ASNs (Autonomous System Numbers)

An ASN is a unique identifier assigned to a network that participates in global internet routing. It allows the network to announce its IP prefixes and exchange routing information with other networks using BGP. ASNs define the identity and routing policy of ISPs, cloud platforms, enterprises, and content networks on the internet.

Cable Landing Station (CLS)

A cable landing station is a secure coastal facility where subsea cables come ashore. It houses power-feeding equipment, optical terminals, and network gear that hands off the subsea system to terrestrial fiber networks. It serves as the critical transition point between global undersea connectivity and land-based telecom infrastructure.

Carrier-Neutral Data Center

A carrier-neutral data center is a facility where customers are free to choose any telecom provider they prefer, without being restricted to a single mandated carrier. The data center is not owned or controlled by any one telecommunications operator, which allows multiple ISPs, fiber networks, and international or local carriers to operate within the same building. This environment creates a competitive marketplace inside the facility, enabling customers to select providers based on pricing, latency, performance, and service quality. Carrier neutrality matters because it offers true choice, supports redundancy by allowing multiple simultaneous carrier connections, improves pricing through competition, and enhances network performance by giving customers a wider range of routing and connectivity options.

CDNs (Content Delivery Networks)

A CDN is a distributed network of servers positioned close to end users to deliver cached content such as video, images, software updates, and website files. CDNs improve performance by reducing latency and lowering the load on long-distance or international transit paths.

Cloud Nodes

Cloud nodes are smaller-scale edge deployments or cluster points where cloud providers host compute, storage, or caching resources. They provide localized cloud services and reduce latency for regional users without requiring a full cloud region.

Cloud Regions

A cloud region is a geographically defined cluster of multiple data centers operated by a cloud provider. Regions host cloud services, maintain redundancy across availability zones, and allow customers to store data and run applications within a specific jurisdiction or locality.

Coaxial Cabling

Coaxial cable is a copper cable with a single central conductor, insulation, and shielding layers used historically for broadband, cable TV, and CCTV. Though largely replaced by Ethernet and fiber in modern networks, it remains in use for RF transmission and certain legacy systems.

Content Delivery Networks (CDNs)

Content delivery networks are specialized distributed systems that store cached versions of content near end users to accelerate delivery. They reduce bandwidth costs for ISPs, improve user experience, and alleviate congestion on long-haul networks.

Content Providers

Content providers are organizations that create, host, or distribute digital content such as streaming media, gaming platforms, social media, or search services. They frequently deploy caching servers in data centers to deliver content faster and more efficiently.

CPUs (Central Processing Units)

A CPU is the general-purpose processor in a computer or server responsible for executing instructions and managing system operations. It handles traditional compute workloads, virtualization tasks, and OS-level processes that require flexibility rather than massive parallelism.

Dark Fiber

Dark fiber refers to unused fiber-optic strands that lack active optical equipment. Customers lease dark fiber to light it with their own transceivers or DWDM systems, gaining maximum bandwidth control and scalability.

DWDM (Dense Wavelength Division Multiplexing) Equipment

DWDM equipment enables many distinct wavelengths (channels) of light to be transmitted simultaneously over a single fiber pair. It includes multiplexers, demultiplexers, ROADMs, transponders, and amplifiers that allow networks to transport terabits of data over long distances.

Fiber Cabling (Single-Mode, Multi-Mode, and Ruggedised)

Fiber cabling uses light to transmit data over glass strands. Single-mode fiber supports long-distance, high-speed transmission due to its narrow core and single light path. Multi-mode fiber supports shorter-distance applications using a wider core with multiple light paths. Ruggedised fiber is reinforced for outdoor, industrial, or harsh environments that require durability.

GPUs (Graphics Processing Units)

GPUs are highly parallel compute processors originally designed for rendering graphics but now widely used for machine learning, AI training, HPC workloads, and scientific computing. Their architecture enables massive simultaneous calculations that CPUs cannot perform as efficiently.

Internet Exchange (IX or IXP)

An internet exchange is a physical peering hub where multiple networks interconnect to exchange traffic. Using a shared switching fabric, ISPs, CDNs, cloud providers, and enterprises peer with each other to reduce latency, improve performance, and lower bandwidth costs.

Internet Service Providers (ISPs)

ISPs are companies that provide internet connectivity to residential, business, and carrier customers. They manage IP addressing, routing, transit, and peering. In data centers, ISPs offer dedicated internet access, transit services, MPLS, and other network connectivity options.

Line Protection Equipment

Line protection equipment provides automated failover for fiber links by detecting faults and switching traffic to backup paths. This ensures continuity of service when fiber cuts, equipment failures, or power issues occur along an optical route.

Lit Fiber

Lit fiber is fiber-optic cabling that already has active optical equipment transmitting data across it. Customers use this to purchase managed bandwidth services such as 10G or 100G circuits instead of deploying their own optical infrastructure.

Meet-Me Rooms (MMRs)

Meet-me rooms are designated secure spaces in a data center where carriers, cloud providers, ISPs, and enterprises interconnect. They serve as the termination point for physical cross-connects and are essential for carrier-neutral data center ecosystems.

Multi-Mode Fiber

Multi-mode fiber is a type of fiber-optic cable with a larger core that supports multiple light paths. It is commonly used for short-distance applications inside data centers or buildings due to its lower cost and simpler optics.

Network Peering

Network peering is the direct exchange of internet traffic between two networks without using a transit provider. It reduces cost, improves routing performance, and enables networks to exchange traffic through IXPs or private interconnections.

On-Ramp / Interconnect Locations

Cloud on-ramps or interconnect locations are facilities where enterprises can establish private, dedicated connections to cloud providers such as AWS, Azure, Google Cloud, or Oracle. These private connections bypass the public internet, providing improved security, stability, and latency. A data center with direct on-ramps means the cloud infrastructure is physically present or directly reachable in that facility. This makes it easy for tenants to connect their on-prem or colocation resources to cloud environments with guaranteed SLAs. Examples: AWS Direct Connect, Azure ExpressRoute, and Google Cloud Interconnect.

Optical Amplifiers

Optical amplifiers boost the strength of light signals in fiber networks without converting them to electrical signals. They are essential for extending transmission distances in metro, long-haul, and subsea optical systems.

Optical Multiplexers

Optical multiplexers combine multiple wavelengths of light into a single fiber, enabling dense wavelength division multiplexing. They dramatically increase fiber capacity and support multi-channel transport over the same physical infrastructure.

Optical Transport Equipment

Optical transport equipment includes the full suite of devices—transponders, muxponders, amplifiers, and ROADMs—used to transmit high-bandwidth optical signals across metro, regional, and long-haul fiber networks.

OTT (Over-The-Top Providers)

OTT providers deliver digital services such as video, voice, messaging, and content streaming over the open internet rather than through traditional telecom networks. Their platforms generate high traffic volumes and rely heavily on caching and edge infrastructure.

Peering Arrangements

Peering arrangements define how two networks exchange traffic, whether through public peering at an IXP or private direct connections. They specify terms, traffic ratios, routing preferences, and whether settlement-free or paid models are used.

Physical and Virtual Cross-Connects

Cross-connects are dedicated connections inside a data center between two parties. Physical cross-connects use fiber or copper cabling, providing secure, low-latency connectivity. Virtual cross-connects use software-defined interconnection fabrics to establish remote or multi-site connections without physical cabling.

Points of Presence (PoPs)

A point of presence is a physical network location where an operator houses routers, switches, and transmission systems to provide regional access to its network. PoPs act as access and distribution hubs for carriers, cloud providers, and CDNs.

Port Fees

Port fees are charges for access to a port on an internet exchange switch or interconnection fabric. Participants pay for the port capacity (such as 10G or 100G), but the peering relationships established via the port are typically cost-free.

PSTN (Public Switched Telephone Network)

The PSTN is the legacy voice network that uses circuit-switched copper lines to establish dedicated call paths between endpoints. While increasingly replaced by VoIP and mobile networks, it still supports traditional telephony, alarms, and elevator lines.

Routing Control

Routing control involves managing how traffic enters and leaves a network using BGP policies such as local preference, AS path manipulation, MED values, and route filtering. It enables networks to optimize latency, cost, resilience, and traffic engineering.

Ruggedised Fiber

Ruggedised fiber is fiber-optic cabling reinforced for environments subject to moisture, vibration, temperature variation, or physical stress. It is used for outdoor deployments, industrial facilities, and interbuilding connectivity.

Scalable Bandwidth

Scalable bandwidth refers to the ability of a connection or network to increase capacity rapidly, such as upgrading from 10G to 100G or from 100G to 400G. It allows organizations to accommodate future growth without major infrastructure overhauls.

Single-Mode Fiber

Single-mode fiber is a type of fiber-optic cable that carries light along a single path, enabling extremely long-distance, high-bandwidth transmission. It is used for metro, long-haul, and data center interconnects.

SOC-as-a-Service

SOC-as-a-service is an outsourced cybersecurity monitoring solution that provides continuous threat detection, incident response, and security analytics. It gives organizations enterprise-grade cybersecurity capabilities without maintaining their own SOC.

STP Cabling

Shielded twisted pair cabling includes metal shielding around twisted copper pairs to protect against electromagnetic interference. It is used in industrial environments or areas with high electrical noise.

Subsea Cables

Subsea cables are fiber-optic systems laid on the ocean floor that interconnect continents and carry most of the world's international data. They include fiber pairs, amplifiers, branching units, and power systems.

SSD/HDD Arrays

SSD/HDD arrays are storage systems composed of multiple solid-state drives or hard disk drives managed as a unified resource. They provide scalable, high-performance storage for databases, virtual machines, and enterprise workloads.

TDUs (Thermal Distribution Units)

Thermal distribution units are cooling components that distribute liquid coolant from facility-level systems to IT racks or devices. They are essential in high-density infrastructure such as AI clusters and HPC environments.

UTP Cabling (CAT6)

Unshielded twisted pair cabling is a common copper-based Ethernet cable type used for LAN networking. CAT6 supports gigabit and 10-gigabit speeds over short distances but lacks shielding, making it susceptible to interference in noisy environments.