Internap Releases OpenStack Compute Cloud

OpenStack clouds - based on the open source platform launched last summer - are starting to be delivered. Managed services provider Internap (INAP) today rolled out what it called the world’s first commercially available public cloud compute service based on the OpenStack open source platform.

Internap says its Open Public Cloud compute service offers high-performance, on-demand provisioning and scaling of enterprise computing capacity to meet changing Web and application demands.

"This is the first step for Internap’s OpenStack public cloud to be released to the market," said Josh Crowe, SVP of engineering, who oversees Product Engineering at Internap. "Because OpenStack is nascent, there were lots of features and functions to be addressed – enterprise billing, security, networking, etc.

"We anticipate future steps," Crowe said. "We have ideas around networking capabilities, templated applications and multi-tenant capabilities to add to OpenStack."

The company previously brought out its Custom Public Cloud, a VMware-based compute cloud. Thus Internap allows customers to chose either the VMWare or OpenStack cloud environments.

The OpenStack platform offers a set of standardized APIs allowing customers to utilize the cloud without worrying about being locked in to a single provider.

Internap is known for its expertise in IP optimization and offers a global Performance IP network, with a 100% uptime SLA, that is fully-integrated with its cloud services.

Internap is offering multiple options such as:

Open Public Cloud: A highly-scalable, cost-effective public cloud with a management interface and APIs that can meet dynamic capacity needs on demand. Based on the OpenStack platform, this service leverages the low-cost, open source Xen Cloud Platform and is integrated with Internap’s OpenStack-based cloud storage offering for maximum flexibility.

Custom Public Cloud: A “pay-as-you-go,” multi-tenant public cloud that speeds adoption and delivery by leveraging the VMware platform, thereby eliminating the need to re-architect applications that have already been virtualized internally. Customers can architect tailored cloud configurations and create customized network configurations on demand through VMware’s vCloud Director portal.