Rackspace Expands Chicago Data Center

Rackspace Hosting (RAX) has leased an additional 28,200 additional square feet of raised floor space in a Chicago-area data center operated by DuPont Fabros Technology (DFT), the company said Wednesday. The lease in DuPont Fabros CH1 facility will provide Rackspace with another 4.3 megawatts of power capacity for its cloud computing and managed hosting operations. The expansion gives Rackspace a total of 65,000 square feet and 9.9 megawatts of power in the Elk Grove Village, Illinois data center.

"DuPont Fabros Technology continues to be one of Rackspace's most trusted and valued partners," said Randy Smith, director of real estate for Rackspace Hosting. "We have been extremely pleased with the Chicago facility as well as DuPont Fabros' willingness to work with Rackers, providing a rock-solid infrastructure foundation with an emphasis on efficiency. This allows us to focus on delivering Fanatical Support to our more than 99,000 customers."

Most of that customer growth has come from the company's cloud computing operation. Rackspace had between 50,000 and 60,000 cloud customers when it signed its initial lease for space at Elk Grove Village in August of last year. That number has since risen to 80,000.

Rackspace also leases space in a DuPont Fabros data center in Ashburn, Virginia.

"Rackspace's data center expansion in the Chicago-area is confirmation of the trusted partnership we share," said Hossein Fateh, President and Chief Executive Officer, DuPont Fabros Technology, Inc. "As Rackspace grows, we will continue to provide highly efficient data center design coupled with operational excellence so that Rackspace can continue serving their customers with an unmatched service experience."