Just-launched Nicira hopes to make the Internet more powerful and more secure than ever before.

Its Network Virtualization Platform software, aimed at the operators of data centers like Rackspace, blocks the programs running on the servers from interacting with the surrounding network hardware, simulating physical routers and switches.

Administrators can swiftly reprogram the virtual network to offer each application a private connection to the rest of the Internet. That keeps data more secure and can compensate for events like sudden spikes in demand.