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Rackspace Managed Hosting, the leading managed service provider, entrusts thousands of its customers' Web servers to Red Hat Enterprise Linux and Red Hat Network. Founded in 1998 on the premise that Web hosting requires great service in addition to great technology, Rackspace initially deployed the legacy Red Hat Linux operating system. Now Rackspace has one of the largest install bases of Red Hat technology in the world - more than 5,000 servers.
Because Rackspace pairs the latest technology with industry experience, its customers can focus on their core business and feel confident their servers are in good hands. Companies entrust Rackspace to provide continual network availabilty, as well as hardware and software to run their mission-critical operations. Rackspace must deliver secure and easily managed Web server solutions that provide the reliability their clients demand while allowing for scalability.
"Early on, Red Hat was a natural choice, the de facto Linux standard in business," said Dirk Elmendorf, chief technology evangelist and co-founder, Rackspace Managed Hosting. "But as our company grew and our customers grew with us, we again looked to Red Hat to help us automate the maintenance of complex server configurations critical to creating the most reliable and secure Linux environment possible."
In July 2003, Rackspace became the first managed hosting provider to offer Red Hat Enterprise Linux to its customers. By joining forces, Red Hat and Rackspace will simplify the global adoption of Red Hat Enterprise Linux for customers and provide a fail-safe environment for enterprises to run complex operations on the Linux platform.
Rackspace leverages the 12-18 month release cycle of Red Hat Enterprise Linux, resulting in the stability of a true enterprise-class platform. Additionally, Red Hat Enterprise Linux offers Rackspace customers comprehensive application and hardware support from ISVs such as BEA, BMC, IBM, Oracle and VERITAS.
At the same time, Rackspace relies on Red Hat Network to stay up-to-date with the latest Linux security patches and management tools. Rackspace takes advantage of Red Hat Network to offer managed services designed to scale enterprise Linux platforms and keep systems current. This enables a more secure network and faster deployment of new servers.
The RHN Provisioning Module, launched in January 2004, is the next step in efficient, low-cost systems management for Rackspace's 5000-plus Red Hat servers. "Key to our customers' experience is our ability to provision a customized, built-to-order server injust hours, and our ability to quickly fix problems, day or night," Elmendorf explained. The Provisioning Module contains features such as integrated Kickstart functionality and multi-state rollback, making Rackspace's systems management efforts centralized and scalable. "We've been building upon Kickstart technology for four years, and the provisioning features of RHN are the next steps in this evolution," said Elmendorf.
From the edge of the network to the enterprise, Red Hat provides Rackspace a comprehensive solution, allowing the company to focus on its core hosting business and the service that sets it apart in the industry. The automated and streamlined arrangement of Red Hat Enterprise Linux and Red Hat Network have enabled Rackspace to scale further than their competitors.
"Our relationship with Red Hat demonstrates our mutual commitment to deliver fully integrated enterprise software backed by world-class support and infrastructure. The Rackspace/Red Hat offering can scale to meet customers' future business requirements, while accelerating the enterprises' adoption of Linux," said Elmendorf.
Among other things, Rackspace's commitment to exceptional customer service, known as Fanatical SupportTM, means that the company is continually striving to better their technical expertise. Rackspace is recognized in the industry for posessing the most talented Red Hat Linux technicians available. But in order to benchmark the company's expertise, Rackspace began certifying its technicians through the Red Hat Certified Engineer program.
Red Hat worked with Rackspace's internal trainers to educate and certifiy more than 90 percent of Rackspace's Linux support staff. Not only was this a cost-effective way to certify a large number of employees, but it was a flexible, customized training solution that met Rackspace's needs. Ultimately, by having such a large Red Hat Certified Engineer pool, Rackspace is able to better assist customers and offer extensive knowledge about their Red Hat Enterprise Linux servers.
"Having Red Hat Certified Engineers (RHCEs) on staff ensures your organization's ability to deal with technical support escalations in-house," said Thomas Weeks, systems engineer, Rackspace Managed Hosting. "And with Red Hat Enterprise Linux, you also get a bundled support system which provides an extra level of assurance to fall back on, if the need arises."
Today Rackspace is the fastest-growing managed hosting provider in its space. The company has been honored with numerous industry awards for customer service and leadership, including the Frost and Sullivan Customer Value Enhancement Award and Linux Journal's Reader's Choice Award for Favorite Web Hosting Service. Red Hat continues to provide Rackspace with innovative solutions combining Red Hat Enterprise Linux, Red Hat Network and Red Hat training and certification.
"Red Hat provides us with the solutions we need to scale our enterprise-level Linux business and build our customer base. And with Red Hat's extended Enterprise Linux support lifecycle, we know they will continue to support us going forward," said Elmendorf.