Switch and Data Facilities Company, Inc. was a

U.S. The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...

public corporation that provided network-neutral data centers and

Internet exchange Internet exchange points (IXes or IXPs) are common grounds of IP networking, allowing participant Internet service providers (ISPs) to exchange data destined for their respective networks. IXPs are generally located at places with preexisting ...

services to network-centric businesses. Switch and Data was acquired by

Equinix Equinix, Inc. is an American multinational company headquartered in Redwood City, California, that specializes in Internet connection and data centers. The company is a leader in global colocation data center market share, with 240 data centers ...

in 2010. Switch and Data provided services including colocation,

interconnection In telecommunications, interconnection is the physical linking of a carrier's network with equipment or facilities not belonging to that network. The term may refer to a connection between a carrier's facilities and the equipment belonging to ...

, network connectivity and

peering In computer networking, peering is a voluntary interconnection of administratively separate Internet networks for the purpose of exchanging traffic between the "down-stream" users of each network. Peering is settlement-free, also known as "bill-and ...

from 34 data center locations. Typically, customers looked to Switch and Data to add scale and interconnectivity to their networks to support increases in IP and network traffic volumes. In addition, customers used Switch and Data's data center facilities to house and power their network infrastructure. In 2008 Switch and Data expanded by adding over a quarter million square feet of data center capacity, an increase of 34% of their total capacity. Before their purchase by Equinix, Switch and Data's footprint included 23 markets throughout

and Canada and provides power and cooling densities of up to 200 watts per square foot to more than 900 customers. In 2009, the company had announced a $75 million

capex Capital expenditure or capital expense (capex or CAPEX) is the money an organization or corporate entity spends to buy, maintain, or improve its fixed assets, such as buildings, vehicles, equipment, or land. It is considered a capital expenditure ...

budget for further expansion. Switch and Data previously launched their Content and Entertainment and Financial Services Practices to help these industries with low-latency data aggregation and distribution.

Company history

Switch and Data was founded in 1998 by James F. Lavin and Stephen Kelly. In March 2003, Switch and Data acquired

PAIX ''Paix'' is the fourth studio album by French singer Catherine Ribeiro and her third with the band Alpes. It was originally released in 1972 by Philips Records. The album integrates the group's original folk-oriented sound within the progr ...

, the world's first commercial Internet

exchange. The PAIX acquisition gave Switch and Data and strong presence in global Internet

and added some of the world's leading Internet content and service providers as customers. Between 2004 and 2005, Switch and Data purchased RACO, Meridian Telesis and

LayerOne LayerOne, Inc. acquired by Switch and Data, Switch & Data , in 2005, was a United States, U.S. private corporation that provides carrier-neutral Data center, datacenters and interconnection. Services LayerOne was a provider of network-neutral dat ...

. The company completed an initial public offering of its stock on February 8, 2007, and is currently traded on the

NASDAQ The Nasdaq Stock Market () (National Association of Securities Dealers Automated Quotations Stock Market) is an American stock exchange based in New York City. It is the most active stock trading venue in the US by volume, and ranked second ...

exchange under ticker symbol SDXC. Switch and Data is headquartered in

Tampa, Florida Tampa () is a city on the Gulf Coast of the United States, Gulf Coast of the U.S. state of Florida. The city's borders include the north shore of Tampa Bay and the east shore of Old Tampa Bay. Tampa is the largest city in the Tampa Bay area and ...

. Switch and Data was acquired by

on May 4, 2010 for 683.4 Million.

Products and services

Switch and Data is a North American provider of network-neutral data centers and Internet exchanges. In addition, the company offers services such as colocation, interconnection and remote technical support. The companies’ data centers provide the power,

interconnectivity In telecommunications, interconnection is the physical linking of a carrier's network with equipment or facilities not belonging to that network. The term may refer to a connection between a carrier's facilities and the equipment belonging to ...

, security, redundancy,

cooling Cooling is removal of heat, usually resulting in a lower temperature and/or phase change. Temperature lowering achieved by any other means may also be called cooling.ASHRAE Terminology, https://www.ashrae.org/technical-resources/free-resources/as ...

and site technical support to house and safeguard its customers’ network and computing equipment. Switch and Data is a network-neutral provider which means that customers can choose to

interconnect In telecommunications, interconnection is the physical linking of a carrier's network with equipment or facilities not belonging to that network. The term may refer to a connection between a carrier's facilities and the equipment belonging to ...

with multiple competing carriers across its national footprint of densely interconnected data centers. Customers can exchange traffic and IP content through direct connections with each other, or through many-to-many

connections on Switch and Data's PAIX Internet exchange. Switch and Data's customers have provisioned approximately 21,100 cross-connects between each other in the company's 34 sites.

Data center locations

Switch and Data has 34 data centers located in 23 markets across

North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere and almost entirely within the Western Hemisphere. It is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South America and the Car ...

. Switch and Data's

data center A data center (American English) or data centre (British English)See spelling differences. is a building, a dedicated space within a building, or a group of buildings used to house computer systems and associated components, such as telecommunic ...

s typically have lower power density and are medium-sized suites in

Carrier hotel A colocation center (also spelled co-location, or colo) or "carrier hotel", is a type of data centre where equipment, space, and bandwidth are available for rental to retail customers. Colocation facilities provide space, power, cooling, and ...

s. The majority suites were built between 1999 and 2002. The exception being the

North Bergen, NJ North Bergen is a township in the northern part of Hudson County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2020 U.S. census, the township had a total population of 63,361. The township was founded in 1843. It was much diminished in territory by a ...

and

Sunnyvale, CA Sunnyvale () is a city located in the Santa Clara Valley in northwest Santa Clara County in the U.S. state of California. Sunnyvale lies along the historic El Camino Real and Highway 101 and is bordered by portions of San Jose to the north ...

sites that were purchased and remodeled in 2008.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Switch And Data Companies established in 1998 Companies disestablished in 2010