Vapor
IO and Crown
Castle today announced a jointly developed service that seamlessly
interconnects Vapor IO’s Kinetic
Edge with Amazon
Web Services (AWS) via Crown Castle’s high-speed Cloud
Connect. This unique product enables a new class of mobile and
wireless edge applications that span the continuum from edge to core.
Starting today, customers at Vapor IO’s Kinetic Edge can build edge
applications that interconnect with AWS over an operator-grade fiber
optic network. Built atop AWS
Direct Connect, this collaborative offering unlocks a powerful class
of edge applications that split workloads and data between the mobile
edge and centralized locations, delivering a seamless end-to-end
experience.
“By directly connecting AWS services to applications at the Kinetic
Edge, we’re bringing the full power of the cloud to the last mile
wireless network, delivering the foundation of a true edge-to-core
architecture for developers,” said Cole Crawford, founder and CEO of
Vapor IO. “We are aggressively rolling out the Kinetic Edge across a
national footprint that will reach over 20 markets by the end of 2020
with a planned deployment of over 80 additional markets. By
incorporating AWS Direct Connect into our last mile network, we enable
seamless cloud integration for edge applications.”
Customers of Vapor IO’s Kinetic Edge can build applications on AWS that
directly interact with Vapor IO’s tower-connected data centers at the
edge of the cellular wireless network, via Crown Castle’s dedicated
high-speed fiber link. This will allow developers to build wireless and
mobile edge applications that can reduce network costs, increase
bandwidth throughput, and rely on a more consistent network experience
than Internet-based connections.
AWS at the Kinetic Edge
Developers building applications at the Kinetic Edge will have access to
the full suite of AWS cloud computing services including Amazon Simple
Storage Service (Amazon S3), Amazon Elastic Cloud Compute (Amazon EC2),
Amazon Virtual Private Cloud (Amazon VPC) and Amazon Relational Database
Service (Amazon RDS). These capabilities leverage Crown Castle’s Cloud
Connect service, which enables customers to provision one or more 50Mbps
to 500Mbps capacity AWS Direct Connect Hosted Connections between the
Kinetic Edge and AWS.
Crown Castle offers one of the largest fiber footprints in the country
and has been an early pioneer in edge infrastructure, providing the
fiber backbone that supports much of Vapor IO’s Kinetic Edge, including
backhaul to key internet exchange points (IXPs). By offering Cloud
Connect capabilities to the Kinetic Edge, customers can develop
cloud-based mobile applications on AWS that support edge workloads via a
direct connection that can lower costs while also delivering increased
reliability and throughput.
“Over the past two years, we’ve been working very closely with Vapor IO
to build out their Kinetic Edge using our real estate and fiber assets
in many US cities,” said Phil Olivero, VP Technology, Crown Castle.
“Chicago, the world’s first Kinetic Edge city, proved to be the ideal
location for us to connect the Kinetic Edge directly to AWS. As Vapor IO
rolls out the Kinetic Edge to new cities, we plan to extend our Cloud
Connect to also connect to AWS in those locations. This will empower our
mutual customers to build high-performance edge-enabled mobile
applications using AWS.”
An Example: Speeding up Mobile Gaming
AWS customer Network
Next will use Vapor IO’s Kinetic Edge and Crown Castle’s Cloud
Connect to run mobile edge workloads that deliver improved performance
for multiplayer mobile games built to run on AWS. Network Next leverages
bare metal servers on the Kinetic Edge, provided by Kinetic
Edge Alliance partner Packet,
in order to run highly specialized packet processors that leverage AWS
Direct Connect to enhance gaming performance.
“Our customers run a massive number of game servers on AWS and we work
with them to improve performance for mobile clients via the Kinetic
Edge,” said Glenn Fiedler, CEO of Network Next. “As gaming companies
increasingly look to bring high-speed multiplayer games like Fortnite to
mobile platforms, our sophisticated edge processing connects players
back to AWS in the most optimal fashion, giving a true edge-to-core
experience.”
Availability
Crown Castle’s Cloud Connect solution is already available today in 14
AWS Direct Connect locations in AWS US-East and US-West Regions,
supporting over 32,000 locations included in Crown Castle’s fiber
network. Crown Castle’s solution will also be available in most Kinetic
Edge locations starting with Chicago, IL, which is generally available
today. Vapor IO plans to deploy the Kinetic Edge to over 100 US cities
with the first six deploying now. These six are: Atlanta, Chicago,
Dallas, Los Angeles, Pittsburgh, and Seattle.
About Vapor IO
Vapor
IO is developing the largest nationwide edge colocation and
interconnection platform at the edge of the wireless cellular network.
Serving the world’s largest wireless carriers, cloud providers,
web-scale companies and other innovative enterprises, the company’s Kinetic
Edge combines multi-tenant colocation with software-defined
interconnection and high-speed networking. The Kinetic Edge delivers the
most flexible, highly-distributed edge infrastructure at the edge of the
wireless network. The company has plans to bring the Kinetic Edge to
over 100 cities and is currently deploying to its first six metropolitan
markets, including Chicago, IL, the company’s flagship deployment.
About Crown Castle
Crown
Castle owns, operates and leases more than 40,000 cell towers and
approximately 70,000 route miles of fiber supporting small cells and
fiber solutions across every major U.S. market. This nationwide
portfolio of communications infrastructure connects cities and
communities to essential data, technology and wireless service –
bringing information, ideas and innovations to the people and businesses
that need them. For more information on Crown Castle, please visit fiber.crowncastle.com
Resources
View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20190424005275/en/