Prostack Cito - Say hello to our fastest custom server stack
ProStack Cito runs in a single instance on a virtual machine or dedicated server and has been tuned, tailored and thoughtfully designed for WordPress, Laravel and other PHP applications.
The origin story
ProStack Cito was conceived during our research and development process preparing for the release of Magento 2. We found performance sluggish on our traditional cPanel server setups no matter what optimisations we applied.
After consulting clients with single sites, we realised that they relied more on high performance rather than the features of cPanel. So we buckled up and ditched the control panel to see how fast we could go. After rigorous testing across most CMS platforms, we created a full stack with excellent results.
- Composer 1 or 2
- SSH access and Git.
- Support for common CI/CD systems (such as Jenkins, DeployBot, Bamboo etc.)
All stacked up
The Cito stack consists of a set of services designed to provide high performance for your web applications and related tools.
Nginx web server
Modern, flexible and fast with automatic, self-renewing Lets Encrypt SSL certificates baked in and a wide array of features and customisations, including caching, authentication and integration with other services. We use it to handle incoming HTTP requests.
PHP-FPM
We support all modern versions of PHP and popular extensions, including opcache. Older versions of PHP can also be installed on request.
NodeJS
Cito runs Node 18 and runs NodeJS applications via Nginx and Passenger.
Scaled to fit
Cito services are actively configured to match your available resources, such as CPU and RAM.
Caching
Cito has a built-in full-page cache to ensure the fastest performance for frequently-accessed pages. We can also help integrate Cloudflare’s CDN.
Robust server protection
We run the popular anti-malware suite ImunifyAV by default to protect your sites from threats, with regular proactive scans and email notifications
Security
Each Cito website exists safely as a separate, isolated system user with its own set of configuration files and processes.
Elasticsearch
A powerful open-source tool enabling you to store, search and analyse large volumes of data very quickly. Prostack can offer ES hosted locally on managed Cito stacks at no additional cost.
Tuned for performance
We’ve dug deep into Linux’s internals to tune Cito for maximum performance. Tweaks like BBR, filesystem isolation and TCP buffer optimisation keep things fast and secure.
Let’s get under the hood
Prostack Cito is based on Debian 11 (Bullseye), running a modern Linux kernel (5.10). Our testing proved superior performance when compared to CentOS and gives us the flexibility to tune your environment to suit your application.
We dynamically configure Cito services to match your available resources, such as CPU and RAM. To maintain PCI compliance and keep things running like clockwork, the stack doesn’t have a control panel included or support older services such as FTP. Each Cito website exists as a separate, isolated system user with its own set of configuration files and processes to keep things safe and sound.
FAQs
How is ProStack Cito different from cPanel?
cPanel sacrifices speed in favour of compatibility which is useful for customers that run lots of sites, ...
What additional services are included?
Prostack is proud to offer full performance and capacity testing so you’re armed and ready for increased ...
Who is ProStack Cito suitable for?
The Cito stack comes into its own for clients running individual sites (it can easily run a handful of sites ...
How does a faster site help with conversions?
A faster site brings a ton of benefits. Studies show that conversion rates drop by an average of 4.42% with ...
Will ProStack manage the migration?
Yes, of course and our expert team will plan and execute it from your existing hosting provider, free of ...
Can I learn more about Cito?
Absolutely! We're forever developing our Cito stack to make sure it's the best it can be. We've put together a ...
ProStack Cito case study: Red Candy
Red Candy is a hugely popular online store, selling a broad range of beautiful homeware products and gifts. With the site suffering performance and reliability issues in the recent past, ProStack were asked to step in and help. A faster Magento store would mean increased visitor traffic, search engine ranking and sales.
ProStack carefully planned and executed a migration of the site, successfully switching within a maintenance window of just a few minutes. Once moved to ProStack’s Cito hosting solution, the site was further optimised for speed and visitor concurrency.
- Cito Stack
- Magento Hosting
- eCommerce
- Litespeed/Performance optimisation
- Cloudflare
The results
What they say
“Red Candy is always a busy store and our customers love to browse and shop online at all times of day.
I had concerns that the migration to a new host would be complicated and take a long time, and all the while we’d be unable to take orders, which would have been a nightmare!
I shouldn’t have worried. ProStack moved the site at the best possible time for our business, and the whole process was unbelievably fast. We’ve seen an immediate improvement to site speed, and more importantly more sales!
I’m also pleased to say we’ve seen zero downtime since moving!
Their knowledge of Magento, Litespeed and Cloudflare have been invaluable. I can completely trust them to look after the site, while I can now focus on running my business, and looking after our lovely customers.”
Andrew Menzies
Director, Red Candy
redcandy.co.uk
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