Aug 10, 2007 : The webhost industry: week review

📅 August 10, 2007 - This week's Web hosting industry news most notably saw the launch of a variety of new services based on clusters, a technology that is still working to see it's promise fulfilled in the hosting business. On Tuesday, Web hosting provider FastNext announced that it had launched a new clustered hosting offering. The company says its load-balanced clustering approach helps to ensure that a customer's Web site is always online. The company currently offers a single shared and three reseller clustered plans on the Linux platform. On Wednesday, utility hosting provider Layered Technolgies announced that it had launched a new service, the Super Grid, which it calls the industry's largest virtual private data center. The service is controlled with a browser, and has access to 443 CPUs, 920GB of RAM and 47 terabytes of storage using Intel systems and 3tera's AppLogic software. The company says the solution is a cost-effective alternative for enterprises considering building out facilities or leasing colocation space. Also this week, Web hosting providers AttractSoft and Zetta Hosting Solutions Alliance partnered to launch a reseller hosting program, known as ResellerCluster, that will provide resellers with the means to resell free Web hosting at no charge. The company says the free hosting service can provide a trial offering to customers, who may turn into paying customers down the road. Along with the announcement of several new hosting services employing clustered technology, this week saw a series of announcements related to new facilities. On Tuesday, Internet solutions provider Internap announced that it had added a new content delivery network origin point of presence through its proprietary private network access points in El Segundo, California. The company says integrating CDN services into the P-NAP will help Internap better manage network processes and enable companies to reduce costs. Also this week, Managed hosting provider Rackspace announced that it would invest $100 million to turn a vacant shopping mall in San Antonio, Texas into its new headquarters. The company says it plans to add 4,000 new employees over the next five years. The plan is part of a deal struck with local government organizations to keep Rackspace in the San Antonio area. The deal included a $22 million grant from the Texas Enterprise Fund. Rackspace is currently finalizing an agreement to lease the mall in San Antonio suburb Windcrest. And on Wednesday, FiberNet Telecom Group announced that it would convert 8,000 square feet of unused colocation space at its 165 Hasley Street location in Newark, New Jersey into an Internet grade facility to be integrated with the company's other colocation facilities and data centers. The new space is expected to be operational by the fourth quarter of this year, and will meet the power and cooling standards of a data center or Internet exchange. This week's news was mostly of the immediate-impact variety, and appears unlikely to have any lingering short-term effects. However, the development of several new clustered Web hosting solutions has a great deal of relevance to the potential long-term success of the technology in the Web hosting world.