Frankfurt am Main, 16 October 2018. In the past few months, DE-CIX, the world’s leading operator of Internet Exchanges headquartered in Frankfurt, has achieved the largest-ever infrastructure relocation in the company’s history. During a live operation, more than 450 customers were migrated from the Level3 data center at Frankfurt 7 to the company’s new Frankfurt 12 location (Equinix and ITENOS) on the Kleyerstrasse campus. Approximately 9 miles of fiber optic cable were laid in the process, and over 40 percent of all data traffic at the world’s largest internet exchange was migrated without disruption.
“This move bore a resemblance to open-heart surgery, as we had to migrate customers during live operations. We achieved this without encountering the slightest problem. We are the first Internet Exchange worldwide to use a so-called patch robot, which is pre-programmed to independently migrate customers’ connections,” explained Harald A. Summa, CEO of DE-CIX. “With this relocation and the latest technology, we are priming ourselves for further growth at DE-CIX in Frankfurt. Last year, our customers’ data capacity in Frankfurt increased by more than 20 percent compared to 2016. We expect a further massive increase over the next five to ten years and are optimally set up for it.”
In spring of this year, in just one night, 4 Terabits connection capacity was already migrated from the old DE-CIX 7 site to the new DE-CIX 12 site in Frankfurt. A total of 18 customers, about 40 100 GE ports, and a number of 10 GE ports with data traffic of 1.2 Terabits per second were relocated.
Deploying the newest technologies: world’s first patch robot supports relocation
With this move, DE-CIX is the first global internet exchange to use a so-called “patch robot”.
This optical distribution frame (ODF) is used instead of a standard rack and patch panel for customer connection, and substantially increases the efficiency of customer relocation. This means that a port can now be deployed or upgraded within a few minutes, without the need for the physical intervention of a technician.
A video about FRA12’s relocation and the patch robot can be found on DE-CIX’s YouTube channel.
Further facts about the DE-CIX relocation:
- DE-CIX Frankfurt 12 is connected to seven other data centers in Frankfurt
- In total 2.4 Tbit/s of data traffic were moved
- 18 Tbit/s of connected capacity were migrated
About DE-CIX
DE-CIX is a world leader in operating Internet Exchanges. Having started operations in 1995, DE-CIX in Frankfurt am Main is the Internet Exchange (IX) with the world’s highest data throughput at peak times, at over 6.4 Terabits per second (Tbps). Its technical infrastructure has a total capacity of 48 Terabits.
In total, DE-CIX serves over 1500 network operators, Internet service providers (ISPs), and content providers from more than 100 countries with peering and interconnection services at its fourteen locations in Frankfurt am Main, Hamburg, Munich, Dusseldorf, Berlin, New York, Dallas, Dubai, Marseille, Palermo, Madrid, Mumbai, Istanbul and soon to come Lisbon.
Further information at www.de-cix.net
Press Contact DE-CIX:
Carsten Titt – Senior Manager Global PR – Telephone: +49 (0)69-1730902-130 – Email: carsten.titt@de-cix.net
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