In a Hyper-Wired World, Interconnection Matters More Than Ever
Data centers will become even more pivotal to the digital economy over the next five years, which will see a meteoric rise in the volume of data traffic flowing through network intersections. This existing trend takes on new urgency with the COVID-19 pandemic, which has driven a massive shift to online services.
At the core of this trend is interconnection, which ties the web together. The Internet is a network of networks, and requires physical connections between these networks for data to reach your computer. That’s why network connections in their many forms – in meet-me rooms, internet exchange points, peering centers or across software-defined network (SDN) connections – play an important role in making the Internet work.
Colocation facilities provide a central meeting place for networks, clouds and enterprises to host their physical infrastructure and interconnection enables them to efficiently exchange traffic with one another. The growing importance of interconnection was highlighted last year by Equinix in its Global Interconnection Index (GXI) survey, which projects that global interconnection bandwidth will grow at a 51 percent compound annual growth rate (CAGR) through 2025.
That was prior to March, when Internet exchanges around the world recorded record traffic peaks, driven by increased Internet use related to the spread of Coronavirus.
These resources will help you understand the intricacies of interconnection and its role in the Internet ecosystem, providing insights into adoption trends, the different types of interconnection, and the strategic landscape for service providers and end users.
Enterprises Will Drive Huge Growth in Interconnection Data Traffic: In the next 5 years there will be a meteoric rise in data traffic flowing through network intersections, according to a new report from Equinix. That means data centers will become even more pivotal to the digital economy.
Understanding the Types of Interconnection, and When to Use Them: This DCF special report offers insights into interconnection, including different approaches to interconnection and the benefits of using a colocation provider to manage them.
Roundtable: Trends in Interconnection, Cloud On-Ramps: What are the most significant trends in data center interconnection and the delivery of network services? A DCF Roundtable discussion featuring executives from Intel, Digital Realty, Cyxtera and Iron Mountain.
Bringing Automation to Physical Fiber Connections: Bob Shine, VP of Product Management and Marketing at Telescent, explores ways to automate physical fiber cross connects. Automation ensures the integrity of the testing process, connectivity records and measurement results.
Iron Mountain Focused on Building Capacity, Interconnections in 2020: Iron Mountain has spent several years adding data center capacity and green power. In 2020 it will also focus on enhancing its interconnection capabilities and building connected customer ecosystems.
Netrality Eyes Expansion, Focuses on Connected Carrier Hotels: Netrality remains focused on building out a national network of connectivity-rich carrier hotels in major metros, and has more resources to power that strategy after its acquisition by Macquarie Infrastructure Partners.
Growing the Number of Buildings Where Networks Can Exchange Traffic: Projects like the IEIC (Internet Ecosystem Innovation Committee) work to “stimulate transformation, regional economies and internet infrastructure growth globally,” and are designed to de-emphasize the heavy reliance of the current concentrated, congested peering points.
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