Data centre interconnect (DCI) is the private, high-capacity network link that joins two or more data centres so they can work as one. Whether you are replicating databases to a disaster recovery site, stretching an application across cities or connecting your racks to a public cloud, DCI is the layer that moves your data between buildings quickly, securely and without touching the public internet.
This guide explains what data centre interconnect is, how it works, why businesses rely on it and what to look for when you choose a DCI provider in Malaysia and across Asia Pacific.
What is data centre interconnect?
Data centre interconnect is a dedicated connection between data centres, delivered over fibre or optical network infrastructure. It provides low-latency, high-bandwidth links that carry critical workloads between sites, whether those sites are in the same city, the same region or on different continents.
Unlike a connection over the public internet, a DCI circuit is private. Your traffic runs on a network path reserved for your business, so performance is predictable and your data is never exposed to the open internet.
How does DCI work?
A DCI service links a port in one data centre to a port in another across a carrier’s fibre network. At X86 Network, a typical DCI deployment follows four steps:
- Choose your nodes. Select two or more on-net data centres, or ask us to extend the network to a new site.
- Pick your bandwidth. Start anywhere from 10 Mbps up to n×100 Gbps, with protected or unprotected paths.
- Activate. Layer 2 circuits between on-net locations can go live the next business day, monitored by a 24/7 Network Operation Centre (NOC).
- Scale on demand. Upgrade capacity as you grow, without downtime or a network redesign.
Resilience comes from path diversity. A protected DCI circuit uses a working path and a separate protection path. If the working path is cut, traffic switches to the protection path automatically. This self-healing design keeps applications available even during a fibre cut.
Why do businesses need data centre interconnect?
Very few organisations run everything from a single building any more. Production, backup, cloud and edge workloads are spread across several sites, and they all need to talk to each other. DCI solves four common problems.
1. Business continuity and disaster recovery
Every minute of downtime costs revenue, productivity and customer trust. DCI lets you replicate data continuously to a secondary site and fail over quickly when something goes wrong. Redundant paths keep mission-critical systems reachable during an outage.
2. Data sovereignty and compliance
Banking, healthcare and government organisations often have to keep data within specific countries or regions. With DCI you control exactly which data centres your data passes through, so you can move information between sites without crossing restricted borders.
3. Hybrid and multi-cloud
Modern businesses run on more than one cloud platform. DCI connects your private infrastructure to public cloud environments over low-latency private links, keeping transfers fast and operations simple across every environment.
4. Growth without limits
Seasonal spikes, new markets and new applications all bring unpredictable demand. Because DCI bandwidth can scale from megabits to multiple 100 Gbps links, your network grows with the business instead of holding it back.
What are the benefits of DCI?
- Low latency: direct fibre routes keep the delay between sites to a minimum, which supports real-time replication and synchronisation.
- Security: traffic runs over private network layers, never the public internet, and encryption can be added for sensitive data in transit.
- Reliability: protected paths and a self-healing network, backed by an SLA of up to 99.9%.
- Predictable performance: dedicated capacity means no contention with other users’ traffic.
- Speed to market: on-net circuits can be activated in days, not months.
Who uses data centre interconnect?
- Cloud providers stitching availability zones and edge sites into one low-latency fabric.
- Carriers and ISPs extending their footprint to new points of presence without building their own fibre.
- Enterprises with several data centres that replicate, back up and fail over between primary and DR sites.
- Financial services and e-commerce teams that cannot afford a slow or broken link.
DCI vs Ethernet Private Line: what is the difference?
Both are private connections, but they solve different problems. DCI links data centres to each other, usually where your servers, storage and cloud on-ramps live. An Ethernet Private Line (EPL) is a dedicated Layer 2 point-to-point link between two business locations, such as an office and a data centre, often across borders. Many organisations use both: EPL to reach their sites and DCI to join their data centres.
How to choose a DCI provider
When you compare data centre interconnect providers, ask these questions:
- Coverage: are your current and future data centres on-net, or will you pay for long new builds?
- Bandwidth range: can the same provider take you from 10 Mbps today to 100 Gbps tomorrow?
- Protection: are diverse working and protection paths available?
- Activation time: how quickly can an on-net circuit go live?
- Support: is the network monitored 24/7, with a clear SLA?
Frequently asked questions about DCI
Is DCI secure?
Yes. DCI traffic runs over private network layers rather than the public internet, which greatly reduces exposure to threats. For highly sensitive data, encryption can be added to protect information in transit.
What is the typical latency between data centres?
Latency depends mainly on the distance between sites and the route the fibre takes. Links within the same city are very low latency, while international routes add delay with distance. Good route design keeps paths as direct as possible, which supports real-time replication and synchronisation.
What happens if a fibre is cut?
On a protected circuit, traffic switches automatically from the working path to the protection path, which follows a different route. Your applications stay connected while the damaged fibre is repaired.
What if my data centre is not on the provider’s network?
Most providers can extend their network to a new building. Ask about the additional lead time and cost, and check whether the extension will have the same protection options as on-net sites.
Data centre interconnect with X86 Network
X86 Network runs DCI over private, dedicated optical fibre from our home in Kuala Lumpur and Cyberjaya to more than 100 on-net data centres across Asia Pacific, Europe and the Americas. Circuits scale from 10 Mbps to n×100 Gbps, Layer 2 on-net locations can be activated the next business day, and every link is watched by our 24/7 NOC.
Explore our Data Centre Interconnect service and search the full list of points of presence, or see how DCI links our colocation sites in Cyberjaya. Ready to design your network? Talk to our sales team.
