maintenance over a long time period and offers a potential quick return on investment, allowing us to offer even better prices to you. Last, but certainly not least, the flywheel protects the environment as battery UPSs use lead-acid batteries that need replacement roughly every three years (though they are being recycled to a certain degree).

==========================================================

"United in Diversity"

Very much in this spirit, we don't just want to provide our services to all. We also want you to be able to control your services and read our website in your favorite language. We will provide our website and front-ends in your language, beginning with the most common and then gradually improving the number of supported languages over time. Potentially, our support will also be able to communicate with you in multiple languages. The languages currently spoken are English and German. We're also able to communicate in basic French (CEFRl[3] level B1) and basic Dutch (level A2).

==========================================================

DIN EN 50600 Compliance of the Data Center

The data center will be built in accordance to the European norm "DIN EN 50600 Information technology - Data center facilities and infrastructures", creating market transparency and comparability with regard to the most important parts of the data center itself, while it provides us with a basic, best-practice framework.

==========================================================

Risks & Challenges, or: What could go wrong?

With a project of this very high complexity, there are numerous potential failure points. Our partners and us have significant experience regarding the building blocks of the project. We have tried to anticipate potential errors in planning and execution (as it is currently possible without knowing exactly yet where the location will be).

For the most part, all locations are quite similar and the plans and ideas we have can be adapted to each location or changed if needed.

That being said, certain unknowns still remains:

Monetary goal

While libre software is important and the very basic foundation of our project, an attractive price tag for our backers and potential customers is just as important. That's why we have designed our data center to be modular from the start. That being said, we are planning to launch with a certain size that will allow us to offer our services at competitive prices. We have also included a small monetary buffer for unforseen expenses and would like to further the goals of libre software and our community as possible. Moreover, potentially develop and/or support new libre hardware and software on a long-term basis.

We are aware that the aforementioned points could risk the campaign's success, but we prefer being safe than sorry because a lot of people have spoken to us over the past weeks and they want our project to happen. We don't want to disappoint them by ceasing to exist after only a short time because we set our campaign goal to low.

Time goal

Our video communicates an optimistic time-frame from the end of the campaign to completion of the project (three months). Because there is some uncertainty about the location, we can't plan for all eventualities, which could lead to parts that are not immediately available. Since we will be developing software for our front- and back-ends, there may also be further risks of delay ahead.

Should a delay occur, we will most likely either be able to circumnavigate or use a backup plan, keeping a potential delay to a minimum. As soon as we see that our campaign will be successful, we will begin to execute our plans.

==========================================================

Choosing a reward & Payment

Goteo can accept credit cards, PayPal and bank transfer. We don't have a say in which payment providers they accept and the fact that a certain payment method is available, doesn't mean we endorse it.

Because this is a crowdfunding campaign, any reward you choose won't actually be charged until the campaign reaches the funding goal. If we don’t reach that goal, no credit cards will be charged and paid rewards by means other than credit card will be refunded.

==========================================================

Video Show Notes

[1] On the present hardware platform, the "Vikings D16 Server", we currently use Libreboot (https://libreboot.org/) or de-blobbed coreboot (https://www.coreboot.org/) that replaces the proprietary boot firmware with libre boot firmware. Non-free BIOS/UEFI firmware often contains backdoors, can be slow and have severe bugs, where you are left helpless at the mercy of large companies. By contrast, libre boot firmware allows everyone to use, study, adapt and share software, with true control and ownership over their hardware technology. Often libre boot firmware is faster, more secure and more reliable than most non-free firmware, and can provide advanced features (such as encrypted /boot/, GPG signature checking before booting your kernel, ability to load an OS from the flash chip, and more).

[2] Freedom on the Net Survey Results, see https://freedomhouse.org/sites/default/files/FH_FOTN_2015Report.pdf

==========================================================

References

[1] "Libre"

Libre software compared with free software

The English language is special in this regard. The adjective “free” is used in one of two meanings: "for zero price" (gratis) and "with little or no restriction" (libre). This ambiguity of “free” can cause issues where the distinction is important, like in our case. Vikings provides their services “free as in freedom”, not “free as in free beer”. Our products come at a price – but they won't cost you your freedom :) This is the reason why we usually use the term "libre software" instead of "free software".

Open-source software compared with libre software

Nearly all open source software is libre software. Practically speaking, the two terms describe the same category of software, but they stand for different values. To put it simply, open source is a development methodology and libre software is a social movement. For the libre software movement, libre software is an ethical imperative, essential respect for the users' freedom. It is said that the philosophy of open source considers issues in terms of how to improve software in a practical sense only.

While we prefer the term "libre software" over the term "open-source software" for various reasons, we understand and respect that others may not for their own reasons. In fact, we will not concern ourselves with petty terminology or patronize people for using specific terms; Vikings' only concern is user-freedom to the maximum possible. So, long live libre and open source software!

[2] xkcd/705 & xkcd/806 compatibility

We take pride in our devotion to duty and providing ardent support. If you want to know what that means, take a look here:

https://xkcd.com/705/

https://xkcd.com/806/

[3] "Common European Framework of Reference for Languages", https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Common_European_Framework_of_Reference_for_Languages