Networking

London Internet Exchange achieves standard recertification

The London Internet Exchange (LINX) has achieved recertification for the ISO/IEC 27001:2022 standard, upholding the highest operational and security standards. ISO/IEC 27001:2022, known as ISO 27001, is an internationally recognised standard that outlines the requirements for establishing, implementing, maintaining, and continually improving an information security management system (ISMS). LINX had its first audit back in September 2021 after observing a shift in traditional customer or member base to increasingly more enquiries from networks within the enterprise and financial sector, where accreditations like this are vital. The decision for LINX to transition to the 2022 version demonstrates the desire to uphold the highest of operational and security standards across the organisation. Commenting on this achievement, LINX CTO, Richard Petrie, says, "We are delighted to achieve recertification for ISO 27001, which underscores our ongoing commitment to information security. This achievement reflects our dedication to not only our engineering excellence, but also protecting the interests of our members and stakeholders by upholding the highest standards of data security." LINX underwent a rigorous audit process conducted by the British Standards Institution (BSI), an accredited certification body, to validate its compliance with ISO 27001:2022 standards across all operational areas. The recertification confirms LINX's capability to manage and mitigate information security risks effectively, ensuring the resilience and reliability of its services in an increasingly interconnected digital landscape. The cost of not having an effective Information Security Management System can be high – both financially and reputationally. The standard is a critical component in any organisation’s risk management strategy, and it has become an essential part of many organisations’ IT governance, risk and compliance (GRC) programmes. For more from LINX, click here.

Nokia and Lenovo to offer data centre solutions for AI era

Nokia today announced a strategic partnership with Lenovo to create comprehensive data centre networking and automation solutions that support the massive and highly precise compute, storage and transit needs for Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning (AI/ML) and other compute-intensive workloads. These solutions will be jointly marketed to enterprises, telcos, and digital infrastructure and cloud providers. The partners will leverage the Lenovo ThinkSystem AI-ready portfolio of high-performance servers and storage with the Nokia Data Centre network solution - which spans data centre fabric, IP routing, and DDoS security portfolios, along with the recently announced data centre network automation platform, Event-Driven Automation (EDA). The combined solutions will help meet the demanding processing and network performance requirements of modern workloads. As AI models are trained, data centres for inferencing will be needed where AI clusters are networked both within and between the data centres at the edge, which requires high-speed, reliable and secure interconnectivity. The integration of these portfolios with a validated blueprint architecture enables seamless automation of AI/ML and compute-intensive workloads with enhanced observability, programmability, and extensibility, which are crucial for adapting to dynamic environments. Both Nokia and Lenovo portfolios have built-in security solutions that detect and thwart security threats in real-time, which is essential to combat the scale and frequency of cyberattacks. As well, both companies focus on energy-efficient designs that reduce power consumption and operational costs while promoting sustainability – a key data centre concern. Charles Ferland, Vice President Edge and Communications Service Providers at Lenovo, says, “Lenovo has a longstanding commitment to deliver the most reliable and sustainable AI infrastructure. Our partnership with Nokia to bundle AI solutions is a natural alignment. Together, we provide a robust platform that meets the needs of telecommunications and enterprise sectors, enabling them to deploy AI clouds and manage their data efficiently. “With Nokia’s automated data fabric and Lenovo’s leading automated compute and storage solutions with industry-leading Neptune liquid cooling technology, enterprises can confidently deploy cutting-edge sustainable infrastructure. This collaboration not only generates cost savings but also opens new revenue streams for providers through innovative AI and data consumption models. Vach Kompella, Senior Vice President and General Manager of IP Networks business at Nokia, adds, “Our partnership with Lenovo exemplifies Nokia’s commitment to innovation and excellence in data centre solutions. By combining Nokia's Data Centre Fabric and Event Driven Automation with Lenovo's ThinkSystem AI portfolio, we deliver a high performance, scalable data centre networking solution designed to efficiently manage and automate AI/ML workloads, with a strong emphasis on security and energy efficiency. “This collaboration not only enhances the performance and reliability of data centre operations, but also underscores our dedication to providing innovative solutions that meet the evolving needs of our customers. Together, we are setting new standards in the industry and driving forward the future of data centre technology.” For more from Nokia, click here.

Colt builds new fibre optic network in the US

Colt Technology Services, the digital infrastructure company, is building a powerful, low latency fibre optic network in the United States connecting subsea cable landing stations to East Coast data centres. The build supports demand from businesses looking to drive growth by boosting connectivity between North America and Europe, one of the most popular trade routes and busiest global routes in the world for data traffic. The new backhaul infrastructure deepens Colt’s presence in North America and is part of its strategic investment in its secure, high-capacity Transatlantic subsea cable network. Colt has five subsea cables connecting Europe and the US, and owns the two cable landing stations in the US where these cables reach the shore. The digital infrastructure build from the cable landing stations to the East Coast third party data centres gives Colt’s customers vast capacity, greater value, a better customer experience and peace-of-mind as they can now choose Colt for the end-to-end Transatlantic network. Phase one of the build is now complete with the service fully operational, connecting Long Island, New York – where three subsea cables land – with data centre hubs in Hudson Street and 8th Avenue, New York. Routes will be ready for service between now and mid-2025. Annette Murphy, Chief Commercial Officer, Colt Technology Services, says, “Our customers are looking to overseas markets to boost their growth potential, and the Transatlantic route unlocks exciting new opportunities for them. Building our own digital infrastructure in the US to connect our incredible subsea network to some East Coast data centres helps these businesses meet their growth targets and prepare for the future, supported by a partner they know genuinely cares.” Colt’s subsea cable systems between EMEA and US consist of five Transatlantic and four intra-Europe subsea cables and 12 cable landing stations, following its acquisition of Lumen EMEA. The company co-owns AS3356, the most peered network in the world, and is the largest pureplay B2B digital infrastructure company in Europe. For more from Colt, click here.

EXA Infrastructure announces extension to Finland

EXA Infrastructure, Europe’s largest dedicated digital infrastructure platform, has reached a significant milestone in its network expansion strategy, announcing the extension of its DWDM backbone into Finland. The EXA Infrastructure footprint will connect Helsinki to Stockholm, enhancing the company’s coverage in the Nordics and extending its direct presence to 37 countries across Europe and North America. This strategic expansion aims to provide broader service offerings to EXA's existing customer base – including 400G and Spectrum – while fostering healthy competition in the local market. With Finland’s market demand projected to grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 32% over the next five years, according to Telegeography, the region is set for rapid expansion. The growth is being driven, in part, by the deployment of artificial intelligence technologies, as Finland boasts the largest concentration of deployed data centre capacity in the Nordics, nearing 240MW, with the majority located in Helsinki. Earlier this year, EXA Infrastructure entered a strategic partnership with Bulk Infrastructure on the Havfrue Transatlantic system, which connects the US to Norway and Denmark. The new expansion into Finland further extends the Havfrue system integration into EXA’s extensive digital backbone and provides a direct and fast connection between US and Finland, avoiding the FLAP countries. Steve Roberts, Senior Vice President of Strategic Investments at EXA Infrastructure, comments, “This investment opens Finland as a new market for EXA, aligning with our vision of connecting more strategic locations to our network. Finland is emerging as a key hub for subsea cable systems and hyperscale data centres, and we are proud to contribute to the country’s infrastructure development with our advanced network.” Jim Fagan, CEO of EXA Infrastructure, adds, “The Nordic countries are rapidly emerging as Europe’s new digital infrastructure hub, driven by the availability of abundant green energy. The region is attracting major investments from global cloud hyperscalers and multi-tenant data centre providers. This is driving an incredible demand for resilient, scalable and diverse connectivity infrastructure to fuel the growth of this dynamic ecosystem.” For more from EXA Infrastructure, click here.

Espria launches Security Service Edge solution

A new enhanced network security solution has been launched by Espria, a provider of digital workspace solutions. Espria Security Service Edge (SSE) has been designed and developed for any organisation currently using legacy VPN solutions or Always On VPN. Based on Zero Trust principals, Espria SSE replaces the traditional connections to the user's applications, delivering enhanced network security and a seamless user experience that does not compromise on performance or security. Espria thus claims that its Espria SSE is the complete cloud-based solution for workforce access. Brian Sibley, Virtual CTO at Espria comments, “Espria SSE replaces legacy VPNs with ZTNA to minimise the risk of implicit trust and lateral movement and has been designed to reduce the complexity of your existing security estate, as well as cost. With fewer security tools to manage, it means organisations will experience increased efficiency and reduced OpEx. “Furthermore, by leveraging existing Conditional Access policies, organisations will be able to maximise their existing investment in Microsoft tools, while enhancing their security position.” Brian continues, “Cyber security breaches and attacks remain a constant threat for businesses of all sizes. According to the UK Government’s latest Cyber Security Report 2024, half of businesses (50%) and around a third of charities (32%) have reported some form of cyber security breach or attack in the last 12 months. By far the most common type of breach or attack is phishing (84% of businesses and 83% of charities). “Espria's new SSE solution has been launched in response to this rise in attacks, and specifically developed to protect existing investments in Microsoft security solutions. By delivering a solution that unifies an existing security administration, Espria has, for the first time, made available an enhanced security solution that is not only seamless, but cost effective and less complex for users.” Espria SSE is offered in a number of packages dependent on the individual requirement of an organisation. For more from Espria, click here.

Zayo Europe expands German presence with GasLINE

Zayo Europe, a network infrastructure provider, has entered an agreement with GasLINE, a German dark fibre network supplier, to continue its expansion throughout Germany. The agreement will enhance Zayo Europe’s coverage and capabilities by using part of GasLINE’s national dark ring network, enabling its 400G optical network and tier-one IP backbone across key German hubs, including Frankfurt, Munich, Hamburg, Dusseldorf, and Berlin. Zayo Europe’s planned German network features a direct shortcut from Berlin to Frankfurt, offering a low-latency path to major European financial hubs. The infrastructure interconnects with Zayo Europe’s backbone throughout the continent, providing direct routes to London, Paris, Marseille, Amsterdam and Dublin for data centre to data centre connectivity. The new network spans more than 3,000km of dark fibre in the region. The framework consists of a ring connecting all major metros with low-latency shortcuts, including Nuremberg to Frankfurt and Frankfurt to Berlin. This network complements Zayo's existing Berlin, Frankfurt and Stuttgart metro fibre networks, extending this capability to key DCs and enabling local access. Colman Deegan, CEO at Zayo Europe, says, “Germany is a strategic market for Zayo Europe and the company is delighted to announce its agreement with GasLINE to materially extend Zayo's footprint and connect the major cities there. This follows Zayo Europe's acquisition of Globalways last year and is another step in the company's expansion into Europe's largest market. “Zayo Europe is dedicated to providing the best possible connectivity services to the region. Its agreement with GasLINE will offer both German and international businesses and carriers low latency connectivity to the key German metro markets and enable them meet the rising data demands driven by increased AI adoption and cloud usage.” Wolfram Rinner, Managing Director at GasLINE, adds, “Zayo Europe is expanding its business in the German market, using GasLINE's dark fibre network to power its nationwide ring and further routes. GasLINE is proud to be supporting Zayo Europe with its huge German dark fibre-ring, which is connecting eleven metropolises and hubs.” For more from Zayo Europe, click here.

RETN to offer 400G port connectivity

RETN, an independent global network services provider, has announced that it has become the first reseller of AMS-IX to offer connectivity over a 400G port. The new 400G port allows RETN to expedite the connection process for larger bandwidth connectivity to the AMS-IX peering fabric, removing the need for dedicated ports for those customers with 100G requirements, with the added benefit of improved overall energy efficiency. By utilising 400G ports, RETN can efficiently manage resources while offering customers greater flexibility and scalability. William Manzione, Product Manager at RETN, comments, “The connectivity market has reached a tipping point with 400G wavelengths. By becoming the first AMS-IX reseller with a 400G port, RETN reinforces its commitment to delivering state-of-the-art solutions and expanding density to provide more competitive services. “This advancement empowers businesses with high-availability, 100% diverse fibre routes, and industry-leading service provision times. At the same time, in response to prolonged subsea outages, RETN is strategically expanding its 100G capacity across a broader selection of subsea routes, ensuring both resilience against potential disruptions and minimising delays in deploying new technology.” This milestone follows RETN's recent Pan-European upgrade, which introduced 400 Gbps wavelengths across its extensive 135,000km fibre network. RETN was also recognised as the Best AMS-IX Reseller for 2023 and continues to expand its Remote-IX service. This includes ‘One Port,' which allows customers to connect to multiple IXs through a single physical port.

EXA Infrastructure launches Managed Fibre Network offering

EXA Infrastructure has today announced the launch of its Managed Fibre Network (MFN) service to address market demands for increased connectivity and shorter service delivery times. This dedicated offering represents a turn-key solution that outsources the design, installation, and maintenance of fibre networks for customers that do not possess these capabilities in-house or in-region. MFN provides the benefits of dark fibre and equipment ownership including the highest levels of scalability at the lowest unit economics, without incurring the associated administration, technical and operational resourcing costs of in-house delivery. Driven by advancements in AI, cloud computing, content transmission, and big data, networks need to scale to meet growing demands rapidly. EXA Infrastructure's MFN offering enables companies to fill network gaps, connect data centres and cable landing stations, and rapidly scale into markets quickly and effortlessly. The service is currently available in 29 European countries, plus the US and Canada. With over 155,000 kilometres of fibre across 37 countries, more than 500 points of presence, and years of experience in network management, EXA Infrastructure is uniquely positioned to deliver tailored interconnection solutions to specific customer demands across Europe, North America, and beyond. Steve Roberts, VP, Strategic Investments and Product Management at EXA Infrastructure, comments, “EXA Infrastructure has managed networks for its customers for years, so this is the company's bread and butter. EXA's extensive network, combined with extensive experience in managing different variations of subsea services for customers, means that its engineers and NOC staff are well poised to deliver best in breed service across MFN customers. “EXA Infrastructure is thrilled to launch its MFN offering today and looks forward to continuing to support its customers to meet the never-ending demand for connectivity.” For more from EXA Infrastructure, click here.

CMC Networks rolls out platform in Africa and Middle East

CMC Networks, a global Tier 1 service provider, has rolled out its CMC Fusion networking platform across 51 African and 11 Middle Eastern countries. It will enable carriers, service providers and enterprises to provision and manage network services across these regions from anywhere in the world, simplifying business growth across dynamic markets. CMC Fusion is a cloud-based platform that consolidates multiple network services and analytics into a single portal and marketplace, including MPLS, Carrier Ethernet, Dedicated Internet Access (DIA), multi-cloud connect, software-defined wide-area networking (SD-WAN), service monitoring, assurance, security, management, and more. The easy-to-use portal is built on the largest application-aware, AI-enabled and software-defined network (SDN) in Africa. It is aligned with global industry standards to ensure interoperability and provide support with regulatory compliance. “CMC Fusion is transforming what was once a complex, costly and fragmented market into one unified networking ecosystem,” says Marisa Trisolino, CEO at CMC Networks. “The company is developing a platform that is making it easier than ever to do business across Africa and the Middle East.” CMC Fusion enables seamless, consistent performance and application experience for customers connecting across multiple countries and clouds in Africa and the Middle East. It provides a consolidated view of all information and analytics, making it easy for customers to track their orders, tickets, and services. Round-the-clock network monitoring enables fast identification and troubleshooting of any potential problems. Carriers, service providers and enterprises can move with greater agility to connect and capture new growth opportunities across multiple markets. Geoff Dornan, CTO at CMC Networks, adds, “In an increasingly cloud-centric world, CMC Networks is removing the borders and barriers to growth in Africa and the Middle East and innovating to directly address on-the-ground challenges where the company operates. CMC Networks is looking forward to making it even easier for its customers to grow their businesses across these regions.” CMC Cloud is one of the many solutions available through CMC Fusion, delivering high-performance edge computing across Africa. The Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS) solution is designed to bring workloads closer to the end user and improve the performance of applications and services, without the need to invest in physical hardware. CMC Networks has the largest pan-African network servicing 51 out of 54 countries in Africa and 11 countries in the Middle East, plus regional hubs in key interconnect locations across Europe, the Americas and Asia Pacific. For more from CMC Networks, click here.

Spirent introduces 5G Fixed Wireless Access testing services

Spirent Communications, a provider of test and assurance solutions for next-generation devices and networks, has announced its new 5G Fixed Wireless Access (FWA) testing services. Spirent’s 5G FWA solutions offer comprehensive lab-based 5G/Wi-Fi gateway testing and live network competitive benchmarking to enable communications service providers (CSPs) and device manufacturers to better optimise quality of experience (QoE) and differentiate their offerings in an increasingly competitive market. Accelerating 5G FWA adoption is seeing demand for rigorous network performance evaluation grow rapidly, with more than 200 CSPs launching home services and 20 CSPs introducing 5G FWA business offerings. Spirent’s new services for 5G FWA address this growing global demand by offering cutting-edge solutions that provide critical insights into user experience and enable operators to drive revenue growth with enhanced customer satisfaction. “5G FWA represents a growing trend and significant opportunity for CSPs to expand their revenue streams,” says Stephen Douglas, Head of Market Strategy at Spirent. “Expanding its monetisation potential means making testing of the user experience a priority and that’s what our latest solutions offer. It will also potentially save service providers, device, and network vendors millions of dollars in troubleshooting costs by enabling them to identify problems earlier in the development cycle.” Spirent’s solutions utilise the company’s proven methodologies and global cloud-based measurement systems to enable service providers and vendors to optimise services for premium QoE delivery, as well as confidentially and reliably benchmark competitive services to substantiate their own performance claims. With expertise in both lab and live environments, these latest offerings are another way in which Spirent is helping customers to rapidly launch, optimise and monetise 5G networks. Spirent’s 5G FWA solutions deliver actionable insights through extensive testing across multiple user scenarios, including: • General data and web browsing• VoWiFi (Voice over Wi-Fi)• Video streaming QoE• Cloud gaming QoE• RF environment characterisation With this approach, CSPs gain a more comprehensive understanding of their FWA service performance compared to others in the market. With benchmark testing tailored to the specific needs of each provider, Spirent is able to provide data that reflects the real-world user experience and quickly and accurately target areas for optimisation. In addition to enhancing customer satisfaction, the solution helps CSPs improve operational efficiency, reduce costs, and optimise their infrastructure to better serve users during times of peak and off-peak demand. For more from Spirent, click here.