SoftLayer Network Upgrade Brings More Packets Per Second to VOIP, Gaming and Video

January 16, 2007; 12:25 AM
Today, on-demand hosting provider, SoftLayer Technologies, announced a multi-million dollar Cisco upgrade to its core network designed at meeting the future bandwidth requirements of the Internet. Currently two backbone providers, Verio and Internap, have been upgraded to multiple 10-gigabit connections and the remaining carriers will be upgraded throughout the first quarter of this year.

The network enhancement focuses on large-scale bandwidth usage while dramatically increasing the packets per second capability across the entire network. “The rules for content providers are constantly changing,” said Lance Crosby, President and CEO of SoftLayer Technologies. “Web 2.0 technology companies require a quality of service and a suite of offerings that standard hosting companies can no longer deliver. We’re addressing those needs.”

According to Mr. Crosby, the growth of voice-over-IP telephony, large scale gaming, and streaming video have driven the need for this upgrade. “The rise of these content platforms has led to a decrease in the packet size of information transmission and therefore has decreased the capabilities of today’s legacy Internet routing equipment,” he said. “How providers choose to meet this challenge will be key.”

Ric Moseley, Vice President of Engineering at SoftLayer echoes many of Mr. Crosby’s sentiments. “The average server bandwidth utilization for our customer has doubled over the previous twelve months, while the average size of each packet has decreased by more than 50 percent. Today, a premier network is no longer just about mass gigabits of throughput – it’s about mass gigabits of throughput for smaller packets.”

Mr. Crosby concluded, “We’re dedicated to delivering the highest quality of service as newer technologies rise in demand and require more packets and pipe. Forget about bringing 10g to the network. We are bringing 10g to the rack.”

About SoftLayer Technologies
Located in the INFOMART in Dallas, Texas, SoftLayer was formed in June 2005 by a team of industry executives seeking to deliver low cost next generation on-demand hosting services for the small to medium enterprise (SME). Utilizing proprietary software, 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.