Invisible Upgrades: Part Two

Invisible Upgrades: Part Two

At the end of 2023, we upgraded the fibre-optic connection between BIT-1 and Equinix AM7. This shortened one of our two routes to Amsterdam. We have now also upgraded the other route. The connection between BIT-2 and Digital Realty Amsterdam AMS9 has been replaced, as has the route between AMS9 and AM7.

This means we have further improved the core of our network, while most customers won’t have noticed a thing.

A Shorter Route, Less Risk

The new route between BIT-2 and AMS9 is significantly shorter than the old one. The previous route was about 115 kilometres long; the new route is 86 kilometres.

A shorter route simply means there’s less cable that could potentially be damaged. Every kilometre of fibre is exposed to the risk of being hit by people or machines during ground works. The less cable there is, the smaller that risk becomes.

As with the earlier upgrade between BIT-1 and AM7, this route largely follows railway lines. Excavation work rarely takes place along these corridors, which further reduces the likelihood of accidental damage.

The new connection between AM7 and AMS9 is roughly the same length as before. The difference is that it now runs on infrastructure from the same provider as the other connections in our core network.

More Control Over the Connections

All three core connections, BIT-1 to AM7, BIT-2 to AMS9, and AMS9 to AM7, are now provided by Relined.

Working with a single provider gives us more control over how these connections are managed. Relined guarantees that the routes remain geographically separated, even if cable paths need to be adjusted in the future. That can happen, for example, when major infrastructure projects require existing cable paths to be relocated.

Maintenance is also coordinated across the three connections. If work needs to be carried out, Relined ensures that multiple routes aren’t affected at the same time. And if maintenance becomes unavoidable due to external factors, they are responsible for keeping the impact as limited as possible.

Switching Over the Connections

The work was carried out overnight, after being announced two weeks in advance. To keep the interruption as short as possible, BIT engineers were present at all three locations at the same time.

We started with the connection between AM7 and AMS9, followed by the connection between BIT-2 and AMS9.

Before the maintenance window began, traffic had already been rerouted through other paths within our network. That allowed us to disconnect the existing links, connect the new ones, and run tests before switching traffic back.

For customers running their own waves on these connections, this meant a short interruption while we switched cables and adjusted the configuration. Because the new route is shorter, the optical signal also requires less amplification than it did on the previous path.

The entire maintenance was completed within two hours.

No Noticable Impact

For most services, the maintenance had no noticable imact. During the switchover there was temporarily less redundancy on routes to Amsterdam.

As with previous upgrades, most of the work happened long before the maintenance window itself. Careful preparation ensures the switchover goes smoothly. When everything works as planned, almost nobody notices that anything has changed. Exactly as it should be.