Savvis unveils $45M network, data center upgrades

During the last year, Savvis has spent $45 million upgrading its network and data center architecture with leading-edge Cisco platforms. Now the St. Louis-based service provider is rolling out new managed application and security offerings that take advantage of its Cisco-powered MPLS network. 

Savvis chose Cisco CRS-1 carrier-grade routers and IOSXR software for the core of its network, as well as Cisco XR 12000 Series routers incorporating the Cisco multi-service blade as its edge platform. Savvis also enhanced its Web hosting capabilities by deploying Cisco’s multi-service blade and firewall services module in its data centers.

Savvis deployed these new Cisco platforms in all of its U.S. data centers as well as in London and Frankfort, Germany.

Savvis is committed to keeping current with new capabilities that Cisco adds to its routers.

"As Cisco develops new services such as intrusion protection, [Session Initiation Protocol], Web or business logic that is layered into that platform, we will then make it available as a service by Savvis,’’ says Savvis CTO Bryan Doerr.

Savvis says its new MPLS network --  dubbed the Application Transport Network -- is the next logical step in its efforts to provide utility-based computing services to corporations, particularly software-as-a-service vendors, stock exchanges and social networking sites that need Web hosting combined with high-performance wide- and metro-area networks.

``We offer the first integrated intelligent network that includes inside-the-data-center services available to the end users,’’ says Jonathan Crane, president of Savvis. ``This also gives us a future of connecting applications and services for our client base using our intelligent nodes on our intelligent network.’’

Savvis’ new network features enhanced end-to-end quality of service, which customers can control. Savvis also provides monitoring and management services for transport of enterprise applications.

Among the new application transport services that Savvis is offering on its Cisco-driven MPLS network are virtualized firewalls, distributed denial-of-service mitigation, network-based intrusion detection, virtualized load balancing and SSL acceleration.

Savvis customers can choose from a range of connectivity options from Metro Ethernet to 10G Ethernet to DSL for the delivery of their applications.

``We’ve taken our data centers and our network and set everything up for business applications … with an infrastructure that is completely virtual,’’ Doerr says. ``We have virtual routers, virtual site firewalls, virtual connectivity down to the data center through our metro Ethernet networks. We have virtual load balancers, virtual servers and virtual storage. And it’s all wired together. It’s now possible using the Savvis platform to have no dedicated hardware for your application.’’

Savvis is lining up initial customers for its new network, which is available now. The new virtual firewall service will be available later this month.