Assumptions

We wrote this guide for you, imagining “you” as someone who:

• is already a Rackspace customer

We want to help you understand what’s available to you in the Rackspace cloud. You might already be familiar with other Rackspace products and services.

• knows quite a lot about your own application

We want to show you how your cloud configuration can give you new ways to get your work done. You’ve already decided what that work is.

• works confidently with computing outside the cloud

We haven’t written an introduction to computing; if we use a term and don’t define it, that’s because we’re using it in an industry-standard way that is clear to you or easy for you to discover.

• knows a little about cloud computing and now wants to know a lot about cloud computing at Rackspace

We’ll explain key ideas and how they relate to each other. Your situation is unique, and we want to help you recognize topics to investigate and options to pursue as you move your work into the Rackspace managed cloud.

• is willing to follow links from this brief guide to more detailed Rackspace resources

We’ll point you toward case studies, step-by-step tutorials, API references, and more. As you get started in the Rackspace managed cloud, learning to use supporting information will help you become confident and successful.