Belnet Belnet is the Belgian national research and education network that provides very high bandwidth internet access to higher education, research centers and various government services. In addition, it also provides a lot of other services to its users in the area of Cloud, Identity, Mobility & Federation and Trust and Security. Belnet is also responsible for the BNIX platform.
The BNIX platform is the Belgian internet exchange on which Internet providers, content providers, hosting companies and large companies in Belgium can exchange IP traffic at high speeds via peering.
"Depending on the needs of our customers, Belnet is always looking for opportunities to expand our network", says Dirk Haex, technical director at Belnet. "At one point, for example, we needed an extra Point of Presence (PoP) to strategically strengthen our footprint in Brussels."
Belnet briefly considered setting up its own data center, but the high costs would have outweighed the benefits. "Belnet then went looking for an external data center partner. The quality was assessed on the basis of strict criteria in terms of:
"The presence of various operators and continuity are crucial for our services. We strive for operational excellence!" - Dirk Haex, technical director Belnet
After comparing several potential partners, LCL turned out to be the best in the test. “Belnet has a national network of more than 2500 km of fibre optic, but the short distance between the PoP and the end user has to be bridged by a leased line. This is why the presence of various operators in the data center is of such great importance. Continuity is also crucial. Belnet strives for operational excellence and therefore needs an 'always on' network'", says Dirk Haex.
Belnet currently uses its own space with about twenty racks at LCL Diegem. Sixteen educational and government organisations are connected to Belnet via LCL Diegem, including the VUB (Free University of Brussels) and three companies on the BNIX platform.
“When we had to choose a data center in 2012, LCL already scored very highly in terms of security. They already had a tier 3 certificate, which gave us a lot of confidence. "This, in combination with our various certificates, has further strengthened Belnet's confidence in LCL. “Furthermore, despite its growth, LCL has remained very flexible, allowing us to switch quickly if necessary. We can quickly deliver patches to the meet-me-rooms, for example."
"LCL's data center was Tier 3 certified back in 2012. This shows that you can count on LCL." - D. Haex
Belnet was also pleased with LCL’s degree of continuity and communication style.
"Since we became a customer at LCL, our continuity has been fine and that is very important to us," says Haex. "The services our customers expect from us are critical and must be available at all times. "The presence of many telecom operators at LCL guarantees this continuity."
“We are ultimately very satisfied with the communication with LCL. If tests are to be carried out, we are always given proper information about them. Great cooperation!"
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