Equinix Updates Data Cloud Exchange Switching, Expands Datacenters

Launched in May 2014, the Equinix Cloud Exchange is a secure connectivity platform that allows users to connect to multiple cloud environments and networks globally, avoiding using the public internet as a middle connectivity route. The platform is installed in Equinix datacenters worldwide, including Silicon Valley, Washington DC, New York, Toronto, Seattle, Los Angeles, Atlanta, Dallas, Chicago, London, Amsterdam, Frankfurt and Paris.

Initially, the platform leveraged Layer 2 switches to connect customers to cloud providers on the network, but Equinix will upgrade to Layer 3 switches by the end of April. Layer 2 networks send data to local Media Access Control (MAC) addresses, which are unique and fixed, while Layer 3 use Internet Protocol (IP) addresses to transport information between larger networks using routers. As a result, Layer 2 switches are useful for sending data locally, whereas Layer 3 switches are better suited to sending data to a greater number of locations that may be further afield.

"Layer 2 is simply that you buy a port and configure a VLAN to each cloud provider. With Layer 3, you get a switch with an IP address through which you can interconnect to multiple cloud providers, so it is easier for the customer to manage," says Karl Strohmeyer, president of the Americas at Equinix.

The vendor does not offer cloud services directly, but provides connectivity to third parties such as Amazon Web Services, Google, Cisco, Oracle and more than 150 other Software-as-a-Service and cloud IT providers via its Cloud Exchange, which currently has 300 participants across 20 locations worldwide.

"We're seeing the financial community embrace the cloud finally, so Equinix has been focused on building our channel partners. In the financial markets, public access to capabilities is not good enough; firms want private connectivity, which requires a physical interconnect, which Equinix is providing via the Cloud Exchange," Strohmeyer says.

Meanwhile, the vendor is mid-way through expanding 14 of its datacenter campuses, many of which are being driven by continued demand for datacenter space in Chicago, New York, Frankfurt, London and Toronto. For example, the vendor has approved incremental capacity increases in datacenters such as NY5 and NY2. "We are a prominent player in electronic trading, so that continues," Strohmeyer says. "Financial services is one of our strongest segments, and we are also seeing broader diversity into wealth management, insurance and more on the enterprise side."