CoreSite Launches CloudCommunity Testbed

Colocation and peering provider CoreSite is offering a free cloud computing platform for developers and startups who want to test-drive promising applications, the company said Monday. The CloudCommunity platform launched with three participants - NASA Ames Lab, Eucalyptus and RedPeak Solutions - and is offering up to a year of free cloud hosting for applications that are not generating revenue.

CoreSite said it "seeks to build a community of interest to further our knowledge and that of potential customers and prospects." The company is no doubt hoping that CloudCommunity will gain the attention of the developers who make up a critical constituency for cloud computing platforms.

"CoreSite’s CloudCommunity initiative is going to help accelerate the adoption of cloud computing by providing an easy and powerful way for participants to test real cloud deployments," said Matt Reid, vice president at Eucalyptus Systems, which makes open source software for private clouds. "We are pleased to be among the first organizations to take advantage of CoreSite CloudCommunity to promote the rapid evolution of the open source Eucalyptus private cloud software."

CloudCommunity will debut in CoreSite's Bay Area data center in Milpitas and Los Angeles data center at 900 N. Alameda. CoreSite will provide participants with data center space, power, cooling, security, and connectivity via the Any2 Internet exchange. Bandwidth will be provided free of charge, courtesy of InfoRelay, an enterprise-level managed service provider.

Point-to-point connectivity will be available from Milpitas to Los Angeles via CoreSite’s Any2 Internet exchange, delivering a multi-regional test environment for companies who want to test-drive applications from several locations.

See the CloudCommunity web site and FAQs more more information.