SoftLayer Deploys 40G to the Rack

January 8, 2008, Dallas, TX – SoftLayer announced that its newly launched Seattle datacenter has been designed for maximum network performance, featuring 40-Gigabit connectivity to each server rack. The location’s initial 50-cabinet install of two thousand servers utilizes more than six hundred 10-Gigabit Ethernet ports from Cisco.

"We’ve deployed Cisco 7600, 6500 and 3560E switches throughout the datacenter. Every upstream network port is multiple 10G and every rack is terminated with 40G of connectivity—two 10G connections to the public Internet and two 10G connections to our private network," said Ric Moseley, SoftLayer Vice President of Engineering. "This level of redundancy and throughput is ideal for grid, clustering, and high performance computing, and truly demonstrates our dedication to these emerging technologies and to providing enterprise services to the masses."

What is also clear is the SoftLayer’s commitment to leading the industry. "While most hosting companies boast Gigabit Ethernet to the Internet, we are delivering 40G to every rack," said Sam Fleitman, SoftLayer Chief Operations Officer. "When our install of 150 racks is complete in mid-2008, it will utilize over two thousand 10G ports, and we project 10G at the server level will take that number significantly higher."

The exceptional level of connectivity supports escalating demand for SoftLayer’s rapidly expanding managed storage services, StorageLayer. With SAAS, Web 2.0, and streaming media applications driving the need for higher performance storage, it has become critical to have higher bandwidth between servers and storage. "We have several MMO and SAAS companies with large server farms utilizing direct iSCSI connections to StorageLayer over the private network. Having 20G from the rack to the storage fabric is critical for maximizing their performance and uptime," said Mr. Moseley. "This network design has been the standard in our Dallas facility for almost a year, and we will keep increasing the network infrastructure to stay ahead of emerging technologies."

About SoftLayer

Headquartered in Plano, Texas, SoftLayer delivers next-generation web hosting and virtualized data center services on a global basis from facilities located in Dallas, TX; Seattle, WA; and Washington, DC. Utilizing proprietary management tools coupled with the industry's first Network-Within-a-Network topology, the company delivers unprecedented power and control to securely manage IT environments while providing unparalleled scalability. For more information please visit www.softlayer.com or call 866.398.7638.

Contact:
Shawna Furr
214.442.0584
press@softlayer.com