August 11, 2020 | Alan burkitt-gray

PCCW Global Console Connect has partnered with Cloudfare to enable private and dedicated Console Connect connections to the Cloudflare network and services.

Users can now log into Console Connect and start self-provisioning private and direct Layer 2 connections to Cloudflare’s global network, PCCW Global said.

These connections bypass the public internet and essentially give Console Connect users a private gateway to a range of Cloudflare network solutions, the company added.

David Tuber, product manager at Cloudflare, said this is part of Cloudflare Network Interconnect (CNI). “CNI enables our customers to interconnect branch offices and headquarters directly with Cloudflare wherever they are, bringing Cloudflare’s full suite of network functions to their physical network edge. “

He added, “Using CNI for interconnection offers security, reliability and performance advantages over using the public Internet to connect to Cloudflare. And because of the global reach of Cloudflare’s network, connecting to our network is easy, no matter where on the planet your infrastructure and employees are located.

Console Connect said it “has enabled direct access to the Cloudflare network in cities in Asia, Africa, Europe and North America.”

In a blog post, Console Connect said, “Unlike other interconnect platforms on the market, only Console Connect can provide private connectivity to Cloudflare over a global Tier 1 IP network. This is because our automated structure is underpinned by PCCW Global’s main IP backbone.

Tuber cited an anonymous customer at an anonymous location using CNI to reduce the round trip time to Warsaw from 7.5 ms to 1 ms. The jitter “on the link has decreased from 82.9 to 0.3, which is a testament to the dedicated and reliable nature of the link,” Tuber said.