Today at the first annual Cyxtera Conference, Cyxtera Technologies, the secure infrastructure company, announced the launch of its Cyxtera Extensible Data Center (CXD) Platform, a software-powered data center architecture that brings on-demand provisioning to a broad range of colocation and connectivity services. The company also announced its initial CXD-powered solutions, including CXD Compute Nodes, an on-demand hyper-converged infrastructure (HCI) solution; and CXD IP Connect, high-speed, redundant Internet connectivity. Customers can leverage these services to quickly extend existing colocation environments within or across data centers. This ability speeds time-to-market and enables completely 'headless' data center operations while allowing customers to retain colocation-levels of control and customization.

Enabling the on-demand data center: Cyxtera Extensible Data Center (CXD)

The CXD platform combines a network and services provisioning engine with an intra-data center software-defined network fabric that allows colocation customers to provision services on demand or via a web console. Customers can run distributed environments within and across data centers without dependency on contiguous floor space. CXD's Unified Services Port allows customers to easily take advantage of any CXD-powered service from a single network cross-connect.  Service and management connectivity is protected by AppGate SDP, Cyxtera's flagship secure access solution.

Key Features of CXD

• Unified Services Port: enables access to multiple data center services over a single physical port
• Network Exchange: provides automated provisioning to select network service providers
• On-demand access to Cyxtera cybersecurity and threat analytics services
• High-availability, secure network fabric, backed by 99.999% availability SLA

On-Demand Compute: CXD Compute Nodes

CXD Compute Nodes, featuring Nutanix Enterprise Cloud OS software, brings one-click application management and mobility across public, private and distributed edge environments at an administrative time savings of up to two-thirds that of traditional infrastructure. Customers can provision dedicated HCI nodes on demand via the CXD API or web console, eliminating design-to-peak inefficiencies and speeding time to market.  Cloud and managed hosting providers can use CXD Nodes to quickly add capability in new or existing markets without the burden of staffing and capital investment. Enterprises can reduce the time to deploy new or augment existing colocation infrastructure from weeks and months to hours.

Key Benefits of CXD Compute Nodes

• Provisions and automates HCI at the speed associated with public cloud but with private cloud security and control
• Simplifies and optimizes capacity management
• Eliminates onsite data center staffing needs
• Enables rapid deployment of additional computing power
• Reduces management complexity and cost with automated lifecycle management

High-Performance, Redundant Internet Connectivity: CXD IP Connect

CXD IP Connect, a blended Internet bandwidth service, enables customers to quickly provision reliable connectivity aggregated from multiple IP service providers. Delivered on-demand via CXD, IP Connect reduces weeks of waiting for circuit provisioning. With fixed and burstable options and 24/7 monitoring, IP Connect also enables customers to respond quickly to changes in demand and accommodate for future growth.  

"We're used to point-and-click provisioning for everything from virtual machines in the cloud to SaaS solutions, yet the data center industry still works with a screwdriver in one hand and a cable crimper in the other," said Randy Rowland, President and General Manager of Data Center Services for Cyxtera. "It can take months to deploy a single application, from provisioning circuits to building out infrastructure in a colocation cage. CXD brings 'speed of cloud' power and provisioning to an entire range of data center services with an extensible software-powered architecture that will rapidly integrate Cyxtera-powered services and those of our network and service provider ecosystem."