(www.WebHosting.Info)   Rackspace Hosting, a hosting services provider, today announced the release of its enhanced Firewall Control Panel, another addition to its portfolio of self-service capabilities. It states that the FWCP provides customers running a Rackspace managed firewall the ability to easily and efficiently control their environment’s security measures and configuration.

The FWCP will be available to US and EMEA customers through the MyRackspace customer portal, allowing them to monitor and change their existing firewall rules and add or delete permit rules, avers the company.

It articulates that the FWCP adds to an already robust portfolio of self-service applications Rackspace customers can take advantage of through their customer portal. It says that the existing services include DNS configuration, administration of Rackspace managed mail accounts, and purchase and renewal of SSL certificates. It adds that for customers using their Dedicated Virtual Server solution, there are a number of self-service features available such as turning on and off virtual machines, management of snapshots and the ability to view real-time CPU, disk and memory of their hosted machines.

“Rackspace is known for the service it provides all customers through Fanatical Support, and this is just another way for Rackspace to exemplify this. Our customers have been asking for a more hands-on approach to managing their configuration settings, and this easy to use control panel is another step toward helping our customers become more self-sufficient,” said John Engates, chief technology officer, Rackspace Hosting. “Account teams will still be accessible 24/7/365, but with the Firewall Control Panel, customers may not need to call in certain situations; it is up to them. They can just login to their firewall and make the adjustments they see necessary. The Firewall Control Panel gives our customers more control over their environment’s security through self-service, offering greater efficiency in managing their firewall configurations.”