8el / Cobalt / Gigabell - "Addressing the needs of dedicated web hosting"
Cobalt Networks, 8el and Gigabell announced a joint agreement to provide a unique service known as G8. This provides customers with digital voice lines and the ability to host their Internet services at their own facilities, whilst enjoying Tier 1 connectivity at the lowest possible price.
The Cobalt RaQ 3 family of servers are used to provide hosting. Connection is provided via 8el's 'always on' Internet connections, providing speeds between 64Kb and 1Mbps. The Gigabell network is internationally one of the most technically advanced delivery platforms.
Dave Clarke, general manager of Gigabell commented:
"We looked at a number of options and found that the Cobalt RaQ was the clear leader in terms of both cost and quality. The open architecture was also ideal, making it easy to use and configure. Our customers are delighted with the Cobalt RaQ and find that it is delivering their requirements exactly."
The Cobalt RaQ is the alternative to fussy, over-priced "big iron" servers. It provides a full suite of Internet services with remote administration capabilities and is an ideal appliance platform for high-traffic Web portals, e-commerce, and application hosting. A Cobalt RaQ can act as a home to as many as 200 websites, or act as a single, powerful dedicated server.
George Korchinsky, vice president of operations, EMEA at Cobalt Networks commented:
"Cobalt's RaQ 3 provides users with e-commerce and business applications while giving them even more capabilities to address the needs of dedicated Web hosting. It gives a wide range of businesses the ability to easily and affordably host, support, and deploy sophisticated business-critical applications, allowing them to further differentiate their services and solutions."
Cobalt designed the RaQ 3 with an open source design and extensible architecture making it easy to integrate, deploy, and support Internet and network-based applications. Cobalt server appliances are pre-configured with the Linux operating system and provide the core web publishing, email, and file transfer services upon which ISPs and developers can build their solutions. Active Server Pages are a particularly popular feature.
8el is installing the freeport exchange to work alongside Cobalt RaQ 3 hardware. By using 8el, customers use their call traffic to subsidise the expensive 'always on' connections that IT departments are demanding.
Justin Hamilton-Martin, managing director of 8el commented:
"As e-commerce requirements develop in the UK, companies are demanding faster connectivity from their ISPs. Through our partnership with Cobalt and Gigabell, we are now able to provide a solution without our customers needing to incur the traditionally high cost of leased lines across the country. Our partnership highlights the benefit of voice and data convergence and enables our customers to receive competitive services from a top tier London based ISP."
freeport increases capacity and resilience for both voice and data communications and provides an enhanced service for the business user, including 64kbps - 1Mbps of 'always on' connectivity into London. The freeport solution also includes:
· On-line Internet billing - via the 8el billing portal. Information on call records is updated hourly so customers can view data, generate their own reports or download historical invoices.
· Virtual Private Network (VPN) facility - for multiple sites providing a Virtual Private Network between any number of customer sites for voice and data services.
· Fault Tolerant Switch - by investing in fault tolerant switches, the 8el service delivers excellent call quality and seamless call completion.
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