Global data center services provider EdgeConneX says it has partnered with the Richmond Internet Exchange (Richmond-IX) to build a connectivity node into its Richmond Edge Data Center(EDC). The EDC extends the network edge, as well as provides options for a region that has depended on Ashburn for content delivery in the past.
Started in the fall of 2016, Richmond-IX is one of five exchanges the not for profit Ninja-IX corporation operates; the others are in Honolulu, Las Vegas, Phoenix, and Sacramento. Ninja-IX focuses on the provision of local peering fabrics in locations that are underserved or cost prohibitive. The new Richmond-IX site will take advantage of the fact that the 101,796 square-foot Richmond EDC is 10 miles from downtown. According to EdgeConneX, the facility was built at the ideal location for providing secure colocation to customers who intend to deliver content and applications to local-market consumers.
"It's our mission to expand peering options across our entire global portfolio of Edge Date Centers," said Clint Heiden, EdgeConneX chief commercial officer. "Our latest partnership with the Richmond-IX builds upon this mission, delivering the necessary connectivity to rapidly and securely deliver bandwidth-intensive content and applications to the edge. In addition, by collaborating with Richmond-IX, we also gain the opportunity to provide our customers with these enhanced peering opportunities inside a flexible and scalable colocation environment, while giving tenants access to a diverse portfolio of content delivery networks."
EdgeConneX can provide improved carrier-neutral routes for effective content delivery to local market subscribers and internet customers as a result of its strategic partnerships with network and cable operators at the local level, says the company. EdgeConneX's partnership with Richmond-IX on the Richmond EDC will position the city of Richmond as an Edge market that brings content closer to end-users across the area, the company adds.
EdgeConneX specializes in global data center technology at the edge of the network, including a node that provides EdgeConneX customers in the Phoenix EDC with direct access to Phoenix-IX peering services (see "EdgeConneX, Phoenix-IX build node in Phoenix Edge Data Center").
"Following successful partnerships with EdgeConneX in Las Vegas and Phoenix, we're looking forward to this latest venture, as it provides an opportunity for the peering community to grow outside of Ashburn," said Paul Emmons, Ninja-IX executive director (Phoenix, Vegas, Richmond, Sacramento). "As the second existing internet exchange in the region, the availability of Richmond-IX within EdgeConneX's Richmond EDC strengthens interconnectivity, providing an added layer of IX redundancy and diversity."
Providing customers with concurrently maintainable power with an N+1 configuration and direct cross-connects to the IX providing speeds from 100 Mbps to multi-10 Gbps, the Richmond EDC also contains diverse Points of Entry (PoEs), with several fiber conduits to physically diverse Meet-Me Rooms (MMRs). The current list of carriers includes Comcast, Level 3 Communications, Summit IG, and Zayo, says EdgeConneX.
The partnership with Richmond-IX follows similar agreements EdgeConneX previously reached with Phoenix-IX in Phoenix, MASS-IX in Boston, MICE in Minneapolis, and NWAX in Portland.
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