The Durban Internet Exchange (Dinx), located at data centre operator Teraco’s Riverhorse Valley facility, joins the Johannesburg Internet Exchange (Jinx) and the Cape Town Internet Exchange (Cinx) as the third dedicated exchange in SA to go live. Its backers promise better local connectivity and network redundancy.

The Internet Service Providers’ Association (Ispa) oversees the three exchanges, which allow ISPs to interconnect their networks and exchange local Internet traffic. It says this saves cost and provides enhanced redundancy for SA-based Internet traffic.

Graham Beneke, chairman of Ispa’s Internet exchange working group, says that although Durban has traditionally been a smaller Internet market than Johannesburg and Cape Town, it is fast becoming a key telecommunications distribution hub with three undersea cables landing a short distance away at Mtunzini, on the KwaZulu-Natal north coast.

Ispa exchange point manager Nishal Goburdhan says regionalising Internet traffic contributes directly to improved interconnection costs and resilience.

Teraco MD Lex van Wyk says that the launch of the exchange has been a long time coming and is a big step forward for the Internet in SA.

Ispa says Cinx and Jinx already process significant volumes of Internet traffic, with more than 50 networks peering at Jinx and 25 at Cinx.