Transplace is a Dallas-based transportation supply chain and logistics management company employing 550. It has a Cisco Nexus network of a single in the core, two 40-port-plus s at the top of its racks, and two 48-port for port extension in its co-located test and development data center in Lowell, Ariz. The company is currently building a similar configuration at its production data center in Dallas.

IN DEPTH:

The networks and data centers support Transplace's secret sauce -- its proprietary, on-demand Transportation Management System (TMS) that manages the logistics between shippers and carriers to optimize supply chain operations. TMS automates order management, pinpoints optimal shipment and tracks the process to make it more efficient.

TMS works with Transplace's Scenario Pro Technology system, the processing intelligence behind building sustainable transportation routes, increasing freight load ratio and best utilizing assets.

Hosting these platforms are nine -- soon to be 18, once the production data center project is complete -- VMware ESX servers on Dell blades, each supporting 150 virtual machines. These replace scores of Sun Unix servers.