Rackspace Turns to Brocade

SAN JOSE, Calif. -- Brocade (Nasdaq: BRCD - News) today announced that Rackspace Managed Hosting, a leading global provider of Web hosting services, is using scalable, high-performance Brocade Storage Area Network (SAN) solutions to support its Managed Backup and Storage Division's next generation of growth. The San Antonio, Texas-based company is also leveraging Brocade Fabric Manager software to streamline management of its storage and backup SANs, enabling it to reduce operational costs and offer customers more reliable access to their data.

"As one of the fastest-growing managed hosting providers internationally, our success depends on harnessing technologies that help us sustain our customer service levels," said Chad Smykay, Storage Engineer, Rackspace Managed Hosting. "Brocade provided us with the expandable, easy-to-manage SAN solutions we need to manage our services more efficiently and cost-effectively as we grow."

A Formula for Continued Growth and Success

To fulfill its mission of providing easily manageable, customized solutions tailored to the business needs of its customers, Rackspace has continually added new services, including the Managed Backup and Storage Division, launched in 2001. Initially, the division deployed dual SAN fabrics, one to support storage services and the other to support backup tape libraries. The division proved to be an instant success, with thousands of Rackspace customers subscribing to the new services.

With demand for its storage offerings surging, the company decided to add new Brocade SAN solutions to support the division's increasing capacity and port requirements. Beginning in 2003 and continuing into early 2006, Rackspace began implementing a wide range of Brocade SAN solutions, including Brocade 4900 Switches, Brocade 4100 Switches, and Brocade 48000 Directors. A Brocade Professional Services engineer validated the installations."Choosing Brocade to increase our SAN capacity was an easy decision," said Smykay. "Their systems have performed reliably for us and most importantly have enabled us to easily provision new customers and to help us maintain the industry-leading service for which we are known."

Brocade Communications Systems Inc.