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SoftLayer Adds Ability to Order Bare Metal Servers Without an OS
[July 30, 2014]

SoftLayer Adds Ability to Order Bare Metal Servers Without an OS


(ENP Newswire Via Acquire Media NewsEdge) ENP Newswire - 30 July 2014 Release date- 29072014 - Dallas- SoftLayer, an IBM Company, announced that customers can now order a SoftLayer bare metal server without an operating system (OS) installed.



This new option streamlines the deployment process and accelerates time-to-value for customers that want to run a proprietary, externally licensed, or customized OS on a SoftLayer bare metal server.

'SoftLayer customers are the creators of some of the most unique applications in the cloud. Naturally, they often develop or tweak operating systems in order to create the unique computing environments and software-defined appliances that their applications require,' said Marc Jones, VP of product innovation at SoftLayer. 'We wanted to make it even easier and faster for them to get that software on their bare metal servers, so they can spend less time on deploying their infrastructure and more time on the things only they can do.' Typically, customers ordering a SoftLayer bare metal server will select an OS from a comprehensive catalog of choices, including CentOS, Microsoft Windows Server, and a wide range of Linux distributions. The OS is installed on the server during its automated provisioning process.


Previously if a customer wanted to run their own OS on a SoftLayer bare metal server-whether that was a customized or proprietary OS, an OS that SoftLayer does not offer, or an OS that they already have a license for-first they would order the server with a SoftLayer-provided OS and then, after it was deployed, load their own OS from an image or another device.

However, the OS installation can be the most time-consuming part of any server deployment process. The new no-OS ordering option eliminates installation of the unnecessary OS, accelerating deployment time. When the server is deployed, the customer can use IPMI or boot the device from a PXE server, through which they can then install the OS of choice. They will also receive credentials and network details to be used during their configuration.

'This option streamlines the setup for software appliances and servers with customized operating system installations,' said Daniel Lieberman, CEO for BitPusher, a SoftLayer customer and provider of web hosting and IT operations management services. 'It gets us from the point of placing the order to the point of having a fully installed server faster and with less hassle.' The option to order a server with no OS is available immediately through softlayer.com and the SoftLayer customer portal.

SoftLayer, an IBM Company SoftLayer, an IBM Company, operates a global cloud infrastructure platform built for Internet scale. With 100,000 devices under management, 14 data centers in the United States, Asia, and Europe and a global footprint of network points of presence, SoftLayer provides Infrastructure-as-a-Service to leading-edge customers ranging from Web startups to global enterprises. SoftLayer's modular architecture provides unparalleled performance and control, with a full-featured API and sophisticated automation controlling a flexible unified platform that seamlessly spans physical and virtual devices, and a worldwide network for secure, low-latency communications. For more information, please visit softlayer.com.

IBM Cloud Computing IBM has helped more than 30,000 clients around the world with 40,000 industry experts. Since its acquisition in 2013, SoftLayer, an IBM Company, has served 4,500 new cloud clients. Today, IBM has 100+ cloud SaaS solutions, thousands of experts with deep industry knowledge helping clients transform and a network of 40 data centers worldwide. Since 2007, IBM has invested more than $7 billion in 17 acquisitions to accelerate its cloud initiatives and build a high value cloud portfolio. IBM holds 1,560 cloud patents focused on driving innovation. In fact, IBM for the 21st consecutive year topped the annual list of US patent leaders. IBM processes more than 5.5M client transactions daily through IBM's public cloud. For more information about cloud offerings from IBM, visit http://www.ibm.com/cloud. Follow us on Twitter at @IBMcloud and on our blog at http://www.thoughtsoncloud.com. Join the conversation #ibmcloud.

Contact: Andre Fuochi Director, Corporate Communications 469.394.7274 [email protected] (c) 2014 Electronic News Publishing -

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