ICON
The Interconnect CONsole
ICON – The Self-Service Portal
ICON, the Interconnect CONsole, is a comprehensive and powerful Self-Service Portal that provides users with a range of advanced functionalities and features to enhance control over Internet traffic. In the past, managing and adapting these connections demanded extensive expertise in the Border Gateway Protocol (BGP), but by leveraging the knowledge and expertise accumulated by NL-ix over the past two decades, ICON has automated and simplified this process.
ICON provides real-time and historical insights into traffic flows originating from the private network towards the Internet, and displays both Public Internet traffic as well as Private traffic such as Cloud environments. Users can effortlessly analyze and monitor various critical aspects of their Internet performance, including latency, bandwidth utilization, and the routes taken by their traffic. ICON presents this information in an intuitive and easily understandable manner.
The overview page of ICON displays the traffic flows. By default, the top 20 networks are shown where the traffic exits the NL-ix network and enters the destination network's front door. Users can zoom in on specific networks or end-locations as desired, where an end-location can be a datacenter within the NL-ix footprint or a partnering European Exchange.
In addition to providing general insight into traffic flows, ICON offers a detailed traffic graph that showcases the course of traffic usage. Users can observe the historical capacity utilization up to a week ago and analyze how the capacity is distributed. Within the traffic graph, a specific point in time can be selected to examine the distribution of traffic flows at that particular moment. The tool freezes at the chosen time, enabling to zoom in and focus on specific details. This feature allows to swiftly pinpoint and address any performance bottlenecks or anomalies.
ICON is seamlessly integrated with the managed services of NL-ix Transit, Cloud Connect and Elastic Interconnect. This integration simplifies the management of these services, allowing users to maximize the value they derive from their network infrastructure without the need for in-depth BGP knowledge. Integration with Peering services are in development.
For customers utilizing Elastic Interconnect, ICON is instrumental for the assignment of traffic flows to the Trusted Slice, effectively isolating this traffic from the rest of the public Internet.
ICON revolutionizes Internet traffic management by providing an intuitive and comprehensive solution. It empowers businesses to gain deep insights, optimize network performance, and proactively resolve issues, ultimately contributing to enhanced operational efficiency with superior ease of use.
