The Internet Service Providers Association (ISPA) has improved the plumbing used to exchange local network traffic to make for a faster, more efficient SA `Net.
The ISPA has announced the conclusion of a major infrastructural upgrade to its Johannesburg Internet Exchange (JINX). The commissioning of a Cisco Catalyst 2924 switch with 24 10/100 ports and a three-gigabyte backplane at the Johannesburg exchange site, means better throughput for traffic between the networks of local Internet access companies, and faster Web access to local sites for SA users.
Currently, the Johannesburg peering point connects The Internet Solution, UUNET Internet Africa, M-Web, Global Internet Access, IBM, CiTEC and the universities network, Uninet-ZA. Companies connected to the Cape Town exchange point, CINX, include The Internet Solution, UUNET Internet Africa and the Uninet.
The total capacity into the ISPA`s two peering points currently stands at close to 16 megabits per second.
SA Internet users will benefit from the increased capacity of the switching equipment at the exchange point, says Mark Todes, co-chairman of the ISPA and director of UUNET Internet Africa`s Dial Business Unit. "One of the most frequent complaints we receive, both in the media and from the public, is that connection speeds are too slow," he notes. The JINX technical upgrade will go a long way towards addressing these problems.
"It is one of the ISPA`s key focus areas to provide local infrastructure for traffic exchange to its member community, now comprising 32 companies," says David Frankel, joint-MD of The Internet Solution and co-chairman of the ISPA. "ISPA will continue to upgrade local infrastructure proactively, in the interest of South African end users."
In the wake of opening its membership more widely in January, interest in the ISPA has increased significantly. The Association has also lifted its prior restrictions regarding peering with Telkom subsidiaries, resulting in more efficient exchanges of traffic between the parties.
The pivotal JINX and CINX interconnection points will continue to expand provide both access providers and end users with fast access to Web sites of local content providers.
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