Utility Computing Service Enables On-demand Scaling of Internet Applications, With Just a Browser and Basic IT SkillsFrisco, Texas and Aliso Viejo, Calif. —  Layered Technologies, Inc., a leading provider of next generation, self-managed, dedicated server products and services and 3Tera, Inc., the innovator of grid and utility computing solutions for online applications, today announced general availability of Virtual Private Datacenters – a new utility computing service for SaaS and Web 2.0 companies. Powered by 3Tera’s award-winning AppLogic grid operating system and operated by Layered’s new TheGridLayer division, Virtual Private Datacenters (VPD) eliminate the need for colocation, private racks and managed services by enabling subscribers to assemble, deploy and manage Internet-scale infrastructure and applications using only a browser and basic IT skills.
 
“Virtual Private Datacenters offer complete control of Internet applications, providing users with unprecedented visibility into all aspects of their infrastructure,” said Michael Platner, CEO, Layered Technologies, Inc. “The system is so efficient, that for the first time SaaS and Web 2.0 companies can scale to profitability without requiring huge investments in infrastructure and IT operations. At Layered, we firmly believe that this is a disruptive change in the industry, and so—six months ago—we created a new division, TheGridLayer, to focus on this opportunity for our customers.”

“We’ve partnered closely with Layered Technologies because they share our vision of utility computing,” said Vlad Miloushev, president & CEO, 3Tera, Inc. “Virtual Private Datacenters combine Layered’s world-class expertise in running over 12,000 servers with our cutting-edge grid technology to fundamentally change the way people build and operate Internet-scale infrastructure. Developers can now focus on building applications instead of configuring hardware, installing software, moving data or modifying code. With the VPD, all they need in order to have complete control of their applications is a browser and basic IT skills.”

TheGridLayer’s Virtual Private Datacenter is an advanced, enterprise-grade utility computing service that allows SaaS and Web 2.0 companies to focus on their business without worrying about scaling infrastructure. The Virtual Private Datacenter service utilizes 3Tera’s award-winning AppLogic grid operating system to enable users to deploy and manage entire N-tier applications on grids of commodity servers. This technological breakthrough makes it easy to visually assemble, deploy, monitor, control and troubleshoot Internet-scale applications from anywhere in the world using a browser. With their own Virtual Private Datacenter, SaaS and Web 2.0 companies gain ability to:

         Control infrastructure and applications with nothing more than a browser
         Deploy existing applications without modifying code
         Scale applications from a fraction of a server to dozens of servers in minutes
         Handle hardware failures automatically without losing data
         Add or remove servers and storage without disrupting applications
         Easily deploy and scale SaaS and Web 2.0 applications

International News Media, a Web 2.0 media company providing Internet marketing and content syndication services in Irvine, Calif., has been using the service for more than six months. “We moved all of our applications from a colocation provider into a virtual private datacenter and never looked back,” said Gabriel Kent, CTO, INM. “Everything needed to create and deploy Web-scale infrastructure, including gateways, load balancers, Web servers, clustered storage and databases, is available within a mouse click. Now, if I want, I can even manage our datacenter, deploy new applications and add resources while sitting at the corner coffee shop.”

Greg Howard, CEO of MyInternetServices.com, an online game hosting provider in Pasadena, California, added,  "We wanted to provide value-added Internet services without the cost of owning and managing a datacenter. We carefully considered both equipment and operations costs, and whether it was possible to increase computing power and manage applications in real-time. We looked at Amazon's EC2, but it required that we conform to their infrastructure model. TheGridLayer Virtual Private Datacenter allows us to run any Linux software we choose and manage our entire platform and applications remotely through a browser. We're assured of universal high availability, on-the-fly resource provisioning and unlimited scalability."

“The need for a reliable, low-cost utility computing platform that can deliver Web 2.0 and SaaS applications is huge, " said Andrew Schroepfer, founder of Tier1 Research (www.T1R.com), a research group that tracks the competitive hosting, colocation, Internet services, and software-as-a-service markets for their subscribers. "With EC2, Amazon validated the pent-up demand in this market. As Tier1 Research predicted a year ago, 3Tera’s technology is enabling mass-market hosting providers like Layered Technologies to compete successfully in this new market.”

Pricing and Availability
TheGridLayer Virtual Private Datacenter is available immediately in Bronze, Silver and Gold versions, each with progressively higher computing resources. Pricing starts at just $999.00 per month for a four-node Bronze system, and can be scaled to 48 nodes and beyond, on-demand.

For Additional Information
Potential users have an opportunity to experience a Virtual Private Datacenter live during an upcoming Webinar hosted by Nicholas Carr, author of “Does IT Matter?” on Tuesday, April 10th at 1:00 PM EDT. To register for the free Webinar, please visit http://www.xtalks.com/gridcomputing0704.ashx.  More information on The GridLayer Virtual Private Datacenters and packages is also available online at http://www.thegridlayer.com.

About 3Tera’s AppLogic Grid Operating System
The AppLogic grid operating system is the first commercial platform designed specifically to enable true utility computing. The operating system converts hosted commodity servers into scalable grids on which users can visually operate, deploy and scale transactional Web applications without any modification of code. At the heart of AppLogic is 3Tera’s disposable infrastructure technology that makes distributed Web applications self-contained and portable, enabling them to run on any grid anywhere in the world. As a result, applications become completely separated from the hardware infrastructure traditionally needed to run them, allowing users to remotely manage their applications through a Web browser and provision resources as needed.  

About 3Tera, Inc.
3Tera, Inc., is the innovator of grid and utility computing solutions simplifying the deployment and scaling of Web applications. Named a 2007 Category Breaker by Networkworld magazine, 3Tera’s AppLogic grid operating system enables hosting providers to offer the first true utility computing services that completely remove the cost and complexity associated with IT infrastructure. Software-as-a-Service providers, enterprises, and open source developers can now get new online services to market quickly by utilizing resources from commodity hosting providers on a pay-as-you-go basis, while maintaining complete control of applications, including visual operation, scaling, and on-demand resource provisioning. 3Tera is a privately held company headquartered in Aliso Viejo, California, with R&D facilities in Silicon Valley, Israel and Eastern Europe. For more information about 3Tera and its solutions, please visit the company’s Web site at http://www.3tera.com.

About Layered Technologies, Inc.
Layered Technologies, Inc., is a provider of next generation self-managed, dedicated server products and services. Through bundling hardware, software, bandwidth, and Tier 1 datacenters, Layered Technologies serves clients in over 120 countries. Layered Technologies’ goal is to provide solutions that allow enterprise customers and small and medium businesses to tap instant on-demand hosting and utility computing. For more information about Layered Technologies, visit www.layeredtech.com or www.thegridlayer.com.