An image from Internap, illustrating the company's SLA
(WEB HOST INDUSTRY REVIEW) — Managed hosting provider Internap (www.internap.com) announced on Wednesday that it is preparing to launch a public infrastructure as a service cloud, built in part on the OpenStack cloud computing platform software.
The service, says Internap, will be a compliment to the company’s existing cloud storage service, which launched in beta in January of this year, and which will be generally available in June of 2011. The IaaS service will be available in the third quarter of this year.
According to a post on GigaOm, Internap’s new OpenStack cloud is a bit of a shift from the company’s previous cloud efforts, most of which were driven by VMware technology, though the new service will also provide the option to run applications on VM-ware based virtual instances – an effort to support enterprise customers with in-house VMware systems, seeking hybrid cloud solutions.
Internap also says the approach will enable customers to make the shift to the new cloud platform “as priorities and business needs shift over time.
From a service provider perspective, the argument for VMware always tends to include the point of view that enterprise customers have a level of comfort with the technology, as well as existing investments in it.
For OpenStack, the open cloud platform originally created by Rackspace, including code from NASA, the news that Interop is using the platform to build its cloud is a significant endorsement of the platform’s merits within the hosting service provider world, and a pretty good indicator that we’re going to see more OpenStack adoption in that world.
Internap says the service will be delivered via its global Performance IP network, with the company’s patented Managed Internet Route Optimizer technology, maximizing outbound network traffic from its cloud. Interop says it will provide customers with a 100 percent network uptime SLA.
“Enterprise IT and engineering organizations increasingly require powerful but flexible IT outsourcing solutions to best serve their end users with the desired mix of performance, cost and support,” says Paul Carmody, senior vice president of product management and business development at Internap, quoted in the company’s press release. “The introduction of Internap’s new cloud compute service allows us to provide a complete range of intelligent IT Infrastructure solutions that effortlessly meet these demands – from cloud capacity and storage to managed hosting, colocation and a CDN.”
About Liam Eagle
Liam Eagle has worked as a contributor to the Web Host Industry Review since its inception in 2000, and as editor since 2003. He has been editor of the WHIR's print magazine since its launch. His daily involvement in the gathering and reporting of Web hosting news and his regular interaction with Web hosting leaders gives him an uncommonly broad appreciation of the issues and tends facing the business. Through his WHIR blog, Liam spots Web hosting trends and offers opinions on the industry-wide impacts of major developments and the motivation behind big announcements. Follow him on Twitter @liameagle
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