Roundup: Cisco, SGI, Eaton, Colo5

Here’s a roundup of  news announcements from the data center and hosting industry:

• Cisco Acquires Starent Networks. The Cisco acquisition spree picks up steam as Tuesday a definitive agreement was made for Cisco to acquire Starent Networks, a IP-based mobile infrastructure solutions provider. According to Cisco's own Visual Networking Index the Mobile Internet market is expected to more than double every year through 2013.  Under the terms of the agreement Cisco will pay $35 per share in cash in exchange for each share of Starent.  They will also assume outstanding equity awards for an aggregate purchase price of approximately $2.9 billion.  The aquisition is expected to close during the first half of 2010.  The Starent solutions enable Service Providers to scale their mobile infrastructure and provide the multimedia intelligence, core network functions and services to manage access from any 2.5G, 3G and 4G radio network to a mobile operator's packet core network.
• SGI Announces InfiniteStorage Total Control Suite. On Wednesday SGI introduced InfiniteStorage NAS and LiveSAN, new storage offerings within the SGI InfiniteStorage Total Control Suite.  The suite includes solutions ranging from block-level virtualization, global namespace solutions, Data Migration Facility (DMF) for tier virtualization, and a digital asset management framework.  These components are available individually or as a part of an integrated, scalable solution set.  Jose Reinoso, vice president for storage products said "With increasing storage demands, data center managers are looking for storage solutions that enable them to tailor their data environment to the specific needs of their users without being locked into expensive, on-size-fits-all scenarios."

• Eaton Launches New power system controller. Diversified industrial manufacturer Eaton Corporation announced Tuesday the launch of a new power system controller.  The new controller offers greater network power control and efficiency and is aimed at telecommunications network operators.  It features automated site energy controls such as Smart Alarms and the Eaton Fuel Saver.  Smart Alarms use boolean logic to control individual network sites automatically to deliver optimized management of issues such as peak grid-power periods.  Eaton Fuel Saver is for hybrid network sites using a diesel generator as a backup to a poor alternating current (AC) grid supply, or where the site runs entirely on generator.
• Colo5 completes SAS 70 audit.  Florida based data center operator Colo5 announced Wednesday the successful completion of its first SAS 70 type 1 audit.  Colo5 CEO Doug Recker said "This important milestone in our growth is consistent with delivering top-notch, reliable servcies to a host of demanding clientele whose data needs are central to their business."