IPS Types

Service Variant Types

Equinix offers the IPS platform in the following service variants:

Variant Service Deployment Management Portal
IPS Shared Shared Host Multi-tenant virtualization vCenter
IPS Dedicated Dedicated Host Single-tenant virtualization vCenter

Service Variant Differences

The following table highlights the key differences between the IPS variants in the areas of management, licensing, purchase units, and disaster recovery (DR).

IPS Shared IPS Dedicated
Available Slough (LD7), London Docklands (LD8), and North London (LD9) Available Slough (LD7), London Docklands (LD8), and North London (LD9)
Management via vCenter Management via vCenter
Shared Compute platform Dedicated Hosts
Highly available Internet Protocol (IP) transit Highly available Internet Protocol (IP) transit
No overages possible Overages possible – billed monthly
Standard solution with possibilities for customization Dedicated, highly customizable solution
Suitable for DR on application level Suitable for DR at platform and application level
Microsoft Windows and SQL licensing available Microsoft Windows and SQL licensing available or Bring Your Own License (BYOL) options

Use Cases of IPS Variants

IPS dedicated is a suitable environment for most workloads and applications. Examples of use cases where you may need more in-depth access or control over the platform are:

  • Compliance requirements – entire environment dedicated.

  • Third-party vCenter integration

  • Direct vCenter access

  • Active use of compute resources at the (DR) location

  • In-depth control over DR fallback implementation and execution

  • License restrictions

  • Custom solutions

If one or more of the examples listed above applies to you, the IPS dedicated platform may be a better option.

Advantages of IPS

  • OPEX model – efficient use of compute, storage, and network functions without hardware investment.

  • Possibility to scale - start with a small purchase (monthly costs).

  • Possibility to apply customer’s own Microsoft Server application licenses.

  • Suitable for business continuity

  • Safety and security in Equinix facilities

  • Data sovereignty

  • Multi-tenancy