The London Internet Exchange (LINX) have announced they will be bringing the exclusive Microsoft Azure Peering Service (MAPS) to their regional interconnection hub in Manchester, UK.
MAPS is a unique service that allows organisations to improve network connectivity with a direct connection to Microsoft cloud services (AS8075) by bypassing the public internet. This service enables low-latency access to Microsoft services like Microsoft365, Dynamics365, software as a service (SaaS) service or any other Microsoft service accessible with the public internet.
LINX added MAPS to their list of interconnection services back in 2021 and were named as one of only a handful of official Microsoft partners to deliver this in Europe. Initially launched on the LINX LON1 platform in London, networks connected to the IXP’s regional hub, LINX Manchester, will now be able to add MAPS as an additional service.
LINX Product Development Manager, Mike Hellers says;
“We are pleased to be able to bring MAPs to our Internet Exchange in Manchester. The LINX Microsoft Peering Service is a unique product for us, and we believe, a game changer for the enterprise sector, who may not be using LINX already for traditional online traffic exchange via peering.”
“Peering with Microsoft in traditional methods, normally means having a minimum level of traffic on your network, which for smaller networks may not be viable. The good thing about MAPS is that organisations can be up and peering within 5 minutes, no minimum traffic levels needed.”
LINX Manchester has experienced steady growth since its launch in 2012 and has become quite the hive for online retailers and enterprise as well as a key base for media distribution for the north of the UK.
The introduction of MAPS into LINX Manchester follows a flurry of announcements this year from the build out to the new Equinix MA5 data centre to a new partnership and point of presence (PoP) with AtlasEdge coming soon.
Find out more about LINX Manchester
Check out the latest MAPS technical blog
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