The London Internet Exchange (LINX) have released a launch date for their newest point of presence (PoP) in Scotland, adding a second location to their regional Internet exchange platform, IXScotland, which was first established in 2013.
The new PoP, which is set to go live early November, is based within the DataVita datacentre facility, just over 10 miles east of Glasgow. Adding a second location to LINX–s regional peering infrastructure in Scotland will not only increase the resiliency for current IXScotland members but will also add to the digital attraction of the country as a whole.
Kurtis Lindqvist, CMO at The London Internet Exchange is excited about the future for Scotland:
‘We are pleased with the growth of IXScotland to date and are looking forward to once again, working with The Scottish Government to promote the benefits of regional peering further. Another datacentre location for LINX in Scotland means an increase in diversity and resilience for our members there and will encourage more of our members to choose Scotland as a peering location.’
LINX pioneered the concept of regional exchanges in the UK with the launch and success of IXManchester back in 2012, which is now approaching 90 connected member ASNs and nearly 60Gb/sec of peak traffic. IXScotland, originated in South Gyle, Edinburgh within the Pulsant datacentre facility and is the first LINX regional exchange to be established outside of England. The exchange currently has 25 member networks connected, generating a steady 700Mb/sec of peak traffic. The ambition to grow the exchange is something both LINX and the Scottish Government had on their agenda from the start, but this was ignited over the past year.
The Scottish Government’s Connectivity Secretary, Fergus Ewing said:
“I welcome this expansion of IXScotland, in partnership with LINX. We are committed to making Scotland a world-class digital nation and data solutions are key to our economic ambitions. As this latest investment demonstrates, Scotland is ideally placed to offer the connections, skills, capacity and physical space that tech providers need.”
IXScotland is supported by a steering committee compiled of industry specialists who have also assisted LINX with the expansion discussions together with The Scottish Government and The Scottish Futures Trust.
It is hoped that the development will help encourage more businesses and content providers to host their networks locally. The benefits will be improved latency and lower transport costs, resulting in both commercial and digital growth for the tech and business community in Scotland.
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