Level66.net

We talked to Jan Gilla, Managing Director of Level66.network who use and resell connections on NL-ix Frankfurt. Jan recently hooked up his 20th customer to his NL-ix reseller port.

Tell us about your business, and when and why you connected to NL-ix Frankfurt?

Level66.network offers VMware, network and firewall consultancy, as well as a range of managed services. We joined NL-ix Frankfurt after meeting the NL-ix team at DENOG. As both a reseller as well as a direct customer, it is easier to see the value of different IXPs from different customer perspectives.

Do you think the growing number of networks connecting to NL-ix Frankfurt is an indicator of any broader trends in the market? If so, what?

I think NL-ix fills a critical gap between smaller IXPs like LocIX and KleyReX and larger ones like DE-CIX and AMS-IX, making it a very cool IXP for smaller and mid-sized businesses in Germany.

What impact has your connection had on your network/customer networks? Is it possible to quantify this at all?

We monitor the routes, speeds, traffic-flows and interconnections constantly, with pings, traceroutes and speed-tests by using our own tools and the RIPE Atlas service. We also use Elastiflow, which measures which traffic goes through which interfaces on your routes with good graphic renderings, so that you can map the current traffic-flows to our physical connections and play with other options. The difference the NL-ix connection makes is very clear - you can count all the connections that got better. Internationally, for instance, many of our customers operate in the Netherlands with residential connections. NL-ix can improve these connections easily as most of the ISPs in the Netherlands peer at NL-ix. One of our customers for example has an XS4ALL connection. As XS4ALL peers at NL-ix we were able to bring them together, by bypassing our transit and reducing our customer’s latency by 6 milliseconds.” Within Germany, many companies peer with NL-ix to improve their latency. One of our customers provides critical analytical data on air traffic control; they peered with NL-ix to speed up their link with their main customers. Most of my customers run their own ASN either as a hobby or as a registered free service, and peering gives them an excellent opportunity to reach bigger networks. While they would not have known of the benefits of the NL-ix connection without us, most of them are now extremely satisfied with the improvements the NL-ix link has brought, and it’s a pleasure to be in a position to resell their services.