Roundup: GoGrid, Netriplex, Telx, Uptime

GoGrid announces version 2.0. The goal of version 2.0 was to make GoGrid easier to use, with new features include GoGrid Server Images, improved server deployment times and IP addresses in passwords tab. Linux servers are now deployed in less than 2 minutes and Windows servers instantiate in less than 5 minutes. Last month Gartner listed GoGrid in the Magic Quadrant for web hosting and hosted cloud system infrastructure services (on demand).

Netriplex extends fiber network to Washington DC. IT infrastructure hosting provider Netriplex announced Wednesday plans to extend its high-capacity fiber connectivity from its Asheville, NC data center to the Washington DC area and north east United States. The initial phase will be a leased OC-192 optical fiber circuit to the Equinix facility in Ashburn, Virginia. Netriplex CTO Jonathan Hppe said "our northward expansion opens up access for government industry point to point circuits between the Washington, DC area and our disaster recovery data center in Asheville."

Advantage Futures doubles its colocation space with Telx in Chicago. Leading futures brokerage firm Advantage Futures has expanded its network footprint by 100% in Telx's facility at 350 E. Cermak Street in downtown Chicago. The company now uses approximately 520 square feet of space. The larger footprint will accommodate increased trade volume and business growth. Telx grows their Financial Business Exchange in Chicago and offers low latency access to all of the leading exchanges, which makes scalability and business growth possible.

Defending the Data Center. Forbes has a commentary article by Kenneth Brill of the Uptime Institute. Ken describes many scenarios, safe-guards and best practices that data centers use, or should use in defending the data center against physical or virtual attack. "Cyber attacks are asymmetrical, meaning they can be carried out anonymously by individuals, small groups or nations with relatively little investment". Ken goes on to explain that the old science fiction attacks of biological agents, EMP's and explosives are now very credible. "We are currently living through the economic chaos caused by a loss of confidence in our banking system," he writes. "A similar panic could be caused by disabling multiple data centers." Brill describes a $100 million data center that was located in the middle of 80 acres of farm land and the benefits that this brought in protecting the facility.