The London Internet Exchange (LINX) reveal they are planning to upgrade their presence at the Lunar Digital data centre in Manchester, transitioning the site from a single homed transmission site to a dual homed, fully resilient point of presence (PoP).
LINX initially went live at Lunar Digital to gauge market demand for an additional PoP at the LINX Manchester interconnection hub, and the strong uptake of services since the September 2024 deployment has now confirmed the need for a full, diverse and resilient presence from the IXP at the facility.”
Jennifer Holmes, LINX CEO comments:
“Manchester continues to establish itself as a powerhouse digital hub for the North, and the response and demand for LINX services from networks at Lunar Digital has exceeded our expectations.”
Mike Hellers, Product Development Manager for LINX shares;
“Our Manchester LAN has tripled in size over the last couple of years to now enabling 130 networks to access low latency services and regularly carries more than 900Gbps of traffic at busy periods.”
“Upgrading Lunar to a resilient PoP ensures existing LINX members and future networks can benefit from enhanced reliability, additional capacity, and greater choice as the regional ecosystem continues to grow.”
Lunar Digital operate 3 data centres in Manchester with LINX being accessible via a single cross connect from Lunar1 and Lunar2.
The move underscores the rapid expansion of network operators, cloud platforms, content providers and digital businesses choosing to colocate in Manchester. As demand for resilient and regional interconnection solutions increases where LINX remains committed to supporting the UK’s digital growth.
“We’re thrilled to deepen our collaboration with LINX,” said Rob Garbutt, CEO for Lunar Digital. “The upgrade to a full PoP reflects not only the growth of Lunar Digital but the wider demand for robust, high‑performance, low latency connectivity options across the North of England.”
Networks at Lunar Digital will be able to access services at the LINX Manchester internet exchange via a single cross connect. This includes services like peering, private VLANs, Closed User Groups and the exclusive Microsoft Azure Peering Service (MAPS).
The transition work is due to be completed in the coming weeks, so look out for further updates soon.