Savvis Cloud Infrastructure Platform Powering Virtual Private Data Centers For The Enterprise

SAN FRANCISCO, Sept. 1 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- VMworld -- Savvis, Inc., a global leader in outsourced Internet infrastructure services for the enterprise, today previewed its next-generation cloud compute platform. Dubbed Project Spirit, the platform will power the industry's first enterprise-class Virtual Private Data Center (VPDC) with multi-tiered Quality of Service (QoS) capabilities.

Cloud infrastructure is a style of application infrastructure in which dynamically scalable resources are provided as a service. Users need not have knowledge of, expertise in, or control over the technology infrastructure in the "cloud" that supports them.

Project Spirit focuses on complete virtual data center provisioning that extends far beyond the simple application deployment designs available in many cloud service offerings today. Savvis expects to launch the beta version of the new offering later this year and believes it will be the industry's most feature-rich cloud delivery platform available for the enterprise. Project Spirit will advance Savvis' current suite of dedicated and open cloud solutions which are gaining traction worldwide.

"In terms of cloud services for the enterprise, we are moving from a world of limited user controls, to a world of complete virtual data center provisioning with advanced user design in the portal," said Bryan Doerr, chief technology officer of Savvis. "Our next generation cloud services and resulting virtual private data center will, for the first time, enable push button web application hosting for the enterprise."

  Key advancements in Savvis' Project Spirit will include:
  --  Increased automation - Project Spirit will enable the transition from
      creating virtual machines to being able to create an entire virtual
      data center at the push of a button.
  --  Lower cost and feature-rich - Cloud compute, storage, security and
      network layers will be fully virtualized delivering more features
      faster at significantly lower costs.
  --  Greater scale - Savvis' VPDC, powered by the new cloud compute
      platform, will feature increased capacity to flex to higher levels
      more rapidly than current offerings.
  --  Broader quality-of-service (QoS) - Savvis' new platform will offer
      multiple grades of user selectable QoS levels via the Savvis portal
      and enforced by next-generation QoS controls.
  --  Enhanced security - The new cloud platform will deliver
      enterprise-grade cloud services that offer security practices
      previously used only in dedicated IT environments such as firewalling,
      file integrity monitoring and intrusion detection/prevention services.Cisco and VMware Play Key Roles

In conjunction with today's news, Savvis also announced that the Cisco Nexus 5000 and 7000 Series switches will serve as the virtualized network backbone, and that VMware vSphere(TM) 4 will serve as the virtualization platform for VPDC's powered by Project Spirit. Using these technologies, Savvis will be able to deliver services over a converged fabric data center network and service provider-enabling virtualization platform.

The Cisco Nexus 1000V Switch with VN-Link technology provides a new generation of virtualized data center networking, helping enable virtual machines and network connectivity to be seamlessly linked and moved at the touch of a button while the VMware VMsafe API, included in VMware vSphere 4, and Savvis' integrated virtual firewall will deliver deeper security into the virtualized environment. The VMware VMsafe API delivers fine-grained visibility over virtual machine and cloud IT resources, making it possible to monitor every aspect of the execution of the system and stop previously undetectable viruses, rootkits and malware before they can infect a system.

"Savvis was an industry pioneer in virtualized utility services who has now evolved into an industry leader in cloud services for the enterprise," said Prem Jain, senior vice president, Server Access and Virtualization Group, Cisco. "Cisco is collaborating closely with Savvis on what we believe will result in the industry's first truly enterprise-class virtual private data center solution with multi-tiered QoS."

"As a leading cloud service provider focused on the enterprise, and a founding member of the VMware vCloud initiative, Savvis clearly recognizes the importance of carrier-grade security services," said Dr. Stephen Herrod, chief technology officer and senior vice president of R&D, VMware. "We are pleased that Savvis has chosen VMware vSphere(TM) 4 and the VMware VMsafe API as key components in the next generation of their cloud service platform, and we look forward to continuing our work with Savvis to further cloud adoption in the enterprise."Project Spirit takes its name from the famed aviator Charles Lindbergh's flight "The Spirit of St. Louis," in honor of his supporters from St. Louis, where Savvis is headquartered today. Just as Lindbergh broke new ground with flight launching the commercial aviation industry, cloud computing has the potential to transform the way IT services are purchased, deployed and delivered to businesses and consumers globally.