SoftLayer: Overview

In June 2005, ten principals wanted to build a technically superior hosting service for those customers continuing to evolve in their IT needs. Spending months brainstorming ideas and architectures, the team looked to address all the challenges in the current hosted solutions available. SoftLayer was born. While creating and designing a new method of hosting previously unknown, it became clear that numerous systems and technical strategies must be combined to create this new service. Through the use of public and private networks, the foundation of SoftLayer was created - network-within-the-network design. In this design, each server has two network interfaces with each interface connected to a separate fully redundant routed network. With a complex set of systems designed to create an environment that is easily managed from the remote user perspective, the end goal of absolute control in terms of management and administration has been achieved.