GlobalCenter, Novell team for speedy Web services

From...

by Cathleen Moore

(IDG) -- Internet services vendor GlobalCenter and Novell teamed up Wednesday to offer a managed network-based service designed to speed the performance of Web site content.

GlobalCenter's Content Acceleration Exchange service increases the capacity of existing Web servers by tapping the company's worldwide network of data centers, which blast content worldwide in order to eliminate Web server bottlenecks, officials said. The service leverages Provo, Utah-based Novell's Content Exchange, which provides caching and other acceleration features coupled with the ability to dynamically prepare Web content for distribution over other content delivery networks.

The Content Acceleration Exchange service is activated at GlobalCenter's network of data centers, then placed in front of a customer's Web server. As the server receives requests for Web pages and other content, the Content Acceleration service retrieves files from the Web server, saves the files in a cache, and then forwards them to the requesting end-users. Because the files are cached, subsequent requests for information are then served directly from the local Content Acceleration Exchange copy, which boosts the performance of the Web servers, said officials at Sunnyvale, Calif.-based GlobalCenter.

According to GlobalCenter co-chief operating officer Laurie Priddy, the service is complementary to existing content distribution networks, such as Akamai's network, and when used in conjunction with these networks can offer even higher performance.

GlobalCenter's service offers a shared resource that enterprises can tap into as needed, rather than making up-front investments in a slew of acceleration devices, according to Priddy.

"The customer doesn't need to necessarily make the hardware investment or operate individual caching and content acceleration systems within their cage. With [Content Acceleration Exchange] they can take advantage of these features as a service," said Priddy.

"We are moving into infrastructure services that we can offer to all of our customers on demand," she added.

GlobalCenter, a subsidiary of Global Crossing, is in the process of being acquired by Web hosting vendor Exodus Communications, based in Santa Clara, Calif. The $ 6.5 billion deal is expected to close in the first quarter of next year.

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