For more than 25 years, Belnet has been managing the Belgian Internet exchange point BNIX that allows Internet service providers, content providers and large companies to exchange data traffic quickly and efficiently. In early 2022, Belnet will start rolling out a new and future-proof BNIX platform in order to respond even better to the needs of its member organisations.
In 1995, Belnet was asked to set up and manage a Belgian internet exchange owing to its neutral position and role as an Internet pioneer in Belgium. At first, the BNIX platform was nothing more than a connection between a few Internet service providers.
The growth of the commercial Internet in subsequent years also meant that the demand for higher bandwidths and extra capacity on BNIX increased. The platform, which initially consisted of a router on the Belnet backbone, was then moved to various professional datacentres in Brussels. 10 Gbit/s connections quickly became the standard.
The number of organisations affiliated to BNIX has also grown steadily over the years. In the meantime, there are some sixty participants present on the Belgian Internet exchange, including Belnet itself.
BNIX's crucial role for Belgian Internet traffic became clear once again during the coronavirus crisis. This pushed data traffic at BNIX to unprecedented heights: in December last year, for example, the 600 gigabits per second mark was exceeded for the first time.
Longer range
The update to the BNIX platform, which is due to start in early 2022, will allow Belnet to respond more flexibly to the specific needs of BNIX participants. An additional advantage is that the new hardware has a smaller ecological footprint.
In addition, Belnet is studying how to expand BNIX's presence at other points in Belgium. The reseller programme launched in June also contributes to the strategic objective of significantly increasing BNIX's range.
In short, the new platform will create numerous additional possibilities without compromising the stability and performance for which our Internet exchange is renowned.
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