The new data center offers 24/7/365 N+1 redundant environmental controls, as well as 24-hour monitoring through a stringent security system incorporating pass cards and biometric scanners. The facility also has a battery backup power system in case of an emergency and, in the event of an extended power failure, the facility has three diesel generators for a combined capacity of 5.6 megawatts.

Like all Rackspace data centers, the new data center will support a multi-homed Cisco Powered Network. The network is based on the latest Cisco technology and Catalyst 6500 switches. Critical redundancy is provided by multiple major bandwidth providers and multiple gigabit Ethernet OC-12 and OC-3 connections.

The purchase of the East Coast facility comes just nine months after Rackspace acquired an additional San Antonio data center in May 2002. Since that time, the San Antonio facility has been filled to capacity with new and expanding Rackspace customers. Given the company's current growth trajectory, finding additional data center space will be an ongoing priority.

"Our data center expansion is a direct result of our high end customer growth and demand for advanced service offerings including storage, security, patching, managed back-up and recovery," said Paul Froutan, vice president of engineering, Rackspace Managed Hosting. "While others in the industry are forced to consolidate their data centers due to a glut, we find that it is necessary to further increase our data center presence to accommodate our continuous growth. And we are able to acquire state-of-the-art facilities from shrinking telcos for a fraction of the original cost."