The AMS-IX internet exchange in Amsterdam reports total internet data volume exchanged in 2020 grew 35% year-on-year to 22.77 exabytes. A pair of spikes in March and October due to the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic helped account for the large jump, according to the exchange.
The pandemic-related traffic waves saw volumes increase roughly 20% in both instances, according to AMX-IX. In November, AMS-IX reached a peak traffic of more than 9 Tbps. The traffic came from the more than 885 networks connected at the Amsterdam facility. Of that total, 21% were from the Netherlands, 49% from Europe excluding the Netherlands, and 30% from outside of Europe. Not surprisingly, AMS-IX reports many of their network customers upgraded their port capacity during the year. The number of active 100GbE ports rose to 282, up 9% versus 2019. The total capacity rose from 34.6 Tbps of port capacity to 42.1 Tbps.
AMS-IX says its facilities in Chicago, U.S. Bay Area, Caribbean, Mumbai, and Hong Kong, as well as one in Manama, Bahrain, positioned as “powered by AMS-IX,” all set new records for peak traffic as well. For example, Hong Kong saw peak traffic reach 77.85 Gbps in 2020 (up from 53.43 Gbps in 2019) The Mumbai exchange went from a peak of 60.77 Gbps in 2019 to 77.72 Gbps in 2020, while MN-IX (powered by AMS-IX in Manama) hit a traffic peak of more than 200 Gbps, effectively becoming the fastest growing internet exchange in the Middle East, according to AMS-IX.
“2020 was an unusual year,” noted AMS-IX CEO Peter van Burgel. “We saw conditions that matched the end of the ‘90s, with record-breaking Internet peaks and growth. We are aware of the critical role that our exchanges play in the functioning of the Internet and feel honored that we are able to facilitate all the Internet services that make working from home and communicating with the outside world possible.”
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Stephen Hardy | Editorial Director and Associate Publisher, Lightwave
Stephen Hardy is editorial director and associate publisher of Lightwave and Broadband Technology Report, part of the Lighting & Technology Group at Endeavor Business Media. Stephen is responsible for establishing and executing editorial strategy across the both brands’ websites, email newsletters, events, and other information products. He has covered the fiber-optics space for more than 20 years, and communications and technology for more than 35 years. During his tenure, Lightwave has received awards from Folio: and the American Society of Business Press Editors (ASBPE) for editorial excellence. Prior to joining Lightwave in 1997, Stephen worked for Telecommunications magazine and the Journal of Electronic Defense.
Stephen has moderated panels at numerous events, including the Optica Executive Forum, ECOC, and SCTE Cable-Tec Expo. He also is program director for the Lightwave Innovation Reviews and the Diamond Technology Reviews.
He has written numerous articles in all aspects of optical communications and fiber-optic networks, including fiber to the home (FTTH), PON, optical components, DWDM, fiber cables, packet optical transport, optical transceivers, lasers, fiber optic testing, and more.
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