INTELLIGENT BRANDS // Data Centres
LINX Nairobi is East Africa ’ s new Internet exchange point located out of three datacentre locations
The London Internet Exchange , LINX , announced that its interconnection hub in Nairobi , Kenya is now live and ready for business . LINX Nairobi , is the new Internet Exchange Point , IXP for East Africa , located out of three datacentre locations across Kenya ’ s capital . The IXP has the vision to further enhance the countries connectivity and digital ecosystem .
Kenya is considered one of the technology powerhouses of Africa , undergoing a digital revolution since the early 2000 ’ s the country has reported an average of 10.8 % growth per year since 2016 .
The country is uniquely positioned to serve all of East Africa with fastgrowing fibre connectivity throughout the whole region , with a wellconnected submarine cable network providing pathways to Europe , the Middle East , and Asia .
In addition to the datacentre stakeholders in Kenya , LINX are working with a number of high profiles , selected technical partners . Nokia were announced as one of these technical partners , with the IXP implementing their 7220 IXR D3L and SR Linux Network Operating System , NOS in order to deliver this future-proof and scalable solution . Smartoptics and Flexoptics were also selected as the right fit to complete the technical set up .
With a large government led focus on the future of digital services in Kenya including the Kenya Digital Superhighway Project , set to improve the fibre network coverage as well as smart hubs for more rural areas , the timing could not have been better for LINX Nairobi . p
Nurani Nimpuno , Head of Global Engagement , LINX
Established in 1994 , LINX is a recognised vendor in the global interconnection market . Their reputation as a technical vendor in the industry and proven success internationally , will provide future proof solutions to further strengthen the rapidly evolving ecosystem in Kenya .
Nurani Nimpuno , Head of Global Engagement for LINX has led on the LINX Nairobi project and is excited to see the IXP go live . LINX are champions of collaboration within the industry and have been collaborating with key stakeholders on the ground in Kenya up to the launch of LINX Nairobi .
Nurani continues , “ At LINX we depend on our datacentre partners , fibre providers , ISPs and content providers , customers , and other partners , and we come together to enable each other . But it is when we work together and complement each other ’ s strengths that we become successful .”
The LINX Nairobi interconnection hub is a multi-site , interconnected platform accessible from IXAfrica , but also from Africa Datacentres , NBO1 and iColo , NBO1 facilities .
Networks located in any of these facilities can plug into the LINX Nairobi hub and peer their traffic , creating a secure and redundant digital environment for them to manage their network more effectively .
Peering allows networks to improve the control of their network traffic and the route it takes . It is often more cost effective than other methods of traffic management and improves network latency .
58 INTELLIGENTCIO AFRICA www . intelligentcio . com