KwaZulu-Natal’s capital city flipped the switch on the brand-new Durban Internet Exchange (DINX) this week, complementing the Johannesburg Internet Exchange (JINX) and the Cape Town Internet Exchange (CINX), which are currently the two largest Internet exchange points in Africa.
DINX is physically located at Teraco Data Environment’s new Durban facility (DB1) in Riverhorse Valley. “ISPA carefully evaluated all submissions for hosting the new exchange point, and is very pleased with Teraco’s operational and business case,” said Graham Beneke, chair of ISPA’s INX working group.
Managed by the Internet Service Providers’ Association of SA (ISPA), the three Internet Exchanges (INXs) together enable South African Internet Service Providers (ISPs) to interconnect their networks and exchange local Internet traffic. This saves costs and provides for greater reliability through enhanced redundancy.
“While Durban has traditionally been a smaller Internet market than Johannesburg or Cape Town, it is also fast become a key telecommunications distribution hub with three major underseas cables now landing a short distance up the North Coast at Mtunzini,” said Beneke.
“This increased telecommunication capacity has catapulted Internet traffic in the region. ISPA builds INXs where there is current demand and scope for future growth. We have high hopes for the Durban exchange point.”
Graham Beneke – Neology
“Regionalising Internet traffic contributes directly to improved interconnection costs and resilience, which are both critical in building an affordable and stable environment in which digital platforms can thrive,” said Nishal Goburdhan, ISPA’s Exchange Point manager.
“The installation of DINX within our Durban facility has been a long time coming and is a big step for the Internet in South Africa. Juniper kindly donated the network switches, and Teraco the power and space requirements for the Internet exchange. We’re proud to say it’s already installed and operational,” said Lex van Wyk, managing director at Teraco
CINX and JINX both already process significant volumes of Internet traffic, with more than 50 IP networks peering at JINX, and 25 peering at CINX.
ISPA said that it is anticipated that DINX will offer the same significant performance and cost savings for Durban-based businesses that the existing exchange points bring to their respective participants.
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