Case Studies
Microsoft uses PacketExchange services to deliver a better Hotmail service to customers in Europe
The Challenge
There are 170 million Hotmail users across the world. All of their mail is stored on Microsoft servers in the US.
All European Hotmail was travelling over IP Transit links, suffering
latency (or delays) of up to 250 ms, and sometimes not even reaching
its destination.
The Solution
PacketExchange launched ProXimity
in 2002, and in a drive to improve the delivery of Hotmail to European
users, Microsoft were one of the first to trial the service.
ProXimity is the world‘s first wide area peering service, enabling ISPs
and Content Providers in different cities, different countries, or even
different continents to link directly with one another across the
PacketExchange network.
As an alternative to IP
Transit, ProXimity offers lower latency. Microsoft measured the
latency on their network before and after they connected to ProXimity.
The reduction was significant. Before they were connected to
ProXimity, data from the Hotmail servers destined for Europe suffered
latency (or delay) of up to 250 ms. After connecting to
ProXimity, this delay was reduced by up to 100 ms.
Another advantage that ProXimity links have over IP Transit is the fact
that they can be controlled and monitored, to ensure that all data
packets reach their destination. And finally, ProXimity links are not just better and faster, they‘re cheaper too.
The Result
As a result of this winning combination, the amount of traffic that
Microsoft passes over their ProXimity connections has already grown to
10 times its original level and is still rising.
