Case Studies

ChallengeStarted the IX service for service providers in western Japan.

Internet Multifeed started the commercial Internet Exchange (IX) service, JPNAP, to interconnect domestic internet service providers (ISPs) and content service providers (CSPs) in May 2001. JPNAP used to provide services to service providers in the Tokyo metropolitan area through a datacenter in Otemachi in Tokyo and then began providing JPNAP Osaka for service providers in western Japan in January 2002.

Mr. Hideyuki Abe, section manager of the Technology Department, talked about how JPNAP Osaka started the service.

“We started the JPNAP service in Tokyo in May 2001. As soon as the service launched, traffic dramatically increased because of the concentrated access by ISPs and CSPs in the Tokyo metropolitan area. As the demand for the IX service with an internet interconnection was expected to continue increasing as part of the social infrastructure, we realized we had to respond urgently to the overconcentration of network traffic in the Tokyo metropolitan area at the earliest possible time. JPNAP Osaka was launched for service providers in western Japan in January 2002 to resolve this issue.” (Mr. Abe)

Internet Multifeed chose the NTT SmartConnect Dojima Data Center as the service base for JPNAP Osaka.

“Originally established as a subsidiary of Internet Initiative Japan (IIJ) and Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corporation (the current NTT Communications Corporation), we intended to expand the business through a collaboration with the NTT Group since the establishment of the company. The launch of JPNAP Osaka was not systematically and physically easy for us as a small organization with only dozens of employees. Therefore, we requested cooperation from NTT SmartConnect, an NTT group company that provides ISP and housing/hosting businesses as a service partner in western Japan. This is how we started JPNAP Osaka.” (Mr. Abe)

SolutionInternet Multifeed valued NTT SmartConnect’s reliable technical capabilities, which can be entrusted with maintenance and operations, as well as a superior facility and environmental aspects.

There were several reasons why Internet Multifeed chose the NTT SmartConnect Dojima Data Center.

“NTT SmartConnect Dojima Data Center also offers the academic IX service Network Service Provider Internet Exchange Point (NSPIXP) provided by the WIDE Project—using the same datacenter gives us superior facility and interconnectivity aspects when we deploy our commercial IX service. Another reason is that the datacenter is carrier-free and easy to access for ISP and CSP users of JPNAP Osaka.” (Mr. Abe)

Another major point from a technical perspective was that, NTT SmartConnect not only provides a datacenter as an IX service point but is also so reliable that Internet Multifeed entrusted them with the maintenance and operations required to provide the IX service.

“NTT SmartConnect has high technical capabilities developed through operational experience as an ISP. As a small organization, we needed to outsource operations at the beginning of service launch. Therefore, their high technical capabilities could support the IX service operation, which became a major deciding factor.” (Mr. Abe)

Since April 2013, Internet Multifeed has been responsible for maintenance and operations for JPNAP Osaka, integrating device resources and systems.

ResultsDojima Connect interconnects buildings in Dojima, which allows us to offer flexible proposals.

The year 2020 marks 18 years since the JPNAP Osaka service was launched in January 2002. In the beginning, the service provided Fast Ethernet at 10 Gbps for the backbone and 1 Gbps for user ports. However, because of the appearance of the variety of internet services, including a broadcasting service, some service providers connect to JPNAP Osaka at several hundred Gbps for the backbone and 100 Gbps for user ports. The traffic increased to about 650 Gbps at the peak, which is 10 times that in 2010, 10 years ago.

“I think JPNAP Osaka has grown as the connection base for western Japan, along with the wider use and development of the internet. With the increase in traffic, we have repeatedly upgraded the IX service facility and expanded the rack space and power capacity; thanks to NTT SmartConnect’s flexible implementation support service, we are able to continue offering the service without suspension.” (Mr. Abe)

JPNAP Osaka currently offers an interconnection service with four sites in Osaka that include the NTT SmartConnect Dojima Data Center.

“The Dojima Data Center is a site where many service providers, including ISPs and CSPs, gather as the connection base to cover western Japan, and it is a significant implementation result that we are now able to provide an interconnection service there.” (Mr. Abe)

What Mr. Abe appreciates the most is Optical Cabling Service (Dojima Connect) provided by NTT SmartConnect.

“Thanks to Optical Cabling Service that interconnects buildings in the Dojima Data Center, we can offer the IX service without being aware that the datacenter is actually distributed throughout several different buildings. More JPNAP Osaka users demand to have connections distributed to several different datacenters. The Optical Cabling Service provided by NTT SmartConnect can respond to such demands and flexibly establish connections throughout the Dojima Data Center, which consists of several buildings and is becoming a good selling point for attracting service providers.” (Mr. Abe)

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