Coyote Point Systems' Equalizer(TM) Load-Balancing Solution Helps Leading Application Service Provider Achieve the Network Performance, Scalability and Availability Enterprise Customers Demand
Riverwatch Group, Inc., a leading application service provider (ASP) and Internet service provider (ISP), is serving a greater number of enterprise customers with mission-critical hosted applications, thanks in part to a load-balancing solution from Coyote Point Systems. As the Covington, KY-based ASP began to expand its presence in the large enterprise market; the company realized it would be dealing with network traffic issues on a much larger scale. Rather than increase the size of the company's data center by incorporating a cumbersome and costly mainframe or adding more servers, Riverwatch decided to fully utilize the existing network infrastructure through the implementation of the Equalizer E-350 from Coyote Point Systems. As a result, Riverwatch has kept new technology expenditures to a minimum, successfully delivers on client service level agreements that reach five-nines (99.999 percent uptime) and has successfully landed major brand names such as Acer America on the company's client roster.
The Riverwatch Group serves as both an ASP and ISP, specializing in Lotus(R) Domino(TM) Hosting, Lotus Notes(R), Internet website hosting and Internet/Intranet website development and consulting. As one of the ASP market's most successful companies, Riverwatch understands the need to provide network systems and applications that perform just as if the are running internally at a company. But in order to compete, they must also run their business in a fiscally responsible manner to avoid costly and unnecessary expenditures. Although Riverwatch explored several options to fulfill its load-balancing needs, the company found that other solutions lacked the flexibility and scalability desired, or did not deliver a strong enough return on investment for the price many vendors were asking. Riverwatch ultimately decided to implement Coyote Point's Equalizer E-350 based on its compatibility, flexibility, manageability and value.
"Since implementing the Equalizer nearly three years ago, Riverwatch has never faced a major network challenge -- even when individual servers have failed or come under a denial of service attack," said Riverwatch's chief executive officer, Jerry Harden. "That's the type of reliability and value you can build a business on. We've been able to continue expanding our services from working with medium sized businesses into the large, global enterprise market, without having to incur significant IT costs or dramatically change our data center environment. The Coyote Point solution helps us squeeze the most out of our technology investments."
Acer America, one of Riverwatch's larger customers, relies on the company to host Lotus Domino for its worldwide sites. Domino comes equipped with load balancing software, but Riverwatch knew from past experience that a separate load-balancing appliance would be necessary because the number of hits the network could potentially experience from Acer as the company grew. Without a separate appliance the network would be put under constant strain from the volume of traffic Acer was sure to produce. The Equalizer E-350 enabled better performance by handling the load-balancing function for the Domino server.
Two Coyote Point Equalizer E-350 units are set up in a redundant fashion to provide business continuity and load-balance a farm of 110 servers for Riverwatch. The unit's sophisticated algorithm ensures that each request is automatically distributed to the server best equipped to handle the demand, thus using each server to its maximum potential without ever over loading the cluster.
"Working with a customer like Acer America means downtime is not an option," said Harden. "The applications we host for them are critical to the success of their business and Coyote Point's Equalizer enables us to provide the stable, high performance service they require."
Value is a factor Riverwatch considers in every technology decision. Coyote Point develops products with specific functionalities in mind, which is reflected in the company's focused products. This allows Coyote Point to maintain a reasonable price point, and Coyote Point's solution has not only helped Riverwatch better service its customers, it has also helped Riverwatch conserve valuable IT resources on the labor and cost fronts.
"One of the reasons Riverwatch has grown is because we have the right services, the right prices and the right technology," Harden said. "This company was built on wise spending decisions and Coyote Point Systems fit right in with our business model of high value and demonstrable ROI. The Equalizer continues to save us money because it is so intuitive it requires next to no maintenance and is so easy to manage, I can tell exactly what's going on at a glance."
About Riverwatch Group, Inc
The Riverwatch Group, Inc is an Internet and application service provider, specializing in traditional web hosting of Apache servers, Lotus Domino, Microsoft IIS and basic email. The Riverwatch Group helps businesses do business on the Internet, increasing customer sales and return on Internet advertising investment. For more information, please visit <a href="http://www.riverwatch.com">www.riverwatch.com</a>.
About Coyote Point Systems
Coyote Point Systems, Inc. has pioneered intelligent Internet traffic management solutions that ensure the highest performance, availability and reliability of customers' network infrastructures. The company's robust line of local, regional and global load-balancing solutions is easy to deploy and maintain, requiring significantly less resources to manage than competing offerings. More 1,500 customers worldwide deploy Coyote Point's solutions to maximize their IT resources, minimize their risk to Website failure, and protect their brands and reputations. Coyote Point is headquartered in San Jose, CA and has distributors in Europe, Asia, Australia and Africa. The company can be contacted directly at 1-650-969-6000 or on the web at <a href="http://www.coyotepoint.com/">http://www.coyotepoint.com</a>.
Contact:
Sara Eisenberg,
+1-408-727-0351,
<a href="mailto:sarae@mcgrathpower.com">sarae@mcgrathpower.com</a>,
or
Allyson Dwyer,
+1-408-727-0351,
<a href="mailto:allysond@mcgrathpower.com">allysond@mcgrathpower.com</a>,
both of McGrath/Power Public Relations, for Coyote Point Systems, Inc.
<a href="http://www.riverwatch.com/">http://www.riverwatch.com/</a>
<a href="http://www.coyotepoint.com/">http://www.coyotepoint.com/</a>
<i>Source: Coyote Point Systems, Inc.</i>