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AUTUMN 2009 The London Internet Exchange Membership Magazine

In this issue of HotLINX...

IXP Co-operation 2 3
We speak to Kurtis Lindqvist
from Netnod and Mauro Making the
Connection
Magrassi from MIX to get
their views on how the IXP co-
operation project with LINX
will benefit the peering
industry as a whole.

Member News 4-6

In our member section we
have a list of new members
over the last quarter,
feature articles from
Andrews & Arnold, Tinet
and M247 plus a special
LINX, MIX
LINX Sales FAQ.
and Netnod
Engineering 7 15
LINX Engineer Gary King
Join Forces in IXP
reports on the Intersite PI
project with Transmode while Co-operation
Project
Mike Hughes provides an
update on the expansion of
the LINX TFM6 suite in
Telehouse North.

100 GE Ethernet 8 9
Greg Hankins, Director
of Technical Marketing
at Force10 Networks
presents a double page
feature on the future of 100
Gigabit Ethernet. Turn to pages
8 and 9 to find out more.

Public Affairs 10 11 16
Amongst our regulatory and
governance articles we cover
data monitoring and the Digital
Britain report. Meanwhile, RIPE
NCC talk IPv6 and ISOC
cover plans for a new
Kenyan IXP.
Ethernet
Industry Events 12-14
We preview the upcoming
Development
LINX66 member meeting
and the fourth European
Peering Forum in Copenhagen.
Greg Hankins of
We also profile LINX65
sponsors TelecityGroup
Force10 Networks
and IP Performance. Looks to a 100GE Future
2 Up Front
LINX, MIX and Netnod in
IXP Co-operation Project
As previewed at LINX65 in May, LINX have
been working on a cross-promotional initiative
with two other Internet exchanges, MIX of Milan
in Italy and Netnod from Sweden.
The idea is that we should each promote to
our respective memberships the advantages of
peering more widely and in turn, make it easier
for our members to do so. Three special IXP
portals have been designed to explain the local
peering conditions in London, Milan and Sweden.
IXP Portals
LINX: www.linx.net/join/expansiontolinx.html
MIX: www.mix-it.net/XPromo.html
Netnod: www.netnod.se/ixpcooperation
We believe you will find these sites very useful
whether you plan to peer directly at MIX and
Netnod (with a peering router housed in Milan or
Stockholm) or remotely using a carrier.
The portals include white papers on the benefits
of being a member of multiple exchanges, and the
advantages of peering at MIX and Netnod. Visitors
IXP
Co-operation:
The MIX View
By Mauro Magrassi
We at MIX firmly believe that peering has value
and a good idea for our IX members. Moreover,
there has already been interest from Italian ISPs
who have asked us for guidance and support in
joining other Internet Exchanges. Building up this
type of relationship among exchanges who have
similar best practices and objectives, we believe
will facilitate and boost this process, together
with the declining prices of LAN extension
services across Europe.
Peering at multiple Exchanges will also allow
medium and small ISPs to improve the quality of
the services they provide to customers, both in
terms of network performance and resiliency.
HotLINX Editor
hotlinx@linx.net
to the portals will have access to a list of who you
can peer with at MIX and Netnod plus a variety
of other technical information. You can request
a quote for a particular service and making an
application for membership at MIX and Netnod is
a single click away. Joining instructions and an FAQ
have also been provided, as is a calendar listing
where you can meet with Internet exchange staff
at industry events around the world.
As we know, not all Internet exchanges are the
same, with processes that may vary considerably
from market to market. So these portals have been
designed to give you the best possible introduction
to the peering scene in Milan and Stockholm and
their respective colocation scenes too.
A short video introduction to the project is
available on the LINX portal. This footage was
shot at the LINX65 meeting mentioned earlier.
Hosted by LINX CEO, John Souter, the session
features Mauro Magrassi of MIX and Kurtis
Lindqvist of NetNod who all answered questions
from the floor during a lively Q&A regarding the
project.
Mauro Magrassi, Service Development
Manager, Milan Internet Exchange (MIX)
At the larger IXPs you can find hundreds
of peering opportunities while at regional
exchanges, there is access to peering partners
(and routes) which you will not find anywhere
else. This is a good scenario for a win-win
collaboration among us all.
I believe that this collaboration between MIX,
LINX and Netnod is only the beginning and can
only make our industry stronger in the future.
Jeremy Orbell
Editorial
IXP Co-operation and 100GE
Developments Top the Bill
May I welcome you all to issue 19 of the
LINX membership magazine, HotLINX.
This edition is again packed with a variety
of Internet industry content including the
launch of the IXP co-operation initiative
plus developments towards 100 Gigabit
Ethernet. Greg Hankins of Force10
Networks explains all in our double page
feature on pages 8 and 9.
Elsewhere in HotLINX19 we have
an overview of the expansion of our
Telehouse North suite from LINX Chief
Technical Officer, Mike Hughes and news
on the Intersite PI and Transmode project
from our Network Engineer, Gary King.
There’s a packed governance section too
which features articles on data monitoring,
the Digital Britain report, plus updates from
the Internet Society and the RIPE NCC.
For this edition I have been ably supported
by Sean McAuley, who has joined LINX
as a Marketing Assistant for a summer
placement. He is between the second and
third years of his business management
degree at the University of East Anglia
and has been working on a range of
marketing activities. These include writing
articles for HotLINX, press monitoring,
updating our social networking sites and
getting in contact with member marketing
departments. Thank you Sean!
Our next issue, HotLINX20, will coincide
with LINX’s 15th anniversary in November.
We have big plans in store for this edition
so if you have an announcement to make
regarding your organisation, make sure you
let us know soon.
Please email me via hotlinx@linx.net with
your ideas. You can also use this address if
you would like to request any additions to
the HotLINX mailing list.
Jeremy Orbell,
HotLINX editor
You can download earlier editions of
HotLINX at: www.linx.net/publicity/hotlinx

Netnod
Hosting the Fourth
European Peering Forum
Netnod is now a co-host of the
European Peering Forum and are
staging the next event in Copenhagen
in September. For those not already
registered why should peering co-
ordinators attend this event?
The EPF is a unique opportunity in Europe. It
is a huge event because of the strength and
depth of the memberships of LINX, AMS-IX
and DE-CIX. For this reason it was always
going to attract the leaders in the peering
community into attending. Netnod’s success
over recent years and our position as the
leading IXP in Northern Europe made us an
attractive addition as a host IXP.
Our background in the Scandanavian market
and the closeness to the Russian and Baltic
exchanges and networks means we can help
broaden the geographical coverage across
Europe.
As for EPF4 there is a very strong and
diverse agenda which will have something for
everyone. Also, all the leading datacentres,
vendors and colocation providers will be
present so it is the ideal place to network
and do business.
Netnod Extra
To find out more about Netnod and
the European Peering Forum, please visit
their dedicated websites:
www.netnod.se
www.peering-forum.eu
Inside Story
Kurtis Lindqvist
‘In the Spotlight’
For the ‘In the Spotlight’ feature in this issue
of HotLINX we spoke to Kurtis Lindqvist, CEO
at Swedish IXP, Netnod. As one of the three
inaugral exchanges in the IXP co-operation
project, we were keen to find out how Netnod
became involved and how he sees progress
developing in the future. Kurtis spoke with
HotLINX editor Jeremy Orbell.
Please can you tell me about your
background and your career to date?
Well, I started out in the industry as one of the
founders of Alandia On-line, one of the two
original ISPs in the Åland Islands in Scandanavia
which we later merged to form Alcom. I was
Technical Director at EUnet for five years, which
I combined with a position as IP Networking
engineer at KPNQuest in Holland. Since 2002
I’ve been at Netnod becoming the CEO in the
summer of 2007.
What is the position of the peering scene
in Sweden and what challenges lie ahead?
Being the main IXP in Sweden, Netnod is very
strong of course. We have all but the very small
networks and we’re gaining more and more from
abroad. We are particularly strong in Russia and
in the Baltic states in terms of traffic. Ultimately,
the market in Sweden is saturated from our
point of view so we are looking to attract
members from further afield now.
What can you tell us about Netnod’s
strategy for expanding its network?
The market in Scandanavia has traditionally
operated differently to the rest of Europe. De-
regulation came in around 1991/92 and that
made a big difference. However, there was no
neutral exchange here until the late 90s but it is
now recognised just how attractive that model
is, so more foreign networks and colocation
providers are looking to do business here. It
does help that all providers at our exchanges use
dark fibre and that we have our own switches
3
in very secure facilities which
are located in underground bunkers
and caves. We also have low cost WDM systems
which, again, are very attractive for ISPs wanting
to peer in Sweden over the Netnod network
infrastructure.
Netnod are part of the IXP co-operation
project with LINX and Italian exchange,
MIX. How did that come about?
John [Souter], Mauro [Magrassi] and myself have
been having discussions about this idea for some
time. We felt that there was a lot to be gained by
providers building broader peering tables, so we
wanted to help and encourage them to explore
those opportunities. The simplest way to do that
was for us to take the lead and build centrally
located information sources that simply make it
easier for members to connect at our respective
exchanges. This was where the mini-portal idea
came in. It explains what members need to know
and how they need to go about it.
How do you see this partnership
developing?
It’s very early days, of course, so it will be a
learning process for all of us. We always envisiged
the project starting on a relatively small scale but
the goal was always to include other exchanges
in the long term.
The European Internet Exchange model
has proved very successful. Can you ever
see the way IXPs operate changing?
Not really. The very nature of the industry
means we have to be open to new ideas and
methods of working but it was very clear that
once the neutral, not-for-profit way of operating
was picked up around Europe, it was the way
to go. The very concept of neutral IXPs is one
of mutual trust and co-operation and that has
worked well up to now so why should we want
to change it?
4 Membership News Richard Yule
LINX Sales & Marketing
Manager

New Members For the Period May - August 2009

012 Smile Comms. CMC Networks Each of the 17 members joining LINX this
quarter have ensured that their peering details
ASN: 9116 ASN: 25818
are available on PeeringDB. This community run
Country: Israel Country: South Africa
Network: ISP Network: ISP database was created to facilitate the exchange
Policy: Selective Policy: Open of information related to peering. Specifically,
IPv4 Address: 195.66.225.114 IPv4 Address: 195.66.225.98 what networks are peering, where they are
peering, and if they are likely to peer with you.
Email: Backbone-team@012.net Email: peering@cmcnetworks.net
Tel: +972 72 200 2169 Tel +27 11 517 8500
LINX recommends that all peering networks
Peering DB: Yes Peering DB: Yes
register their details at www.peeringdb.com
Anders EdgeCast Networks
ASN:
Country:
39792
Russia
ASN:
Country:
15133
USA
MultaCom Corp.
Network: NSP Network: Content ASN: 35916
Policy: Open Policy: Open Country: USA
IPv4 Addresses: 195.66.224.50 IPv4 Address: 195.66.224.62 Network: NSP
195.66.226.50 Policy: Open
Email: peering@edgecast.com IPv4 Address: 195.66.225.112
Email: peering@anders.ru Tel: +1 310 479 3200
Tel: +7 495 748 0048 Peering DB: Yes Email: noc@multacom.com
Peering DB: Yes Tel: +1 213 291 9024
InterNap Peering DB: Yes
AQ Limited
ASN: 33920
ASN:
Country:
22212
USA
Noris Network
Country: United Kingdom Network: NSP ASN: 12337
Network: Enterprise Policy: Selective Country: Germany
Policy: Selective IPv4 Address: 195.66.224.44 Network: NSP
IPv4 Address: 195.66.225.115 Policy: Selective
Email: Peering-eng@internap.com IPv4 Address: 195.66.225.39
Email: all-tech@uk.aql.com Tel: +1 360 419 5185
Tel: +44 113 320 3033 Peering DB: Yes Email: peering@noris.net
Peering DB: Yes IPv4 Address: +49 911 9352 0
Internet For Business Peering DB: Yes
Atrato IP Networks
ASN: 5580
ASN:
Country:
8902
United Kingdom
OBIT Comms
Country: The Netherlands Network: Cable/DSL/ISP ASN: 8492
Network: NSP Policy: Open Country: Russia
Policy: Open IPv4 Addresses: 195.66.224.206 Network: NSP

IPv6
IPv4 Address: 195.66.225.111 195.66.226.206 Policy: Open
IPV6 Address: 2001:7f8:4::15cc:1 IPv4 Address: 195.66.225.19
Email: peering@ifb.net
Email: peering@atratoip.net Tel: +44 845 270 2100 Email: peering@obit.ru
Tel: +31 207 50 4340 Peering DB: Yes Tel: +7 812 622 0000
Peering DB: Yes Peering DB: Yes
IP Transit
Bharti Airtel ASN: 46786
PXMRP
ASN: 9498 Country: USA ASN: 16260
Country: India Network: NSP Country: United Kingdom
Network: NSP Policy: Selective Network: NSP
Policy: Selective IPv4 Address: 195.66.225.106 Policy: Open
IPv4 Address: 195.66.225.109 IPv4 Addresses: 195.66.225.113
Email: peering@iptransit.com 195.66.227.113
Email: noc@airtel.in Tel: +35 799 485 912
Tel: +91 11 4166 6000 Peering DB: Yes Email: peering@packetexchange.net
Peering DB: Yes Tel: +44 20 7001 6860
Media Network Peering DB: Yes
Cisco Systems Services
ASN: 13445 ASN: 44654
StarNet
Country: USA Country: Norway ASN: 31252
Network: Content Network: NSP Country: Republic of Moldova
Policy: Selective Policy: Open Network: Cable/DSL/ISP
IPv4 Addresses: 195.66.225.110 IPv4 Addresses: 195.66.225.74 Policy: Open
195.66.227.110 195.66.224.74 IPv4 Address: 195.66.224.247
Email: noc@webex,com Email: peering@medianetworkservices.com Email: peering@starnet.md
Tel: +1 650-691-7244 Tel: +47 995 590 88 Tel: +37 7322 844 972
Peering DB: Yes Peering DB: Yes Peering DB: Yes
 Membership News 5

‘Ice Cool’ Colocation from Datacentre Features

• ‘LINX From Anywhere’ connectivity

M247 in Manchester
M247 Ltd, one of Europe’s leading web and
Internet infrastructure providers, has recently
completed a major datacentre development
in Manchester. The Trafford Park facility, which
opened its doors in March 2009, is now
home to some of M247 Ltd’s brands including
OpenHosting, an award-winning Managed Hosting
provider, and the ‘IceColo’ premium colocation
service.
In order to achieve an energy efficient and
eco-friendly datacentre, great care was taken
to ensure that no energy would be wasted
unnecessarily. A state-of-the art Knuerr Coolflex™
‘cold aisle containment’ system was therefore
installed during the datacentre fit out in order to
improve the effectiveness of the cooling system.
The system works by ensuring valuable cooled
and dehumidified air cannot mix with hot server
exhaust air. Early indications suggest a 20% energy
efficiency improvement has been achieved in
the cooling system due to the deployment of
this technology, which represents major annual
financial and CO2 savings.
M247 Ltd’s connectivity business, GlobalAXS
Communications (AS9009), needed to deploy
an extensive network presence in Manchester in
order to support the data centre’s demanding
connectivity requirements. The project included
multiple diverse 10Gbps wavelengths between
Manchester and London, and a 40km dark fibre
ring, linking the site with all the other major North
West England data centres – including IFL2 and
both Telecity facilities. GlobalAXS is an approved
‘LINX From Anywhere’ carrier, with a substantial
10G network footprint throughout Europe.
High quality colocation space is available at the
datacentre in the form of private 11u & 47u
secure cabinets. See www.icecolo.com or call
+44 (0)161 850 0950 for more information or
to arrange a visit.
M247 Ltd is a privately owned company with
operations in London, Manchester, Amsterdam,
Frankfurt, Brussels, Prague, Paris and Washington
DC and is fully accredited to the ISO9001 quality
management standard.
available
• Detached multi story office building
located in a large private fenced
compound
• Easy access from M60, M6 and M62
motorways
• Ethernet backhaul to all major UK and
European Datacentres
• Dedicated 11,000volt substation on
site
• Multiple diverse dark-fibre connections
• All critical infrastructure is a minimum
of N+1 redundancy
• Multiple 10Gbps backhaul circuits to
London
• Manned by trained staff 24/7
• Private high class office space available
• Break room with catering facilities for
customer use
• Presentation room for up to 20 with
overhead projection facilities for hire.
• Extensive internal and external IP
CCTV coverage

FireBrick Router Development

Adrian Kennard, MD at Andrews & Arnold
talks to HotLINX about its FireBrick routers

How did you come to be involved in building
your own routers?
Kevin Hones and I started the idea of doing our
own routers in a pub a decade or more ago.
We had a vision of how they should be built and
implemented and took particular care to make
sure that we kept to that vision. Kev and his
colleagues in Watchfront know how to design and
make hardware and my team and I know how to
do the software. In fact, my main developer is Kev’s
brother Cliff. It’s a small team of six that make
FireBricks happen and it’s working very well.
Why did you decide to do everything from
scratch?
Simply because we are perfectionists and want
everything to be right. We want to be able to
maintain the hardware and software and for that
we need to understand every aspect of it, and we
do. It means we can add features or fix bugs (what
bugs?) without contacting vendors or third parties
so we have total control.
How have you developed your
products since the early days?
For years we sold small
10Mbit/s router/firewalls but
now it is time for something
bigger. Making a router is not
trivial. We design the hardware
ourselves with careful choice
of processors and Ethernet
controllers and the objective is to build something the FB6000 just handles that with thousands of
that will handle a gigabit of Internet traffic with no sessions working up to the full gigabit of traffic.
problem. This we have achieved. The software is
also done from scratch - it is our own operating And the future?
system, routing code, and everything. This is just the beginning. We have a raft of
products lined up, and are already thinking about
What are the latest products to market now? developments such as 10Gbit/s routers. To find
After several years’ work the newest of our out more about what we are doing please visit the
products is coming to life. The FB6000 is already FireBrick website: www.firebrick.co.uk
working as a core router and L2TP LNS for AAISP
and will soon be part of other ISPs’ core network.
The niche we are starting with is handling BT’s
new WBMC gigabit links for 21CN broadband -
6 Membership News
Tinet: New Company Name,
Same Commitment to IPv6 Migration
The logo may look new to you, but the company,
the passion and the dedication to its clients’
network needs are the same. Tinet, formerly
known as Tiscali International Network, the
former carrier arm of Tiscali Group, is still the
same pure play wholesale carrier business
as when founded in 2002. This May, Tinet
announced that BS Private Equity SpA, one of
Italy’s largest private equity firms, had successfully
acquired the company. The equity firm is
dedicated to Tinet’s already proven business
model and supports Tinet’s global growth
strategy in the wholesale IP and Ethernet
markets. As a result, Tinet is in a strong position
to continue to provide its customers with the
high quality of service and network care that
they have come to expect.
The company’s business model is simple, yet
highly effective. It offers four primary services: IP
Transit for top quality connectivity to the global
Internet; Ethernet Extension for Ethernet Private
Line service, supplying last mile connectivity with
VPLS support; Remote Peering Services for
private peering relationships or connections to
remote Public Exchanges; and Ethernet Private
Lines for point-to-point, layer 2 transport service.
In addition, Tinet is the top IPv6 backbone in the
world, according to CAIDA (The Cooperative
Association for Internet Data Analysis). The
company is also one of the top 10 global IPv4
backbones. With a proven network presence
Business Development
Executive
in The Americas, Europe, and Asia-Pacific, Tinet
has more than 100 IPv6-capable PoPs in three
continents and more than 500 wholesale
customers in five continents. Tinet is the only
global carrier exclusively dedicated to serve
wholesale customers, operating a 100% Juniper-
based network.
Tinet’s IPv6 transit service, launched in 2002,
provides high-bandwidth customers—such
as Internet Service Providers (ISPs), mobile
operators, telcos, academic networks and
content providers—with the next generation
Internet services over a single autonomous
system. More than 15% of Tinet’s customers
already leverage the company’s dual-stack access
network that provides the best of both IPv4
and IPv6 network topologies. Importantly, the
company supports a native IPv6 stack running
over the same infrastructure as IPv4. Tinet
has developed more than 150 IPv6 peering
relationships leveraged by more than 70 IPv6
customers—forming a strong infrastructure for
additional IPv6 growth. Additional advantages
that Tinet provides its customers include stable
network performance, full security monitoring
and world-class customer support.
LINX Extra
For more information on either Tinet’s
rebranding or its IPv6 migration offerings,
please email info@tinet.net or visit the Tinet
website at www.tinet.net.
Jennifer Atherton
LINX Sales FAQ
Your Questions Answered
by the LINX Sales Team
Q. What are our installation charges?
A. These are set by LINX from time to time
and cover the cabling, LINX interface and
engineering time required for a new port.
They are listed at:
www.linx.net/govern/installfees.html
They may be waived by LINX Sales
& Marketing or the Service Delivery
Engineers where existing cabling is in place.
Q. What cabling do we use?
A. We use UTP copper cabling (aka CAT5
or CAT6) for most 100M ports and 1G
ports in Telecity sites. We use single mode
fibre for some 100M ports in Telehouse,
all 1G ports in Telehouse and all 10G
ports regardless of location.
Q. What are our Port costs?
(aka Port Availability Charge or PAC)
A. These are set by the membership as a
whole each year at the November EGM
for the coming year. They are always
available at:
www.linx.net/govern/servicesfees.html
Q. Can LINX offer colocation space?
A. Yes, we can offer up to one rack with
2kW of power in Telehouse North for
new members. We do not have space at
any other site nor can we offer more than
one rack or more than 2kW of power.
Q. Can we buy or sell transit across LINX?
A. Yes. However, LINX does not get involved
in the commercial agreements between
members for the exchange of traffic.
Q. What is the contract length or ‘term’
for LINX services?
A. LINX membership and services are
provided on an ongoing basis. To cancel
them, LINX requires 30 days notice.
This applies to all LINX ports and
membership itself
Please refer to point 4.6 in the LINX
MoU. “A Member shall have the right to
terminate its Member status for any reason
and at any time upon thirty (30) days
prior written notification to LINX. Upon
termination of a Member’s membership,
LINX agrees to refund all Fees paid in
advance by a Member, excluding the
joining Fee and those that have accrued for
Services provided by LINX prior to the date
of termination.”
LINX Extra
If you have a question for the LINX
Sales team please email sales@linx.net or
alternatively, you can telephone on
+44 (0)1733 207701
 Engineering News 7

Work on Final Phase of Telehouse

Suite Expansion Nears Completion
An on-going project

PHASE 1
has been the refit of
the LINX room at
Telehouse North, our
largest and oldest
location.

The original suite dated

from 1997, partly
By Mike Hughes,
LINX CTO replaced cabinets
elsewhere in the
building. According to those who were running
LINX at the time, it was designed to support
around 100 members. Given that LINX now
has over 300 members, it was about time this
project was tackled!

There were several reasons why it had become

essential to carry out the refit work. These
included modernising cabinets and power
PHASE 2

supplies to service modern, high-density ethernet

switches, as well as increasing the amount of
space given over to distribution frames and
patching to support continued growth of the
exchange at Telehouse.

Conveniently, a contiguous area adjacent to

the existing LINX suite was going to become
available. This helped considerably, as it meant
that we didn’t have to relocate LINX elsewhere
in the building. If we had to move all member
connections to a different room in Telehouse,
not only would it have been a complex and
expensive task, it would have been disruptive
to members, too. By expanding to the adjacent
space, we can leave existing cabling in situ, which
is much less disruptive to our members.
PHASE 3

We started to use this area in the second half of

2008, and have been bringing the space online in
phases, the first of which was activated to house
the large Brocade MLX-32 switches.

We have recently advanced into the final stages

of the project, relocating any remaining services
from the old cabinets into the new area. This
will allow for a refit of the original 1997 build
with up-to-date cabinets and cabling distribution.
At the same time Telehouse will refresh the
power infrastructure to bring it up to current
specifications.

The current plan is to finish the work in time to

celebrate LINX’s 15th Birthday in November!
8 Ethernet Development

Overview of the 40 Gigabit Ethernet

and 100 Gigabit Ethernet Standards
By Greg Hankins, Director of Technical Marketing at Force10 Networks

Introduction
Since Ethernet’s conception by Bob
Metcalfe and the team of scientists
at XEROX PARC in the 1970s, it
has evolved to meet the increasing
bandwidth, media diversity, cost and
reliability demands of today’s Internet.

Ethernet and IP have become the

underlying technologies that enable
ubiquitous Internet access over a variety
of wired and wireless media - from high
speed home broadband to wireless
networks in remote villages. The
majority of today’s Internet traffic starts,
transits or ends on an Ethernet interface.

“Here is some rough stuff on

the Alto Aloha Network.”
from a Memo by Bob Metcalfe Bob Metcalfe’s 1972 sketch of his original “ethernet” vision.
May 22, 1973 Image provided courtesy of Palo Alto Research Center Inc. a Xerox Company.

In 2006, the IEEE 802.3 Working Group formed
the Higher Speed Study Group (HSSG) to
investigate the need for an Ethernet technology
faster than 10 Gigabit Ethernet. The HSSG
concluded that the capacity requirements
driven by the ubiquity of the Internet and high
bandwidth content was rapidly outgrowing the
capacities of networks that could be built with
10 Gigabit Ethernet. Two new Ethernet rates
were proposed: 40 Gigabit Ethernet for server
and computing applications, and 100 Gigabit
Ethernet for network aggregation and backbone
applications.
The IEEE P802.3ba Task Force was formed in
January 2008 to develop the 40 Gigabit Ethernet
and 100 Gigabit Ethernet standards. The Task
Force reached major milestones in October
2008 when Draft 1.0, and in March 2009 when
Draft 2.0 of the amendment to the IEEE 802.3
specification were completed. Draft 3.0, the last
revision with technical changes, is expected to
be completed in November 2009 and the IEEE
is on schedule to adopt the final standard in June
2010.
40 Gigabit Ethernet and 100
Gigabit Ethernet Objectives
The 802.3ba amendment specifies extensible
architectures that accommodate 40
Gigabit Ethernet, 100 Gigabit Ethernet, and
a variety of physical layer specifications. The
flexible architectures support physical layer
specifications that are technically feasible and
cost effective using today’s technology, as well as
future technology, without rewriting the standard.
The following objectives were adopted by the
IEEE 802.3 Working Group at the March 2008
Plenary meeting. The first set of objectives
below ensure that 40 Gigabit Ethernet and 100
Gigabit Ethernet will be seamlessly compatible
with existing Ethernet networks, and also enables
vendors to reuse their existing technology and
intellectual property:
Objectives
• Support full-duplex operation only
• Preserve the 802.3 / Ethernet frame
format utilizing the 802.3 MAC
• Preserve minimum and maximum
FrameSize of current 802.3 standard
• Support a BER better than or equal to
10 -12 at the MAC/PLS service interface
To ensure that 40 Gigabit Ethernet and 100
Gigabit Ethernet can be transported over optical
transport networks, an objective was adopted
to “provide appropriate support for OTN”. 40
Gigabit Ethernet will be transported over ODU3
 Ethernet Development 9

Physical Layer Specifications The Future

Physical Layer 1 m 7 m 100 m OM3, 10 km 40 km Planned Roll-out and
Reach Backplane Copper Cable 125 m OM4 MMF SMF SMF Additional Developments

40 Gigabit Ethernet When Can I Have it?

Work has already begun by system
component and optical media vendors to
Name 40GBASE-KR4 40GBASE-CR4 40GBASE-SR4 40GBASE-LR4 manufacture pre-standard components which
can be used by equipment vendors to build
Signalling 4 x 10 Gb/s 4 x 10 Gb/s 4 x 10 Gb/s 4 x 10 Gb/s 40 Gigabit Ethernet and 100 Gigabit Ethernet

Media
Twinax Parallel Duplex X interfaces. Several test equipment vendors
and switch/router vendors have announced
Cable MMF SMF 100 Gb/s slot capacities, and the availability of
Copper
pre-standard interfaces this year. As the Task
Backplane
Module/ QSFP Module, QSFP Module, CFP Module
Connector CX4 Interface CFP Module Force works towards a final standard, the
industry expects several more pre-standard
100 Gigabit Ethernet interfaces to be available by early 2010 and
fully standard interfaces to be available by the
autumn of 2010 after the final standard is
Name 100GBASE-CR10 100GBASE-SR10 100GBASE-LR4 100GBASE-ER4 scheduled to be adopted.

Signalling 10 x 10 Gb/s 10 x 10 Gb/s 4 x 25 Gb/s 4 x 25 Gb/s What’s Next?

X Twinax Parallel Duplex Duplex
As higher speed electrical, optical and system
component technologies are developed,
Media
Cable MMF SMF SMF Ethernet will continue to evolve to become
cheaper and to support higher density
Module/ CXP Module,
CXP Module CFP Module CFP Module interfaces on switches and routers. Even
Connector CFP Module
though the final 40 Gigabit Ethernet and 100
Gigabit Ethernet standards are still under
CFP Media Module development, a few likely future additions are:

using a transcoding scheme to be specified by
the ITU-T SG15, with coordination between the
ITU-T and IEEE to maintain interoperability. 100
Gigabit Ethernet can currently be transported
over ODU3-3v (3 bonded wavelengths of 40
Gb/s) or ODU2-11v (11 bonded wavelengths of
10 Gb/s).
Finally, a number of physical layer objectives were
chosen to provide specifications for a diverse
combination of reaches and media, so that many
new Ethernet applications can be supported.
Some of the key problems to be solved were
choosing the best solution for signalling that uses
available technology while still meeting market
needs and cost targets. For example, 100 Gigabit
Ethernet signaling could use 10 x 10 Gb/s, 5 x
20 Gb/s, 4 x 25 Gb/s, 2 x 50 Gb/s, or 1 x 100
Gb/s lanes.
Future Possibilities
• Incorporation of Energy Efficient
Ethernet (IEEE P802.3az) capabilities
to reduce energy consumption
Image source: http://cfp-msa.org/ during idle times
• Serial signalling specifications for 40
Gigabit Ethernet (1 x 40 Gb/s) and
100 Gigabit Ethernet (1 x 100 Gb/s)
Greg Hankins • Duplex MMF specifications
• 25 Gb/s signalling for 100 Gigabit
Ethernet backplane and copper
cable applications
One thing is certain: no one is asking for
networks to be slower. The need for Terabit
Ethernet is already being discussed, and it is
clear that Ethernet will continue to evolve
as network requirements change.
More Information
All meeting material and the mailing
list archive are available to view on the
Biography IEEE website: http://grouper.ieee.org/
groups/802/3/ba/index.html
Greg Hankins is Director of Technical
Marketing for Force10 Networks. He is For more information on Force10
please visit: www.force10networks.com
responsible for working with ISPs and IXPs
Alternatively you can call direct on:
around the world as a consulting engineer +44 (0)208 757 8802
and product evangelist.
10 Public Affairs
Next generation
communications
data monitoring
At LINX 65 in May, Home Office officials
presented their vision for the future of
communications data surveillance, known as the
Interception Modernisation Programme (IMP).
The IMP proposal would require that ISPs
monitor and retain communications data relating
to a wide-range of third party services. At
present under the EU Data Retention Directive,
ISPs must simply record customer records,
identifying to whom they assigned any given IP
address at a particular time. If the ISP provides
e-mail servers or a PSTN VoIP gateway, they
must also record information relating to the
source and destination of e-mail and Internet
telephony calls made.
If IMP goes ahead, network providers will be
asked to obtain application level data using Deep
Packet Inspection. The government’s published
case study suggests examples include the source
and destination of e-mail sent and received using
In Brief
The Latest Stories on LINX
Public Affairs Website
This column features the latest news in the
world of Public Affairs. Please visit:
www.publicaffairs.linx.net/news to read these
stories, and others, in full.
Three strikes rule stalls EU
telecom reform
Europe, Intellectual Property, Legislation
The EU Telecom reform came to a standstill in
June after the European Council of Ministers
decided to reject the telecoms package in the
form adopted by the European Parliament.
The main point of dispute was a Parliamentary
amendment designed to protect Internet users
from summary disconnection following an
allegation of copyright infringement.
Parliament’s Amendment 46/138 requires that
no restriction be placed on Internet users’
fundamental right to access the Internet without
a court order, except in cases of public security.
If this becomes part of the Framework Directive
it would prevent Member States adopting “three
Malcolm Hutty
Head of Public Affairs
webmail services like Google Mail and Hotmail,
as well as use of Instant Messaging, web-based
discussion boards, live chatrooms, and even
communications sent within virtual worlds like
“Second Life” and “World of Warcraft”.
The presentation prompted a lively discussion,
as LINX members questioned the technical
feasibility of the plan. IMP would require ISPs
to deploy an unprecedented - and hitherto
untested - level of Deep Packet Inspection.
While some stable protocols with well
publicised standards might in principle be
amenable to such analysis, the ambition to
reverse-engineer large numbers of proprietary,
unpublished, complex and highly mutable
communications protocols would be hugely
challenging.
The Home Office held a public consultation
LINX members also raised numerous questions between May and July, and LINX submitted a
about legal and policy issues, including the response detailing questions about the project.
fundamental question of whether such a The IMP team are hoping for a political decision
surveillance regime is a proportionate intrusion on the policy from the Home Secretary this
on personal and corporate privacy, and whether autumn, including the crucial decision on whether
it would actually improve national security. to bring forward legislation before the general
Home Office officials indicated that many of the election in 2010. A formal reply from the
legal issues are still be to reviewed, but were government is promised before the end of 2009.
adamant that the availability of comprehensive
LINX Extra
communications data records was seen as
Home Office consultation and LINX response:
vital by the intelligence and law enforcement
https://publicaffairs.linx.net/news/?p=1111
communities.
strikes laws” such as the HADOPI law recently
enacted in France. For this reason, the French
Spokesman Mike Jarvis told the BBC:
“We’re interested in this area [targeted online
government has led opposition to Amendment
advertising] but for now we have no immediate
46/138 within the Council of Ministers, resulting in
stalemate with the Parliament. plans. It’s more a case that we have other stuff
to work on - Project Canvas, rolling out the fibre
network and so forth - so we’ve taken a step out of
French lawmakers passed the HADOPI law earlier
Phorm and will see how it develops.”
this year, only to see it invalidated by the French
Constitutional Council. The Council ruled that
Phorm attracted sustained opposition from
provisions on cutting users’ Internet access could
privacy activists. Nicholas Bohm, General Counsel
only be performed by a court of justice and not by
an administrative authority - essentially the same for the Foundation for Information Policy
Research, claims the technique used amounts
view taken by the European Parliament.
to an unlawful interception of communications
by the ISP deploying it, a position BT has always
Although the French Constiutional Council’s ruling
removes the apparent source of disagreement, rejected.
other Member States disagree with the wording
The day after BT’s announcement, Carphone
of Amendment 46/138 on the grounds that it
Warehouse followed suit. Carphone’s CEO,
interferes in their judicial process, which they claim is
Charles Dunstone, told the Times: “We were only
beyond the powers of the EU, so stalemate remains.
going to do it if BT did it and if the whole industry
was doing it. We were not interested enough to do
The package of reform Directives is expected to
it on our own.”
enter Conciliation in the autumn.
Phorm’s share price crashed on the news: on
BT, Carphone abandon Phorm 3rd July, Phorm’s shares closed at 475p; by 11th
Interception, User privacy August they were worth just 147.5p.
BT has abandoned plans to roll out Phorm’s
controversial web monitoring and profiling system Phorm continues to pursue ISPs in international
across its broadband network. markets, notably Korea.

Plans for New Kenyan IXP
Begin to Take Shape
East Africa is set to benefit from
greater international bandwidth
and regional connectivity
Two major new submarine cable developments
are setting the stage for substantial improvements
in Internet service in East Africa. For Kenya in
particular, one of the new cable landings is also
providing the opportunity for the country’s second
Internet Exchange Point (IXP).
Until recently, the East African coastline had no
direct undersea intercontinental connections. But
in recent months, two major projects have arrived
to provide much needed impetus to Internet
infrastructure development in the region.
The East African Marine System (TEAMS) is a
project of the Kenyan government, in partnership
The Internet Society recently provided routing training for 18 Network Operators in Kenya in anticipation of
the new IXP launch; 29 June – 3 July. Michuki Mwangi, Senior Education Manager of the Internet Society
and CTO of KIXP, is on the far right of the picture.
The Digital Britain Report
On 16th June the government unveiled the final
Digital Britain report. Key legislative proposals
include:
Digital Britain Proposals
• A 50p per month tax will be levied on
fixed telephone and broadband lines, to
create a fund to subsidise broadband
expansion in under-served regions.
• ISPs will be required to send warning
letters to Internet users accused of
copyright infringement, and keep a tally
of warnings issued to assist civil lawsuits
against pirates.
• Ofcom’s basic responsibility to promote
the interests of citizens and consumers,
especially through competition, will be
revised to include the promotion of
investment by industry.
with the private sector, connecting Mombasa to
Fujairah in the United Arab Emirates. TEAMS was
officially launched on 12 June 2009. SEACOM,
which officially launched on 23 July, is a private
venture linking sites in Djibouti, Egypt, Kenya,
Tanzania, Madagascar, Mozambique, and South
Africa to France and India.
Together, the two projects will make a significant
difference to competition and services in East Africa,
as well as reducing reliance on expensive satellite
connections. In particular, the SEACOM landing
site in Mombasa will play a part in improving local
interconnection and service development.
The board of the Kenyan ISP Association has now
approved development of Kenya’s second IXP in
Mombasa (joining KIXP, first launched in Nairobi
in 2000). After conducting surveys, the technical
committee settled on the SEACOM landing station
• Ofcom’s basic duties will be further
expanded to include copyright
enforcement. Ofcom will be granted legal
powers to force ISPs to filter Internet
content, block access to web sites and
throttle bandwidth, all in the name of
protecting copyright holders.
• Ofcom will also be required to produce
a report on the adequacy and resilience
of Britain’s electronic communications
infrastructure.
A Digital Economy Bill is expected in the autumn.
Lord Carter, the Minister for Communications
and personal author of much of Digital Britain,
left the government once it was published.
Stephen Timms, a previous Communications
11
as the ideal location to host the development.
SEACOM was chosen for the quality of its power
supply, cooling, and security. It was also important
that, as a carrier facility, it is able to serve as a
neutral location.
Currently service providers in Mombasa have had
to peer at the Kenya IXP located in Nairobi. With
the launch of the new cables and the Mombasa
IXP, the local Internet community should expect
lower cost of access, growth in local use, and better
performance.
Comment
Michuki Mwangi, Senior Education Manager of
the Internet Society and CTO of KIXP told us:
“With an aggregate of close to 50Mbps of traffic
per day during peak hours, KIXP was able to
register over 300 percent growth in 2008. If we
see something similar in the new IXP, the resulting
efficiencies will open opportunities for regional
content creation and hosting services.”
The Internet Society sees IXP development as
one of the most concrete steps that can be taken
to improve Internet infrastructure, services, and
access. Particularly in the developing world, ISOC
promotes IXP capacity building through hands-on
training, policy workshops, and project support.
Recently ISOC provided routing training for 18
Network Operators in Kenya in anticipation of the
new IXP launch.
Comment
“Most importantly though,” says Mwangi,
“this vital new development is the result of
the hard work and dedication of the local
Internet community in the true spirit of Internet
collaboration and development”.
Minister, will take responsibility for implementing
the report alongside his current responsibilities
as Financial Secretary to the Treasury.
Parliament must be dissolved for a general
election no later than 10 May 2010.
12 LINX Meetings
The LINX65 AGM Meeting LINX Meetings
in Words and Pictures
Another Packed Agenda for
LINX66 Attendees
The 66th LINX member meeting will be held
on 17th/18th August at the Goodenough
College, London. The event is sponsored by
Interxion and Infoblox, who produce core
network services appliances.

Monitoring at Fubra’s new Hampshire data

centre will be discussed by Brendan Mcloughlin
during his session and this will be succeeded
by Giles Heron’s update on 21st Century
Networks at BT. LINX Chief Operating Officer
Howard Fisher will then give a consultation
on the revised LINX Mem & Arts and
Memorandum of Understanding (MoU).

Towards the end of day one will be a

progress report from Raza Rizvi on LINX’s
PoPs namely Equinix London-4, Interxion and
TelecityGroup Powergate. Jeremy Orbell will
then follow this with an update on LINX’s
social networking activity and the LINX
Network Community. The final presentation
of the day will be made by Lex Coors on
behalf of sponsors Interxion on the topic of
data centre efficiency.
A few scenes from the LINX65 AGM meeting held back in May: Kurtis Lindqvist (Netnod), John Souter
(LINX) and Mauro Magrassi (MIX) during the IXP co-operation session, LINX Council Member, Steve Day two will begin at with Richard Yule
Wilcox. puts a question to the stage and Rob Shakir presents on the handling BGP attribute errors. leading new member introductions and
Also shown is the post-event drinks at the end of day one.
an interactive peering personals session.
Silver sponsors Infoblox will then give their
presentation before LINX CEO John Souter
performs his quarterly report. Further LINX
updates on engineering and public affairs will
be given by Mike Hughes and Malcolm Hutty
respectively as the day progresses.

The morning session will conclude with

Lesley Cowley delivering the latest news from
domain registry Nominet. While later in the
afternoon Nigel Titley will deliver a talk on
The LINX65 AGM meeting also witnessed the latest round of LINX Council elections. Both Raza Rizvi RIPE policy and advice on how to keep your
and Patrick Gilmore were re-elected for a further three year term. RIPE objects up to date.

Later in the afternoon we have what

promises to be a lively discussion on Route
Server Development and following a brief
LINX stats update, LINX66 will conclude with
a sponsor-fronted interactive session.

LINX Extra
If you are unable to make the meeting
you can follow progress via our webcast.
You can read updates on LINX66 by
subscribing to the LINX Twitter feed:
Scott Clogg of LINX65 Gold sponsor, TelecityGroup, speaks to Arif Polat of Turk Telecom. Silver sponsors, http://twitter.com/LINX_Network.
IP Performance, were represented by James Taylor and Doug Enderson.

TelecityGroup – Extending
its Leadership Across Europe
TelecityGroup’s data centres are hubs
for commerce, content and connectivity
offering access to hundreds of carriers
across Europe.
A structural change is taking place in the economy
with the rapid adoption of digital infrastructure
writes Rob Coupland, Chief Operating Officer at
TelecityGroup. The combination of growth from
the digital economy, and the increasing propensity
of organisations to outsource their data centre
requirements to take advantage of the efficiencies
on offer is driving customer demand for the
premium, highly connected data centres that
TelecityGroup provides.
Rob Coupland
Chief Operating Officer,
TelecityGroup
A fundamental part of TelecityGroup’s strategy is
to ensure that the right inventory is available to
meet this demand with highly-targeted, ongoing
investment in new data centres and existing facilities
in key markets. In 2008, two new data centres
were opened in London and Amsterdam. In 2009,
Meeting Sponsors
new data centres have been opened in Milan and
Stockholm with a new facility in Paris due to open
towards the end of the year. We are also adding
additional capacity in Frankfurt.
Businesses have a need for high levels of
connectivity whilst at the same time feeling
confident that their server infrastructure is housed
in a secure and resilient environment with highly-
skilled engineers on site day and night to provide
expert assistance. In addition to TelecityGroup’s
own resilient managed connectivity services, major
national and international networks are hosted
in our facilities, offering an extensive choice of
networks to which organisations can connect.
And of course our relationship with the
Internet exchange points in our local markets
is very important to us, providing vital peering
opportunities for our global customer base. That’s
why we are very pleased to be part of the LINX
meetings – they provide a great forum for debate,
learning and feedback.
We believe there is a significant opportunity for
growth in our data centres across Europe, and
growth opportunities for LINX members too -
our customers need connectivity! Get in touch to
see what opportunities we can provide.
LINX Extra
For more information on TelecityGroup and
its data centre expansion programme, please
visit: www.telecity.com
Alternatively you can telephone on
+44 (0)20 7001 0101
13
IP Performance
By Doug Enderson,
Senior Account Manager
IP Performance Ltd is a Network
Infrastructure and Systems Integrator
focusing one of its three verticals
on the ISP sector. Specialising in IP
Access and Connectivity technologies,
Network Security and Network
Application performance enhancement,
IP Performance partner with a number
of key vendors including Alcatel-Lucent,
Allot Communications, Avocent, Barracuda
Networks, Bluecat Networks, Blue Coat,
ConSentry Networks, Juniper, Meru
Networks and NetFort Technologies.
As an engineering-led and technology-
driven organisation, IP Performance are
active in publishing journals, technical
briefs, white papers and case studies. We
also exhibit and sponsor conferences and
technology tradeshows in each vertical
market in which we operate.
IP Performance count several LINX
members among their customers, and value
and appreciate the opportunity to network
with members at the meetings. We were
privileged to host a session at LINX65
in conjunction with our vendor partner
Allot Communications, on the subject of
differentiated services.
ISPs need to be able to get more out of the
investment they have made in their network
infrastructure and OSS and BSS systems, in
order to stay competitive and attract and
retain more customers. Using DPI based
network intelligence is a very powerful way
of achieving this.
Comment
Pierre Ketteridge, Pre-Sales Engineering
Consultant commented, “Being able
to sit in on some of the sessions is
invaluable in understanding the technical
and business drivers affecting the IXP
and broader ISP communities.”
The breaks also allowed IP Performance
to showcase the DPI based products and
solutions from Allot Communications.
LINX Extra
IP Performance can be contacted via
email at info@ip-performance.co.uk, or on
the web at www.ip-performance.co.uk.
14 Industry Events
Meet with LINX Peering Co-ordinators Set for
Events to be Attended by 4th European Peering Forum
LINX Representatives ‘Wonderful Copenhagen’ the venue for EPF4
As you would expect of a major player in LINX, AMS-IX, DE-CIX and Netnod will be staging The agenda
the global Internet industry, LINX regularly the fourth European Peering Forum on 14 and is still being
attends important industry events around 15 September 2009 in Copenhagen, Denmark. formulated
the world. Please take a look at the list Netnod will be joining the hosts for the forum for but there will
below to see where you can meet with the first time and sponsors for the event include be a number
LINX staff and representatives over the Equinix, Interxion, TelecityGroup and TDC. of sessions
coming months. that will cover
The event itself will bring together approximately issues of particular interest for attendees such as
200 delegates from the respective IX member
EPF4 IPv6, DDoS mitigation and the effects of privacy
14/15 September 2009 organisations and is the largest event of its type legislation. These are sure to prove to be lively
Copenhagen, Denmark in Europe. Peering networks who have an interest discussions amongst those present over the course
Attended by: John Souter, Mike Hughes, in negotiation and strategy as well as the actual of the two day event.
Richard Yule, Jennifer Atherton operational aspects of peering can all benefit from
www.peering-forum.eu/ attending this conference. It is a great opportunity The venue for EPF4 is the Radisson SAS
for peering co-ordinators to come together to Scandinavia, the largest hotel in Denmark, which
RIPE59 network and forge new peering relationships. will also serve as host for the pre-forum social
5-9 October 2009
on Sunday evening. Monday will be concluded
Lisbon, Portugal The host exchanges rotate organisation of the EPF with a conference dinner (sponsored by Equinix)
Attended by: John Souter, Mike Hughes, Malcolm annually and newly joined Netnod will be taking
Hutty, Richard Yule, Jennifer Atherton with both occasions offering attendees further
the lead in the organisation of EPF4. Since the first opportunities to network.
www.ripe.net/ripe/meetings/ripe-59
EPF in Frankfurt in 2006, these forums have proved
LINX Extra
to be resounding successes with subsequent
NANOG47 events taking place in Barcelona and Dublin in For more information on all aspects of
18-21 October 2009 EPF4 including registration, travel and
Dearborn, Michigan (USA) 2007 and 2008 respectively. With a promising
accommodation details, please visit:
Attended by: John Souter agenda in place it is hoped and expected for this www.peering-forum.eu
www.nanog.org/meetings/nanog47 success to continue.

LINX67
16/17 November 2009
London, United Kingdom
French Connection LINX Members Meet in Paris
for Fourth Outreach Day

Attended by: LINX staff & Board

www.linx.net/members/events/meetings/
L67/LINX67
Web page will be available in October 2009

LINX68
15/16 February 2010
London, United Kingdom
Attended by: LINX staff & Board
www.linx.net/members/events/meetings/
L68/LINX68
Web page will be available in January 2010 Back in June LINX staged its first overseas
“The meeting was very convivial, with a broad
Outreach Day in Paris. Thomas Mangin of Exa
range of topics discussed. As an added benefit, I
NANOG48 Networks attended the event as part of the LINX found the FRnOG, the French equivalent of our
21-24 February 2010 team and found it to be a very useful networking UKNOF, which publishes its video on Daily Motion.
Austin, Texas (USA)
opportunity. Thomas told us: Many of the presentations are in English and
Attended by: TBC may interest our English speaking members.”
Comment
www.nanog.org/meetings/nanog48
“Having worked for over eight years for
various UK ISPs, it was great to finally put a For more information on the French network
RIPE60 face to the many French engineers that I’ve operators Group, please visit the FRnOG
3-7 May 2010 encounted on various mailing lists. Most of website: www.frnog.fr
Prague, Czech Republic the members that I spoke to said that it was
Attended by: TBC not practical to travel to London for LINX Video presentations for FRnOG can also be
www.ripe.net/ripe/meetings/ripe-60 meetings so were very pleased to have this
viewed on the Daily Motion website:
Web page will be available in early 2010 opportunity to meet with LINX staff.
www.dailymotion.com/relevance/search/FRnOG
 Gary King
Intersite PI
Project Leader
LINX Enhances Network with
Transmode WDM installation
LINX has improved its interconnectivity with the
installation of systems from Transmode, a leading
provider of optical networking solutions. The
purpose of the Transmode project is to provide
1G and 10G Ethernet, end-to-end connectivity
between four Docklands sites:
• Telehouse North
• Telehouse East
• TelecityGroup Harbour Exchange
• TelecityGroup Sovereign House
This is essentially an inter-site PI (private
interconect) service.The network consists of four
Transmode Network Elements (NEs), logically
separated into four point-to-point services
offering 1G and 10G end-to-end Ethernet
services.
A single fibre pair provides physical connectivity
between the Transmode NEs. The NEs employ two
different forms of multiplexing to provide end-to-
end connectivity of the 1G and 10G client ports:
A to L represent LINX member networks. The number of lines between members and LINX
ODFs represent the intrasite PI connections available in each site
Intersite PI 15
The decision was made to install an initial four
Transmode TM-3000 units to support its highest
traffic members that needed to pass through the
exchange at rates up to and beyond 10Gbit/s. The
Transmode equipment installation was completed
and then activated by early June 2009 using highly
cost-efficient 10 Gbit/s WDM technology.
1. DWDM (Dense Wave Division
Multiplexing) facilitates 10G waves Comment
between sites. 10G Ethernet client ports Mark Burton, Transmode Sales Director UK,
and 9 X 1G Ethernet client ports (on commented, “Prior to the installation,Transmode
the TDM cards) are transported over provided a demonstrator at three key sites
individual 10G DWDM waves. offering both 10G and Gigabit Ethernet
services. Over the trial period, LINX performed
2. Time Division Multiplexing (TDM)
comprehensive testing to observe how
technology provides the 9 X 1G Ethernet
Transmode’s systems functioned. LINX is very
client ports over a 10G DWDM trunk
much focused on Ethernet over dark fibre so
port. The trunk port of this TDM card
transport was a familiar domain to them.”
runs proprietary framing, facilitating
additional management between the
Mike Hughes, LINX’s CTO added, “We
NEs (very handy if an end node is not
needed a way to handle the
increasingly large
reachable via its local management
traffic flows members pass between LINX sites.
Ethernet port (DCN2 port).
With some of these requiring multiple 10Gbit/s
links it was clear that offering an alternative
Transmode TM-3000 units have been installed at to our Ethernet platform would benefit the
four of LINX’s London exchange sites to enable exchange and our members.
new high-speed WDM services that will help
“Following the installation of the Transmode
reduce the traffic pressure on LINX’s network. The equipment, LINX will be 
able to offer an
Transmode interfaces are flexible and can easily be extended range of services. The WDM approach
adapted to accommodate new member nodes as will meet our members requirement for
the Internet exchange business inevitably increases. increased capacity and flexibility.”
The Transmode TM-3000 in Telehouse DFM6. The
other three Network Elements are of the same
configuration and layout although additional ODF’s
(for member connections) may be included below.
The blue fibres are the 10G DWDM waves
connecting from the passive mux/demux cards to the
trunk ports of the 1G (muxed over 10G) and 10G
client port cards.
The black 1U ODF tray directly below the chassis (12
ports, first four connected with yellow fibres) is where
the combined Mux/Demux trunk ports (one pair in
each direction) are terminated. Attenuation is fitted
here on the RX of each leg if required. Below this is
the 2U fibre management tray.
16
RIPE NCC Update
Helping You to Act Now on IPv6
In June, the RIPE NCC launched a new
website under the banner of IPv6 Act Now
(www.ipv6actnow.org). Designed as a one-
stop source of IPv6 information, the website
reflects the RIPE NCC’s broader efforts to more
effectively educate players from various sectors
about IPv6.
IPv6 Act Now is designed to engage people,
regardless of their background or industry, and
provide them with the information they need
about IPv6. The information that someone from
government requires will obviously be very
different to a network operator seeking technical
advice on upgrading their network.
As well as newsfeeds and statistics from the
RIPE NCC and other RIRs, the site features
video interviews with experts including Google’s
Lorenzo Colitti, Internet researcher Randy Bush,
Swedish government advisor Patrik Fältström and
LINX CTO Mike Hughes, who discusses LINX’s
experience with IPv6 deployment. There is also
a forum area on the site, facilitating discussion
between the different sectors that are being
affected by the need to adopt IPv6.
LAIT Exam Success for Anne and Martyn
LINX would like to extend their
congratulations to our engineers Anne Bates
and Martyn Ranger who have both passed
their LAIT 1 exam.
LAIT (LINX Accredited Internet Technician)
is a training scheme that consists of three
vendor independent five-day courses. The
program has been running since 2001 and is
based upon Internet technologies rather than
individual product systems covering the likes
of Internet Protocols, Ethernet, Internet access,
OSPF and BGP. Each course ends with an
exam in order to test the knowledge that the
candidate has learned during the week.
The course is designed to be thorough and
challenging to ensure that network engineers
are given the knowlege necessary to carry out
their roles effectively as possible.
LINX CTO, Mike Hughes was interviewed for a video
presentation on the ww.ipv6actnow.org website.
Meanwhile, the RIPE NCC Training Services
Department has recently launched an IPv6
course, available both as an online E-Learning
module and as face-to-face training. The new
course focuses on the need for IPv6, how to get
the addresses and how to plan your deployment,
avoiding some of the pitfalls already encountered
by other adopters.
LINX Extra
For more information, please visit:
www.ipv6actnow.org
Comment
Engineering Support Manager Pui Hang
Miles told HotLINX “Anne and Martyn
have passed their LAIT 1 exam with
extremely commendable results. LINX would
like to offer their praise to both engineers
and hope this stands them in good stead for
their future work with the company.”
More info on LAIT courses can be found on
the Systems and Network Training website:
www.snt.co.uk/training_courses/LINX/all_linx.htm
Recruitment News
Two New Employees Join the
Engineering and Finance Teams
LINX has announced that staff numbers have
now reached 30 with the addition of Christel
Delport and Julie Hutton to the Engineering
and Finance Teams respectively.
Christel Delport
Engineering Admin
Assistant
Christel Delport has
joined our London office
providing admin support
for our engineering team. Having moved
to the UK from South Africa earlier this
year, Christel’s last job in SA was head
of marketing at a senior school. She has
also worked for IT companies BlueTek
Computers and the British based Exec Sys in
marketing and admin roles respectively.
Comment
Christel told HotLINX: “I decided to
join LINX because I felt it was a excellent
opportunity to work not only with a great
team but for a company with a strong
standing in the industry. My role will
basically entail providing admin support in
the London office. I have already learnt a
lot since starting here and my colleagues
have been really friendly and helpful.”
Julie Hutton
Accounts Assistant
Our accounts department
has welcomed Julie
Hutton into their team.
Julie has worked in an
accountancy role for the last 13 years and
comes to LINX from Apex Training Services
who provide transport and industrial training.
Prior to this Julie worked as a sales ledger
clerk for EMAP Automotive and she has also
taken time out to have her children who are
now 10 and 8 years old.
Comment
Julie said: “I joined LINX looking for an
exciting new accounts role that still allowed
me to work part-time to fulfill my other
commitments. I am really enjoying my job as
Accounts Assistant, and the team have made
me feel really welcome. I have learnt a lot so
far and look forward to the next challenge
Michael Lewis (LINX Management
Accountant) has in store for me.”