Dell makes another aggressive move into the enterprise Web hosting hardware space by signing an agreement to provide PowerEdge(tm) servers and PowerVault(tm) storage to Rackspace Managed Hosting, one of the nation's leading and largest Web hosting providers.

Rackspace, with more than 6,000 servers under management, selected Dell hardware for its rapidly growing base of enterprise hosting customers after a comparison between Dell PowerEdge servers and Compaq/HP servers.

"Although the hosting industry has been standardized on HP/Compaq, we conducted an extensive test of Dell hardware against its competitors. Dell was the clear winner in performance, innovative design and value," said Morris Miller, co-chairman and managing director, Rackspace Managed Hosting. "We were pleasantly surprised to find that Dell's servers and storage products are technically superior. Dell's direct sales process and excellent value are just added benefits to working with them."

Terms of the multi-million dollar agreement ensure Rackspace will receive early access to Dell technology as well as enterprise training and product support. In recent months, Rackspace has deployed millions of dollars worth of Web hosting services on Dell PowerEdge servers across its data centers to support complex enterprise architectures. Rackspace has already exceeded its initial forecast of its hardware needs due to explosive growth, and is continuing to expand its enterprise hosting customer base.

"Increasingly, customers are recognizing the advantages and dramatic price and performance benefits that Dell enterprise systems offer," said Joe Marengi, senior vice president of Dell Americas. "The selection of Dell hardware by Rackspace, one of the only profitable and growing Web hosting providers, proves that Dell industry-standard servers and storage are the right choice for businesses with demanding IT needs."

Both Rackspace and the company's Intensive Hosting(tm) division use Dell PowerEdge 2650 and 6650 servers, as well as PowerVault NAS and DAS storage solutions.