Rackspace is suing patent troll IP Nav and Parallel Iron in federal court in San Antonio, Texas

Cloud hosting provider Rackspace announced on Thursday that it is suing patent troll IP Nav and Parallel Iron in federal court in San Antonio, Texas.

According to a blog post by Rackspace, it is asking the court to award Rackspace damages for breach of contract, and to enter a declaratory judgement that Rackspace does not infringe on any of Parallel Iron’s patents.

The background leading up to the lawsuit goes back to December 2010 when IP Nav, an agent to patent owner Parallel Iron, accused Rackspace of patent infringement. IP Nav told Rackspace it was unable to provide any details about which patents it was infringing unless it entered into a forbearance agreement. Rackspace negotiated a mutual forbearance agreement that would require either party to give 30 days’ notice before bringing suit. Parallel Iron then sued Rackspace in Delaware without providing any notice.

“Our goal with this lawsuit is to highlight the tactics that IP Nav uses to divert hard-earned profits and precious capital from American businesses. This time, the patent troll should pay us,” Alan Schoenbaum, Rackspace General Counsel said.

Rackspace has been on the receiving end of many patent infringement cases in recent years, seeing a 500 percent jump in legal spend fighting patent trolls since 2010. Earlier this week, Rackspace and Red Hat won a federal court decision granting early dismissal of a patent infringement claim brought by Uniloc USA.

According to recent research out of Boston University, patent trolls cost the US economy about $29 billion in 2011.

“As an organization of primarily small to medium sizes businesses we understand firsthand the devastating effects patent troll lawsuits have on our industry. Patent trolls undermine the ability of i2Coalition members to deliver the innovative products and services that enable the Internet economy and create jobs,” i2Coalition board chair and co-founder Christian Dawson said. “We will continue to educate our elected officials and fight the trolls until real patent reform becomes law. We applaud Rackspace’s efforts to confront one of the most aggressive patent trolls out there.  Not every company in our industry has the ability to take such action, and hopefully we can use cases like this as a megaphone to emphasize the ongoing threat posed by patent trolls and shine a light on their shameful behavior.”

Talk back: Do you think that Rackspace will win against IP Nav What is your perspective on patent trolls in the web hosting industry Let us know in a comment.

Peak 10 will provide a colocation site for Red Hat’s IT, networking and engineering environments

Cloud computing provider Peak 10 announced on Thursday that it will provide a colocation site for Red Hat’s IT, networking and engineering environments.

Red Hat is using Peak 10’s data center infrastructure to help maintain the availability and security of the three environments, which are used to test, manage and deliver its open source solutions. Peak 10 is also providing Red Hat with a private test lab for its Research and Development team, where is tests applications before they are released.

Red Hat is a significant customer win for Peak 10 as last year Red Hat was the first open source company and Linux vendor to surpass $1 billion in revenue over a 12 month period.

“Moving significant parts of our IT infrastructure to Peak 10 to support our global service delivery made its team an extension of our team, allowing us to concentrate on our core competencies and scale our business more rapidly,” Lee Congdon, CIO of Red Hat said in a statement. “Peak 10 collaborated with us to design a solution that best fits our needs. By outsourcing to Peak 10, we have already experienced efficiencies and cost savings that we expect will have a positive impact on our bottom line.”

Peak 10 is one of the locations for Red Hat’s Americas IT network, according to the press release. Data and applications from its US data centers feed into Peak 10’s facility, which offers redundancy and security.

Peak 10’s infrastructure footprint across nine markets in the US will give Red Hat room to grow. Peak 10 says it is currently adding to its data center space by expanding its facility in Raleigh, N.C.

“We are proud to play such a large role in Red Hat’s core IT strategy,” Marilyn Finfrock, Peak 10 vice president and general manager said in a statement. “Red Hat has placed a great deal of trust in our team, and we are focused on successfully delivering a number of tailored solutions to help it meet its global business initiatives.”

Last year, Peak 10 kicked off the multi-phase expansion of its Atlanta technology campus.

Talk back: What do you think of Red Hat’s selection of Peak 10 Do you think Red Hat is a significant win for Peak 10 Let us know in a comment.

Green Cloud Technologies has closed a $5.6 million Series C equity financing round

Infrastructure as a service startup Green Cloud Technologies announced on Thursday it has closed a $5.6 million Series C equity financing round that brings its total funding to date to $9.6 million.

The move comes a few months after Green Cloud Technologies appointed Dan Sterling president of the company.

Led by telecommunications carrier Millry Corporation, the funding will be used for Green Cloud’s to finance market expansion, sales and marketing and data center investments.

The company recently expanded into North Carolina’s Research Triangle market, and has plans to expand into the markets of South Florida, Atlanta, and the Gulf Coast.

Green Cloud provides infrastructure as a service offerings, including server virtualization, disaster recovery and hosted PBX services.

The company’s data centers house data and applications for businesses in a virtual environment that can be accessed from any Internet-enabled device.

Green Cloud sells its IaaS offerings through its sales channel. Additionally, the company has a partner program that consists of managed service providers, telecom distributors, integrators and consultants.

“Technically, this means that our network is geared to achieve timely, consistent deployments while being optimized for a multitude of environments and applications,” according to a description on the company’s website.

“We are excited about our follow-on investment in this exploding segment of the cloud ecosystem,” says Annice Jordan, CFO of Millry Corporation.

Last year, Green Cloud Technologies expanded its presence in Florida by opening a new office in Tampa and hiring two new sales executives.

Talk back: Are you currently offering cloud hosting or other cloud services Do you think Green Cloud Technologies will be able to successfully expand its market presence Let us know in the comments.

WHMCS has integrated eNom’s new TLD portal in WHMCS version 5.2.3

Wholesale registrar eNom announced on Thursday that billing and support control panel WHMCS has integrated eNom’s new TLD portal in WHMCS version 5.2.3.

The update will allow WHMCS users to participate in the initial phases of the new TLD launch. The eNom new TLD portal was launched last year to help web hosts that don’t have the resources to get individually accredited build a Watchlist, and take orders for the Sunrise, Landrush and General Availability periods of the new TLD launches.

WHMCS launched its new client management, billing and support solution in mid-March, introducing two-factor authentication for both staff and clients.

The portal has already been integrated in Parallels Plesk Panel, so with WHMCS integrating the full portal too, eNom will have significant exposure to its platform well ahead of the new TLD release. Tools like the eNom new TLD portal will likely help push adoption of new TLDs as a recent study found that it is up to registrars and hosting providers to educate SMBs on new TLDs and their value.

“We are an advocate and true believer in the introduction of new TLDs, as it will change how the world uses the web,” Aaron Phillips, vice president of business development for WHMCS said in a statement.  “Our partnership with eNom demonstrates our commitment to be at the forefront of this new digital endeavor.”

eNom and WHMCS have worked together for some time; in November 2012, the companies announced a new TLD WHMCS add-on for customers already on the eNom platform. With the release of 5.2.3, all customers are able to integrate the new TLD platform.

“No matter who you are, as long as you’re a WHMCS customer you can very easily participate in this historic event,” Chris Sheridan, vice president of business development for eNom said in a statement.  “We have made a significant technology enhancements to ensure that our resellers have access to participating in what we believe will be a very lucrative opportunity for them with the launch of new domain extensions. No other registrar has executed a comparable initiative, establishing eNom as an essential partner for organizations interested in the innovative gTLD market.”

Talk back: Have you signed up for the eNom new TLD portal Will you now that it is integrated in the latest version of WHMCS Let us know in a comment.

Everybody in the web hosting industry should be excited about the cloud. By now, cloud services have become more than a new innovation that your most driven customers are interested in using. Today, the cloud represents the future of infrastructure, web hosting, and internet services.

The benefits of the cloud make it easy to see why. Web applications and content can be hosted with increased reliability, faster processing, and unparalleled scalability.

But as you begin to explore cloud services for your customers and work towards your first cloud infrastructure, do not underestimate the importance of storage.

At HostingCon 2013, you can learn more about every aspect of a successful cloud infrastructure, including storage. With so many cloud storage providers attending this year, you can get answers to your questions, recommendations on approaching the cloud, and forge new partnerships with cloud storage specialists.

Do you really need a storage solution designed for the cloud

As the idea of software-defined cloud services becomes a bigger part of the hosting industry, we need to take the time to ask a very simple question – do we need to make changes, or will our hardware storage cope

The reality is that you could offer a cloud service with a hardware NAS or SAN that you manage yourself. However, this type of infrastructure will rarely achieve the reliability, scalability, and performance your customers expect from the cloud.

When you use expensive hardware storage for your cloud services, you are putting your reputation and quality of service in the hands of hardware. Although you may introduce redundancy and protect against single points of failure in your storage array, your service will suffer if multiple failures occur.

In the case of cloud storage, potentially thousands of nodes work together to store your data. As a result, you are putting your trust in software, not hardware.

With an intelligently designed cloud storage solution, software is always prepared for the fact nodes may be offline, usage may suddenly increase, and your storage requirements may change.

True cloud storage is an essential part of any cloud services and is a must if you want to deliver a full cloud experience to your customers.

Cloud storage providers at HostingCon 2013

Data storage is possibly the most important part of any web hosting service. When you select a cloud storage provider, you need to be certain you can trust the company to keep data safe, secure, and available at all times.

At HostingCon 2013, you can speak face-to-face with cloud storage providers. Whether you want to learn more about the benefits of cloud storage or get advice on your growing cloud infrastructure, HostingCon 2013 is the place.

One exhibitor, Zadara Storage, offers virtualized storage in the cloud. The Virtual Private Storage Array (VPSA) is an enterprise-grade solution that includes an NFS for high performance transfers. In addition, you can scale your storage instantly with just a few clicks and guarantee your business is agile enough to change and grow with your customers.

Of course, even as the industry moves toward cloud services, many service providers are starting to use SSD storage for improved performance. If this interests you, speak to the team from SolidFire, providers of cloud storage on a 100% SSD-based infrastructure.

Don’t miss out on your opportunity to learn about cloud storage and meet potential partners. Register for HostingCon 2013 while prices are still low.

For all the latest HostingCon news and information, visit HostingCon – Premier Industry Conference and Trade Show for Web Hosting and Cloud Service Providers

Contegix has named Michael Wylie chief financial officer.

Cloud hosting provider Contegix announced on Tuesday it has named Michael Wylie chief financial officer.

The move comes a few months after Contegix announced it is moving its headquarters and build a new data center on the entire 6th floor of the 210 North Tucker site in St. Louis.

Wylie has over 18 years of experience in numerous financial activities, including planning and reporting, raising capital, accounting, analysis, auditing and risk management.

In this role, Wylie will be responsible for directing the financial management of Contegix.

“We are thrilled to welcome Mike as the newest member of the Contegix team,” said Matthew Porter, CEO of Contegix. “With a strong background in the technology sector and deep financial experience, Mike possesses the ideal skill set to help Contegix achieve its growth objectives and continue to build upon its reputation as a leading hosting solutions provider.”

Wylie most recently served as the chief financial officer at Pulse Broadband, an engineering and operational consulting firm that deploys fiber-to-the-home solutions in rural areas.

Before that, he also served as chief financial officer for Broadstripe Cable and chief accounting officer for Suddenlink Communications.

Contegix provides cloud services, colocation and managed hosting solutions for enterprise applications and infrastructure.

In October 2011, Contegix launched MiraCloud, a tiered cloud hosting model that includes convenience class, business class and enterprise class levels.

Talk back: How do you think Wylie will do as Colegix CFO Do you think he will be able to boost Colegix’s presence in the cloud and web hosting market Let us know in a comment.