What is a NAP?
A Network Access Point (NAP) is a major Internet interconnection point that allows Internet access providers and carriers to exchange traffic and services with each other, in the same way that a major international airport allows carriers to exchange passengers and freight so that they can reach their ultimate destination.
What is NAP of the AmericasSM?
NAP of the AmericasSM, a TerreNAPSM Data Center, is the fifth Tier-1 Network Access Point (NAP) in the Americas. TerreNAPSM Data Centers is a subsidiary of Terremark Worldwide, Inc. NAP of the AmericasSM is the first carrier neutral Tier-1 NAP. It is also the first one housed in a facility built specifically for a NAP. Located in Miami, Florida, NAP of the AmericasSM is a premier facility providing interconnection between global carriers, ISPs and others. It also connects the fiber networks in Latin America to the U.S. and beyond. Terremark Worldwide is the owner and operator of NAP of the AmericasSM, which has the latest IP technology.
The Miami NAP
Why is NAP of the AmericasSM a Tier-1 NAP?
The Tier-1 status is determined by the carriers that connect to the facility and the amount of traffic generated through their network. The NAP of the Americas has over 60 customers and has attained the customer critical mass needed for Tier-1 status.
Are there other NAPs that are not Tier-1 in the United States?
Currently there are eleven major interconnection points, including the four Tier-1 NAPs discussed above, three historical NAPs (CIX, FIX-EAST, and FIX-West) that are more important as legacy NAPs because they were the foundation for the original military/federal Internet and not as current traffic points, and four MAEs (Metropolitan Area Ethernet/Exchange) that serve as de facto NAPs by surrounding large metropolitan areas across the country with fiber optic data rings. These four MAEs are located in San Jose, Los Angeles, Dallas, and Chicago.
What markets does the NAP of the AmericasSM serve?
NAP of the AmericasSM serves as a point of interconnectivity between the North American fiber routes and the networks in South and Central America, the Caribbean, and Europe.
The NAP of the AmericasSM is the next-generation carrier-class
facility, utilizing the most advanced networking standards in
the world. The network architecture of the NAP of the AmericasSM
boasts as its core, an efficient high-speed parallel cross point
switch fabric. This fabric has a capacity of up to 178,000,000
packets per second of throughput. In addition, edge switches
provide gigabit speed connectivity to the meshed 128 Gbps core
chassis peering fabric.
