(WEB HOST INDUSTRY REVIEW) — Internet security vendor and domain registry operator VeriSign (www.verisign.com) is planning to spend more than $300 million over the next ten years to upgrade the technology supporting its platform, according to a report published Friday by the Associated Press.
According to the report, the upgrades will increase VeriSign’s capacity to handle requests from its current 4 trillion per day one thousand fold, to 4 quadrillion requests per day, in order to accommodate the always-increasing demands of Internet traffic.
The demands on VeriSign’s systems grow with Internet usage, since the company’s major operations include the operation of the .com and .net domain registries, as well as a very large SSL certificates business (and in the future, the company’s newly-launched site certificate business).
Chief technology officer tells the AP that the factors influencing Internet usage spikes include major news events and electronic attacks.
The last major infrastructure upgrade announced by VeriSign was in 2007. At the time, the company said it planned to spend more than $100 million to increase its capacity tenfold by 2010.
The ongoing expense of building up the back-end infrastructure is just a necessary function of operating the two largest domain registries. VeriSign’s contracts with ICANN for operating both expire in the next few years, and a major commitment to investing in the operations of both might contribute favorably to the renegotiation of those contracts when they come up.
When VeriSign’s .com contract was extended in 2006, registrar Go Daddy was critical of the deal, pointing in particular to the fact that the contract with ICANN does not include requirements for building out the infrastructure supporting the registry.
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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