At its re:Invent 2024 convention Sunday night in Las Vegas, Amazon introduced a considerably uncommon new service for Amazon Net Providers (AWS) clients: Information Switch Terminal, a set of bodily areas the place clients can plug of their storage gadgets to add knowledge to the AWS cloud.
From the AWS administration console, clients can reserve a time slot, optionally assign course of and knowledge switch specialists from their group, and go to a Information Switch Terminal location to add their knowledge. Every location is supplied with a patch panel, fiber optic cable, and a PC for monitoring add progress.
The primary Information Switch Terminal areas are in New York Metropolis and Los Angeles, with extra to come back sooner or later.
“On your reserved date and time, [you’ll] visit the location and confirm access with the building reception,” AWS principal advocate Channy Yun defined in a weblog publish. “[You’ll then be] escorted by building staff to the floor and your reserved room of the Data Transfer Terminal location … Don’t be surprised if there are no AWS signs in the building or room. This is for security reasons to keep your work location as secret as possible.”
Now, why would somebody need to lug all their arduous drives to a constructing and sit round and anticipate the add to complete? Nicely, Amazon claims that Information Switch Terminal delivers quick add speeds (as much as 400Gbps) through a safe, “high throughput” connection.
You’ll must pay for the privilege, although. Amazon prices “per port hour” for utilization of ports in Information Switch Terminal areas throughout a reservation — even when no knowledge is being transferred.
“At a minimum, you’ll be charged per port hour for the number of hours reserved,” reads an Amazon help web page. “You’ll be charged for port hours for each port you use and/or request as part of your reservation.”
Per-port prices are $300 for “U.S. to U.S.” knowledge transfers (i.e. uploads from a Information Switch Terminal location to a U.S.-based AWS knowledge middle) and $500 for “U.S. to EU” transfers (uploads to an EU AWS knowledge middle). Amazon doesn’t record the worth for transfers from the U.S. to the remainder of the world.
