Rackspace News: iPad App, Nimsoft, LEED Gold

rackspace-ipad

A screen shot from the new Rackspace CloudPad app for the iPad.

It's been a busy news week for Rackspace Hosting (RAX). Here's a look at three news items from the San Antonio-based provider of managed hosting and cloud computing services:

On Tuesday Rackspace announced the release of Rackspace Cloud Pro, an application for the new iPad to enable developers to monitor and manage their Rackspace Cloud Servers. With Cloud Pro, users can turn on backups for a server, create new servers from backups, manage back-up scheduling, re-boot, rename, resize and delete servers - all using the iPad's intuitive touchscreen interface. The free application is now available at iTunes. "You can control your servers from wherever you are - in a meeting, at dinner or at the beach," said Mike Mayo, who developed the iPad app for Rackspace (and blogs about his insights on developing for the iPad).

Rackspace said Wednesday that it is standardizing on Nimsoft to offer enhanced infrastructure and application solutions to its managed hosting customers and to monitor its internal IT and cloud infrastructures. "We chose Nimsoft because they develop their product suite with service providers in mind," said Steve Mills, chief information officer, Rackspace. "In addition, the Nimsoft solution is able to support the scale and highly dynamic nature of our business and our infrastructure." The Nimsoft Monitoring Solution will be deployed across more than 60,000 Windows and Linux systems at Rackspace.

Rackspace also announced that its conversion of a vacant shopping mall into its headquarters building (nicknamed "The Castle") had earned Gold Certification under the U.S. Green Building Council's LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) program. "Achieving LEED Gold Certification further exemplifies Rackspace's commitment to enhancing the San Antonio community and dedication to the Greenspace Initiative," said Randy Smith, director of real estate at Rackspace. "With improved utilization and energy efficiency, 'going green' is a practical, long term decision both, fiscally and environmentally."

Here's some video we shot during our visit to Rackspace HQ last November that provides a feel for the unique facility:

For more information about Rackspace Hosting, check out our Rackspace Channel. For additional video, check out our DCK video archive and the Data Center Videos channel on YouTube.