LINX NoVA, a stand-alone regional Internet Exchange Point (IXP), not connected back to LINX (London Internet Exchange), will be installing a switch into the VA-1 Iron Mountain data center facility in Northern Virginia. This makes making the VA-1 facility a full LINX interconnection location.
Adding Iron Mountain to the LINX NoVA network map would be a huge step forward for LINX and LINX NoVA. Located outside of Washington, D.C., Iron Mountain Data Centers’ VA-1 facility is situated in the heart of the world’s largest and fastest-growing data center market, boasting a strong customer base that includes 95% of the Fortune 1000.
By peering Internet traffic and keeping traffic local, networks can benefit from increased redundancy, lower latency and more control. Peering can also considerably lower costs when compared to other methods of data transfer.
Launched back in 2014 after demand from the local network community to keep Internet traffic local, LINX NoVA can be accessed currently from three locations in the Northern Virginia region – Ashburn, Reston and Manassas.
“We are excited to be welcoming Iron Mountain Data Centers on board as a partner for LINX NoVA,” said Jennifer Holmes, Chief Commercial Officer, LINX. “This new partnership will allow their current customer base to access our peering platform and start to benefit from everything that joining LINX has to offer.”
Iron Mountain Data Center Ecosystem
Iron Mountain Data Centers’ existing customers can join LINX NoVA from the VA-1 facility and any of their facilities globally through Iron Mountain’s Virtual Cross Connect Service. For example, customers can interconnect with LINX NoVA from its NJE-1 data center. The NJE-1 facility is a data center with 26 megawatts of existing and expansion capacity available that is located in Edison, New Jersey. It would house one of the largest solar rooftop arrays in the United States today, enabling 7.2MW of renewable energy.
“Expanding our partnership with LINX by adding the LINX NoVa Point of Presence in our VA-1 data center emphasizes our commitment to meet the interconnection needs of our customers,” said Frank Scalzo, Director and General Manager of Network Strategy & Services at Iron Mountain Data Centers. “This partnership enables our customers to interconnect to a peering platform that creates low latency connections into the largest and fastest growing data center market globally. Our partnership with LINX in both Northern Virginia and London is a key part of our strategy to grow the Iron Mountain Data Center ecosystem.”
The wider Virginia area remains a key interconnection location with the Virginia Beach subsea cable landing station close by. Subsea cables MAREA, connecting Europe to the US and also BRUSA running down to service Brazil, means LINX NoVA is a key location for first-stop peering opportunities without having to travel further. Fewer hops means lower latency for network traffic.
Iron Mountain Data Centers became a member of LINX in 2019. Early 2020, they were announced as a 100G reseller partner for LINX in London.
