Equinix Adds New Space in Virginia, Atlanta

Colocation and interconnection provider Equinix has opened the doors at DC6, the sixth data center at the company's campus in Ashburn, Virginia. The new International Business Exchange (IBX) data center offers 1,750 cabinets of new space.

Equinix (EQIX) says the new space will enable it to strengthen its peering, cross connect and traffic exchange services in the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area, which serves as the eastern hub of Internet traffic exchange in the United States.

Atlanta Data Center Opens in August
Equinix also says it will bring new space online in Atlanta next month. The new ATL1 facility, which was among the properties the company aquired in its deal to buy Switch & Data, will be the first Equinix data center in Atlanta. CEO Steve Smith called Atlanta "an important market" for Equinix.

"This will add an initial 400 cabinets to our capacity and another 1,000 cabinets in Phase II, now slated to open in Q1 of 2011," said Smith. "Our pipeline for this new IBX is growing with strong interest from many of our top networks and well-known enterprise customers."

Northern Virginia is also a key market for Equinix. The six IBX data centers in the Equinix campus serve more than 500 customers and feature the largest peering center in North America, which also functions as one of only three GRX (GPRS Roaming Exchange) peering sites in the world.

'Strategic Importance' of Virginia
“As the economy continues to globalize, the Washington, D.C. metro area increases in strategic importance,” said Peter Ferris, president, Equinix North America. “The region serves as the main hub for inbound and outbound traffic and is a crucial component of any global expansion plan. Adding DC6 to our roster of IBX data centers will greatly strengthen our leadership position in the area and will help us better serve our expanding ecosystem of global companies.”

The Equinix campus is just north of a former UUNet facility that was a key hub in MAE-East, the Internet’s first major interconnection point. Equinix built its first data center in Ashburn in 1998, providing a “carrier-neutral” facility where companies could gain access to Internet backbones operated by UUNet and AT&T.

That first Ashburn site, known as DC1, quickly become the Web’s busiest meeting place. Equinix filled DC1 and has built five additional data centers in Ashburn spanning nearly 600,000 square feet of space.