The London Internet Exchange (LINX)’s LON2 interconnection platform is approaching a huge milestone of 1Tbps of peak network traffic and with a full technology refresh planned for this year, let’s take a look at the part LON2 plays when it comes to network redundancy and resilience.
Why two LANs are better than one
LINX operate two independent network fabrics, both interconnecting the 16 major data centre locations in London.
LON2 serves two important purposes for LINX. Other than being a very cost-effective entry point for a single peering point of presence at LINX in London, LON2 can be added as an additional LAN to LON1 for next-level resilience.
Many networks connected to LINX in London will mirror their services on LON1 and LON2, with the confidence that in the rare event of network disruption on either fabric, they can re-route traffic and keep their business online. LON2 boasts the same world-class engineering, the same support contacts with a 24/7 NOC, and it is accessible from the same number of data centre locations as LON1, however with the use of different underlying technology, it serves the purpose of a resilient and redundant alternative scenario for risk management.
No time for downtime
Research from the 2024 Uptime Institute data centre survey showed that over half (53 per cent) of operators said their organisation experienced an outage in the past three years. Of those, 9 per cent classified the outage as serious or severe, restricting the uptime of services which resulted in significant financial costs.
Richard Petrie, CTO of LINX, said:
“Network uptime is vital, especially given the vast quantities of important, sensitive data that pass through LINX’s LON1 and LON2 fabrics. LON2’s huge uptake and success showcase the value that our members and partners place on redundancy and resilience to stay online.”
“The dual LAN fabric in London has different underlying technology and alternative network operating systems running them and this will continue to be the case when we explore the network refresh this year. The refresh will further enhance our ability to be future-proof and quickly scale up capacity when needed for our members.”
What does the future hold for LON2
The full refresh of LINX’s LON2 network in London is being scoped currently with work planning to take place later this year.
The last network refresh for LON2 took place in 2018 where LINX pioneered a disaggregated platform with EVPN technology, the first IXP in the World to implement such a system. The architecture is comprised of hardware and software from alternative vendors and uses leaf-spine topology with full automation.
Over 330 networks are currently connected to LON2, ranging from UK-based ISPs to global content delivery networks, and gaming platforms to insurance and financial networks.
The focus of offering the member community resilience and redundancy doesn’t stop there for LINX. They ensure a rapid response with the 24/7 professional NOC engineering team and maintain a high level of TSR compliance and ISO27001 certification.
Richard Petrie continues;
“Our world-first disaggregated platform has given our members great service for the last 7 years with exceptional value from their investment and we hope to continue this as we innovate further. Our refresh of LON2 this year will bring potentially new technology partners, as we approach the 1Tbps traffic mark on the fabric, bringing many more years of resilience to our members.”