Connect. Secure. Manage.
Data Centre Interconnects
Connect data centres with Cisco interconnect designs that address application needs, failure domains and the risks of extending network services.
Devices supported
across the UK
Client locations
supported
Traffic handled
at peak time
Average
response time
Average response is not a resolution time or a contractual guarantee. Support scope and response commitments are agreed for each engagement.
Data centre interconnects link systems across sites. Some traffic needs to cross that boundary; other services should stay separate. We design Cisco-led links around those choices, including capacity, routing and the effect of faults. The aim is to share what you need without letting one site’s network problem spread to the others.
Workload-led design
Start with application, compute and storage dependencies rather than the switch model.
Clear failure domains
Understand which links, devices and sites can fail together.
Operational clarity
Make fabrics, external routing and management responsibilities supportable.
Define what the applications require
We find the workloads, replication, management and user traffic that need to move between locations. Some apps need routed reachability; others may have a specific need for Layer 2 adjacency. We examine the reason for each need with the app and platform owners rather than accepting a blanket request to stretch every VLAN.
Recovery aims are considered separately from ordinary network access. An interconnect can transport replication traffic without determining whether the app is consistent or ready to fail over. The design records those dependencies and ownership boundaries. This prevents a network service from being presented as a complete disaster-recovery solution when storage, identity or app decisions remain unresolved.
Standards & partnerships
Confidence in the team behind your network.
Cisco Partner
Cisco Meraki
Cyber Essentials
Cyber Essentials PlusMCI Network Services is operated by Proxar Ltd. Certifications apply to the certified legal entity and the scope of its certificates. View accreditation information
Choose the appropriate network boundary
A routed interconnect can preserve clearer fault separation where workloads do not need a shared broadcast domain. Supported EVPN or other Cisco approaches may be suitable for more complex needs. We compare the options against scale, operational effort, endpoint behaviour and the consequences of a site or transport failure.
The design sets out which policies remain local and which are coordinated across sites. Shared addressing, gateways and security services receive clear treatment. The aim is not maximum extension but the minimum network access needed to deliver the service reliably. Where Layer 2 extension is justified, its scope and risks are documented rather than hidden inside a generic availability claim.
A useful starting point
Not sure where to start?
Bring the requirement. We will help you define the engineering work.
Assess the transport and its real dependencies
Circuit bandwidth, latency, loss, MTU and provider handoffs influence the design. We review contracted characteristics alongside available measurements and ask for evidence of physical diversity where resilience depends on it. Two services can share ducts, access carriers or equipment even when their commercial names differ. Unverified separation is recorded as an assumption.
Capacity planning includes normal traffic, recovery activity and the surviving state after a failure. Replication or workload movement can create demand very different from steady-state app traffic. We also examine encryption and security needs separately from transport privacy. A private carrier service is not automatically an encrypted service, and its use does not remove the need for controlled access.
Different environments. The same care.
Built around the work
your network supports.
Finance, banking and the wider private sector. We start with the systems and people that depend on your connections.
Finance & banking
Market-data paths, routing and provider coordination on clients’ behalf.
Financial-market services ↗Offices & multi-site teams
Reliable access between people, workplaces and business applications.
Office network design ↗Data centres & cloud
Network boundaries, workload connections and operational ownership.
Data centre networks ↗Integrate routing and inspection across locations
The interconnect needs clear prefix ownership, route exchange and gateway placement. We set out what each site advertises and how traffic changes when a path or location is unavailable. Default routes, summaries and redistribution are reviewed for unintended transit or black-holing. The return path is considered alongside the forward route.
Stateful firewalls and other security services may constrain failover. A network route can recover while an app session still needs to reconnect or pass through a surviving inspection point. We document those effects and coordinate with the relevant owners. The design should explain the expected service behaviour, not only the sequence of routing updates.
Validate failure, recovery and restoration
Acceptance tests reflect the needs agreed at the start. They can include representative app flows, large-packet tests, capacity observations and authorised transport failures. We record the conditions and results so that theoretical resilience is not confused with shown behaviour. Tests that cannot safely be performed remain visible as limitations.
Restoration matters as much as initial failover. Returning a circuit or site can move traffic again and expose inconsistent policy. We check the intended operating state after recovery and identify any manual decision required from app or storage teams. The interconnect is accepted as one part of a wider service, with duties documented for the other parts.
Keep cross-site operations controlled
The handover includes topology, circuit references, routing policy, capacity assumptions and escalation routes. Changes at one site are reviewed for their effect on the other, especially where network segments or security services are shared. Monitoring should distinguish loss of redundancy from complete service failure and provide evidence that both teams can interpret.
MCI can design a new interconnect, review an inherited arrangement or support a data-centre move. Related services include interconnect design and disaster recovery networking. Provide the locations, app needs and available transport information to begin. We will define a Cisco-led design with clear boundaries and a practical acceptance plan.
Talk to a specialist
What does your network need next?
Tell us what you are planning, changing or trying to improve. We will help define a practical next step and the engineering scope.
+44 203 196 6566Choose option 1
sales@proxar.co.ukUK-wide service.
Most of our engineers are based in Kent, with a focus on London, Sussex, Essex and Berkshire.
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