Glossary

Term, Abbreviations, Acronyms	Description
2N	A redundancy model which ensures that every component has a power backup such that the data center has no single point of failure.
A	Amp, a unit of electrical current.
AC	See Alternating Current (AC).
ACAE	See Air Conditioning Airflow Efficiency (ACAE).
Access Enrollment	Equinix Customer Portal requires a security access assignment. You can request "grant access" or request "remove access".
Access Token	A credential used to communicate with the API.
ACL	See Access Control List (ACL).
Access Control List (ACL)	The list used by customers to enable and communicate site access authorization of approved employees and third-party vendors. Customers can maintain their ACLs via GCP/ECP or by contacting the Equinix Global Service Desk (GSD).
Additional Interconnection Products	These additional interconnection services cover cabling services such as Intra Facility Cabling (IFC) and Patch Cable Installations.
Aggregator	On Enterprise Equinix Fabric, aggregators are Network Service Providers (NSPs) and Managed Service Providers (MSPs) who provide multi-tenant services. Aggregators are both buyers of Equinix Fabric service from Equinix and sellers of value-added services over Equinix Fabric to their end customers.
AHU	Air Handling Unit
Air Conditioning Airflow Efficiency (ACAE)	The amount of heat removed per standard cubic foot of airflow per minute.
Air Mixing	The unintended mixing of cold and hot air.
Airside Economizer	A device consisting of fans, ducting and a control which utilizes outside air directly to cool the data center when environmental conditions allow. Air is typically filtered, brought into existing distribution system and then exhausted back to the atmosphere.
Aisle	The open space between rows of racks. Best practice dictates racks should be arranged with consistent orientation of front and back to create ‘cold' and ‘hot' aisles.
Alternating Current (AC)	The designation given to power that is delivered in the form of a sinusoidal wave form. AC won out over DC as the preferred method of delivering and using power in the industrial age due to the ease of voltage transformation using static devices (transformers).
AM	Account Manager
AMER	Americas (United States, Canada, Brazil)
AMS	Asset Management System
AP	Asia Pacific, also known as APAC
API	Application Programming Interface
APAC	Asia Pacific, also known as AP
ARD	Alternate Resolution Date
ASHRAE	American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE) is an international technical society organized to advance the arts and sciences of air management.
A-side	The Ordering Customer Point.
A-side Demarc	The Ordering Customer Demarcation Point.
Assets	All products pertaining to interconnection and colocation installation services. For a full list of assets, refer to List of Assets under the Appendix section.
ASTS	Automatic Static Transfer Switch
Authentication Key	The Authentication Key is a unique identifier authorizing Equinix to provision a connection towards the CSP. This Key usually contains alphanumeric characters. Note: to Equinix, an Authentication Key is a generic term and is not encrypted on Equinix Fabric. Cloud Service Providers might use a different name to refer to the same key. For example: Azure ExpressRoute calls the authorization key the “service key” while AWS calls it the “account ID.”
Authorization key	The authorization key typically contains alpha-numeric characters and is a unique identifier authorizing Equinix to provision a connection towards the CSPNote: To Equinix, authorization key is a generic term and is NOT encrypted on Equinix Fabric. CSPs might use a different name to refer to the same key. For example: Azure ExpressRoute calls the authorization key the “service key” while AWS calls it the “account ID”
BACnet	A data communication protocol for building automation and control networks.
BAS	Building Automation System
BCI	Business Contact Information
BCM	Branch Circuit Monitoring
BCTR	See Business Continuity Trading Room (BCTR).
BGP	Border Gateway Protocol. A standardized exterior gateway protocol designed to exchange routing and reachability information between autonomous systems on the internet.
BGP Session	A routing session configured between two peers using the BGP. For standards reference, please see http://www.ietf.org/rfc/rfc4271.txt
BICSI	Building Industry Consulting Service International
Blanking Panel	A device mounted in unused U spaces in a rack that restricts recirculation airflow, also called blanking or filler plates.
BMMR	See Building Meet Me Room (BMMR).
BMR	Biometric Reader
BMS	Building Management System, synonymous with BAS, AMS and other computer-based tools used to manage data center assets.
BOM	Bill of Material
Branch Circuit Monitoring (BCM)	A monitoring system used to record and monitor an individual electrical circuit. Typical parameters that are monitored include amperage, voltage, power factor, apparent power (volt-amps), real power (watts) and energy usage (watt-hours). The branch circuit is typically defined to be the circuit fed by a single breaker or 3 phase set of breakers in a multi breaker panel.
Building Meet Me Room (BMMR)	A Building Meet Me Room (BMMR) is an MMR within the same building where an Equinix IBX customer can connect with a non-Equinix IBX customer. For more information, see Extended cross connects in the Cross Connects Data Sheet.
Business Continuity Trading Room (BCTR)	A dedicated space that allows customers business recovery and continuity in the event of a crisis. For more detailed information, see Business Continuity Trading Rooms.
BTU	British Thermal Unit, a unit of energy. 1kWh = 3412BTU. Cooling equipment capacity is commonly specified in BTU/hr.
Buyer	A buyer is a user who connects to an available service through Equinix Fabric. A buyer can be an enterprise end customer of the seller service or an aggregator, managed service provider, network service provider or system integrator company that bundles its service offerings with Equinix Fabric.
BYOL	Bring Your Own License (BYOL) means that you’ve already procured a license from the vendor and will enter it into the NE portal to activate the device. There are no charges associated with this license type since your licensing arrangement is directly with the vendor.
Bypass Airflow	Conditioned air that does not reach computer equipment. With fixed speed fans (common in DX equipment), some bypass air is inevitable and without containment, some bypass air is prudent. Unintended bypass air can occur by escaping through cable cut-outs, holes under cabinets, misplaced perforated tiles or holes in the computer room perimeter walls.
C	Degrees Celsius
C/H	Cooling/Heating
CAB	See Cabinet (CAB).
Cabinet (CAB)	A closed structure inside our data centers that houses servers typically made of metal with rails, grounding studs, interior shelving, etc. Cabinets house the customer's equipment within a private cage. For more information on Equinix cabinets, see Cages and Cabinets.
CAC	See Cold Aisle Containment (CAC).
CADE	Corporate Average Data Center Efficiency.
Cage	A cage is a secluded, secure area within a data center where customers install cabinets and power circuits. The enclosure subdivides colocation space within a data center using mesh walls, a door, security panels, etc. For more information on Equinix cabinets, see Cages and Cabinets.
CapEx	Capital Expense, the cost of purchasing capital equipment.
Campus Cross Connect	A cross connect type that allows the customer to connect to a service provider in a different IBX no further than 10km away using single-mode fiber. Campus cross connects are a subset of standard cross connects. For more information, see Cross Connects Data Sheet.
Carbon Footprint	A measurement of the volume of Carbon Dioxide generated by business operations, units are commonly metric tons.
Carbon Usage Effectiveness (CUE)	A metric defined by the Green Grid, which is a measure of data center sustainability in terms of data center specific carbon emissions. CUE is calculated by dividing the “total CO2 emissions caused by total data center energy” by the “energy consumption of the IT computing equipment”. An alternative way to calculate CUE is by multiplying the data center’s annual PUE by the Carbon Emissions Factor for the region as determined by the EPA. The units of CUE are kilograms of carbon dioxide per kilowatt-hour.
CC	See Cross Connect (CC).
CFA	Carrier Facilities Assignment or Circuit Facility Assignment
CFD	Computational Fluid Dynamics, a numerical analysis technique commonly used in the analysis of airflow in data centers.
CFM	Cubic Feet per Minute, a unit of flow rate, commonly used to specify airflow.
CFR	Capacity Feasibility Review
Chiller	A unit consisting of a compressor, a condensing section and an expansion section. The condensing and expansion sections nearly always have water or glycol as the heat transfer agent to the rest of the system; primary water/glycol on the condensing side and secondary water on the expansion side.
Close Coupled Cooling	Cooling technology that is installed adjacent to server racks, minimizing the path that air must flow from the cooling unit through the IT equipment and back to the cooling unit.
Equinix Fabric Port	A type of network port that connects customer to leading cloud service providers (CSP) on the Equinix Fabric™.
CMR	Critical Maintenance Request
CO	Change Order
CoE	See Coefficient of Effectiveness (COE).
Coefficient of Effectiveness (COE)	Uptime Institute metric based on the Nash-Sutcliffe model efficiency coefficient.
Coefficient of Performance (COP)	Used to rate the effectiveness of heat pumps or cooling units. It is the ratio of the load on a cooling unit and the energy that it uses.
Cold Aisle	An aisle where rack fronts face into the aisle that cool air is directed to.
Cold Aisle Containment (CAC)	A system that directs cool air from air conditioning equipment to the inlet side of racks in a highly efficient manner.
Cold Spot	An area where ambient air temperature is below desired levels. Typically caused by ineffective airflow management necessitating a temperature setpoint lower than that which would be required with proper airflow management.
Colo	See Colocation (Colo).
Colocation (Colo)	A practice in which many different companies or "tenants" share a data center building for economic efficiencies, as well as to digitally interconnect with other companies within the same facility or campus.
Component/microservice	A piece of an overall solution that can be built individually or as part of a larger end-to-end solution
Computer Room Air Conditioner (CRAC)	CRAC (pronounced crack) uses refrigerant and a compressor. Cooling of the air in the data center is accomplished by airflow over the evaporation coils where the refrigerant is being "directly expanded" (see DX).
Compute	Compute refers to the resources or assets necessary to run a device in the ENE platform. In most ways, the ENE platform is an infrastructure as a service platform underneath, but we typically do not ask customers to get involved in that aspect of the platform. To run efficiently, each device and/or service requires some pre-determined amount of compute. Equinix has thoroughly tested each device and service with the vendor before offering it to the public. This testing ensures that the amount of compute selected on the user's behalf is already optimized to run smoothly with the vendor's recommendations. Customers do not need to customize or tweak the compute in most cases.
Connection	Connection is a general term that refers to any solution that results in the ability to pass data from one point to another. Connections can be made with Layer 2 or Layer 3 technology, may involve several parts or components and can be created from the portal or with APIs in a variety of ways.
Containment	Using either long curtains or rigid plastic to maintain a physical barrier between a hot and cold aisle. Keeping warm exhaust air away from the intake of the server racks is a crucial part of making any data center more efficient.
Cooling Tower	A device which cools water via the direct evaporation of some of the water. Water is pumped into the top of the cooling tower and allowed to run down over the fill, typically pads or strips into a sump at the bottom of the cooling tower. Air is drawn in from the sides over the fill by fans in the top of the tower, evaporating some of the water which cools the remaining water. The temperature of the water in the sump is controlled by varying the speed of the fans. The water in the sump is then used to cool the condensing section of a chiller or to cool the secondary loop directly via a heat exchanger (see water side economizer).
COP	See Coefficient of Performance (COP).
CR	Computer Room
CRAC	See Computer Room Air Conditioner (CRAC).
CRAH	Computer Room Air Handler (pronounced craw) which uses chilled water passing through a heat exchanger to cool air flowing over the heat exchanger.
CRD	Customer Requirements Document
Critical Load	Computer equipment whose uptime is critical, typically supported by a UPS.
CRM	Customer Relations Manager
Cross Connect (CC)	A cross connect is a point-to-point cable link between two customers in the same IBX. With cross connects customers receive a fast, convenient and affordable integration with business partners and service providers within the Equinix digital ecosystem. They also get highly reliable, extremely low-latency communication, system integration and data exchange For more information on cross connects, see Equinix Cross Connects.
CSI	Cold Supply Infiltration index, quantifies the amount of hot air mixing with cold inlet air prior to entering the rack.
CSM	Customer Success Manager (formerly known as client services manager)
Cloud Service Provider CSP	A Cloud Service Provider (CSP) is a company that offers some type of cloud services to other businesses or individuals. In this context, that can include: cloud computing, cloud storage, cloud content delivery network (CDN) and more. Typical CSPs include Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS), Software as a Service (SaaS) and Platform as a Service (PaaS).
CT	See Current Transformer (CT).
CUE	See Carbon Usage Effectiveness (CUE).
Current Transformer (CT)	A device used to transform electrical current from one level to another with a specific ratio. For example, a 5000:5 current transformer transforms current on the primary side to current on the secondary side with a ratio of 1000:1. CTs are typically used to transform large currents to much smaller currents so that standard metering equipment can be used on a variety of circuits by measuring the secondary current rather than the large primary current.
Customer Organization	A customer grouping within the portal that is comprised of its company accounts.
Customer Signature	Customer signature required for approval prior to any order fulfillment. This is for customers who specifically request this process step.
Cutout	An open area.
CW	Chilled Water
CX	Customer Experience
Data Center infrastructure Efficiency (DCiE)	A metric developed by the Green Grid, data center infrastructure efficiency is an efficiency measure that is calculated by dividing the IT equipment power consumption by the power consumption of the entire data center. This measure is the inverse of PUE.
D/H	Dehumidifying/Humidifying.
DC	Data center
DC	See Direct Current (DC).
DCiE	See Data Center infrastructure Efficiency (DCiE).
DCIM	Data Center Infrastructure Management
Dead Band	A control technique which prevents oscillation or unnecessary cycling of a controlled variable. In data center cooling, it typically applies to the action of the CRAC or CRAH relative to the set point. A certain amount of dead band around the set point prevents unnecessary cycling of the compressor or chilled water valve.
Delta T	The difference in temperature across a device. Examples include the temperature difference between the inlet and outlet of piece of IT equipment or between the inlet and outlet of a cooling unit (CRAC or CRAH). Delta T, airflow and thermal dissipation are related: thermal dissipation = airflow x delta T x specific heat of air.
Demarc	See Demarc Point (Demarc).
Demarc Point (Demarc)	A demarc (abbreviation for demarcation point) marks the point of the cage/ rack/ panel/ ports where Equinix hands off a cross connect to the customer.
Dew point	The temperature at which air reaches water vapor saturation. Dew point is constant for a specific amount of water in a specific amount of air while relative humidity varies with temperature. The latest ASHRAE spec for data center environmental conditions includes an upper limit for humidity based on dew point.
Direct Current (DC)	A non-time varying method of delivering power. While slightly more efficient then AC if utilized between the DC portion of the UPS and the power supplies in IT equipment, it has not won wide acceptance in modern data centers.
Direct Expansion (DX)	The use of refrigerant directly expanded into evaporation coils in the supply air stream of an air conditioning unit.
Diversity	Two physical paths/ ports are created to provide redundancy. When the working path/port is down, the protection path/ port can be used.
Dry Cooler	A liquid to air heat exchanger that is a radiator over which air is blown via fans. Typically used as the heat rejection device for water or glycol cooled condensers, may also be used as the heat rejection device for liquid cooled coils in an AHU under proper environmental conditions.
Dry-Bulb Temperature	The temperature of the air measured using a dry bulb thermometer such that evaporative cooling has no effect. Typically taken in conjunction with a wet bulb reading which does include the evaporative cooling effect in order to determine relative humidity.
Dual-Diverse Metro Connect	A metro connect that provides resiliency for WAN connections with two diverse fiber paths and two switches at each IBX location. This provides further redundancy. For more information, see Equinix Metro Connect Services.
DWDM	Dense Wavelength Division Multiplexing
DX	See Direct Expansion (DX).
ECEE	Equinix Carrier Ethernet Exchange™
ECO	Equinix Customer One. A company-wide platform to simplify and standardize the way we do business with our customers.
Economization	A way of utilizing the local environment around the data center to aid in cooling of the IT load by natural means rather than use more energy. There are two common types of economization: Airside Economization, and Waterside Economization; sometimes referred to as LINK. Economization is a great benefit to those who can take advantage of it due to the large energy-saving opportunity.
ECP	See Equinix Customer Portal (ECP).
ECX Fabric	ECX Fabric is an advanced interconnection solution that improves performance by providing a direct, private network connection.
ED	Equinix Direct
EFC	See Equivalent Full Cabinets (EFC).
EIS	Enterprise Information Systems
EMEA	Europe, Middle East, Africa
End customer/end device/CPE	The entity and/or devices managed by that entity that ultimately interact with the services bought over the ECX platform
ENE	"Equinix Network Edge" is a generic industry term referring to the act of turning network actvities, protocols, traffic flow, and design - into a software service or code. This take a lot of forms from purely new network and traffic flow methods and operating systems to making an entire hardware device accessible via a GUI. In Equinix' context we use it loosely to refer to designing and configuring network solutions using our platform and software, regardless of the device, object, component, or vendor
EOC	Equinix Operations Center
EQIX	Equinix
Equinix Connect	A cross connect from the customer's server to the Equinix connect server in a data center that offers direct access to the public internet.
Equinix Customer Portal (ECP)	A self-service portal that allows customers to manage day-to-day interactions including routine requests, opening work tickets, placing orders, and scheduling visits online. Also referred to Global Customer Portal.
Equivalent Full Cabinets (EFC)	The number of full cabinets that would exist if all the equipment in the data center were concentrated in full cabinets.
Equinix Infrastructure Services (EIS)	Services delivered by Equinix hardware experts for cage design, installation, and structured cabling for new data center deployments.
Equinix Internet Exchange	Peering or data exchange between two public internet networks. Equinix Internet Exchange enables customers to exchange internet traffic through public peering on the largest peering platform in the world. For more information, see Equinix Internet Exchange.
Equinix Professional Services	Services delivered by our experts for assessing, designing, migrating and optimizing data center and cloud architectures
ESD	Electrostatic Discharge, more commonly ‘static discharge'.
ESD	Equinix Service Desk, now known as Global Service Desk (GSD).
Extended Cross Connect	A type of cross connect that allows a customer to connect to another customer that is not in an Equinix IBX, but both have a point of presence in the same building, through a Building Meet Me Room (BMMR). For more information, see Cross Connects Data Sheet.
Extended Fiber Connect	A type of cross connect that links a customer’s cabinet in an Equinix IBX to a third-party Meet Me Room (MMR) in the same metro. For more information, see Fiber Connect.
Equinix Network Edge	Equinix Network Edge is the latest offer in our interconnection portfolio and represents a significant leap in a customer's ability to deploy and manage network in a rapid on-demand way.
F	Degrees Fahrenheit
FG	Functional Group
Fiber Connect	A type of interconnection that allows a customer to link a customer’s cabinet in an IBX to another cabinet in a different IBX in the same metro when a standard cross connect is not available. There are two kinds of Fiber connect: a Fiber Connect, and an Extended Fiber Connect. For more information, see Fiber Connect.
FOC	Firm Order Commitment
fSnD	Former Switch and Data
Ft2	Square feet, a unit of area.
GAM	Global Account Manager
GCC	Global Customer Care
GCP	Global Customer Portal. Also referred to as Equinix Customer Portal (ECP).
Global Interconnection Index (GXI)	The Global Interconnection Index is an annual report created by our company that tracks, measures and forecasts the growth of Interconnection bandwidth. It allows our customers to see how Interconnection is being built, deployed and consumed around the world. This knowledge helps them better understand how Interconnection can play an important role in their business.
GPL	Global Process Library
GPM	Gallons Per Minute, a unit of flow rate.
GPO	Global Process Organization
Green energy	Equinix's commitment to minimizing our environmental footprint through 100% clean and renewable energy which will result in carbon-neutral data centers.
GSD	Global Service Desk, formerly known as Equinix Service Desk (ESD).
GTS	Global Technology Services (also referred to as IT)
GXI	See Global Interconnection Index (GXI).
HAC	See Hot Aisle Containment (HAC).
Harmonic Distortion	Distortion in the line voltage waveform. Any cyclical waveform can be described as the sum of sine waves of various magnitudes which are integer multiples of the root frequency (60 Hz, 120 Hz, 180 Hz, etc.). Harmonics are often the result of the nonlinear loading of the power distribution system due to the nature of solid-state power supplies. Harmonics are detrimental to the efficiency and capacity of power delivery equipment and rotating equipment due to increased eddy current losses and non-fundamental frequency torques.
HDG	Hot Dipped Galvanized.
Heat Exchanger	A device used to transfer heat energy from one medium to another. Common uses of heat exchangers are water to air heat exchangers in air handling units, plate and frame heat exchangers in economizers, etc.
Hot Aisle	An aisle where rack backs face into the aisle. Heated exhaust air from the equipment in the racks enters this aisle and is then directed to the CRAC return vents.
Hot Aisle Containment (HAC)	A system that directs heated air from the outlet side of racks to air conditioning equipment return ducts in a highly efficient manner.
Hot Spot	An area, typically related to a rack or set of racks, where ambient air temperature is above acceptable levels. Typically caused by poor airflow management (insufficient cool air supply or an excess of recirculation).
Hp	Horsepower
HPD	High Power Density
HPDC	High-Performance Data Center, a data center with above average kW loading, typically greater than 10kW/rack.
Hr	Hour
HVAC	Heating, Ventilation and Air Conditioning system, the set of components used to condition interior air including heating and cooling equipment as well as ducting and related airflow devices.
Hybrid cloud	A hybrid cloud is a blended cloud architecture in which private clouds are connected to public clouds, usually for purposes of scaling up and/or delivering data. Hybrid cloud combines the best of public and private clouds.
IB	Installed Base
IBCC	Intra-Building Cross Connect
IBID	Intra-Building Inner duct
IBX	Equinix International Business Exchange™ (IBX®) data center
IBX Administrator	The secondary administrator of the customer organization who manages users for selected IBX locations as designated by the Master Administrator.
Equinix Flex Space	Equinix Flex Space space allows customers to deploy mission-critical operations, equipment and personnel in non-cage space within–or in close proximity to–our IBX data centers.
Equinix Smart View	Equinix's data center infrastructure monitoring product which gives our customers online, on-demand access to highly relevant environmental and electrical information about their Equinix deployments. The solution provides real-time visibility into core operating data relevant to a customer's data center footprint such as temperature, humidity, and power draw data for a specific cage.
ICE	Internet Core Exchange
IDF	Intermediate Distribution Frame
IEEE	Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers
IFC	See Intra Facility Cable (IFC).
IM	Implementation Manager
Inlet Air	The air entering the referenced equipment. For air conditioning equipment this is the heated air returning to be cooled, also called return air. For racks and servers this is the cooled air entering the equipment.
In-Row Cooling	Cooling technology installed between racks in a row that draws warm air from the hot aisle and delivers cool air to the cold aisle, minimizing the path of the air (see close coupled cooling).
Interconnection	Direct, private connections between two parties which enables the ability to exchange data without need for an intermediary.
Interconnection Bandwidth	The total capacity provisioned to privately and directly exchange traffic with a diverse set of counterparties and providers at distributed IT exchange points.
Interconnection Products	Products that facilitate physical connections within or between IBX locations, or virtual connections to service providers. For more information, see Interconnection Products.
Interface	An interface is a point on a device where data flows in and out. The virtual device is like a physical device because it has some amount of interfaces that allow it to transmit and receive data from the outside world. This can be in the form of an Internet connection, a connection to ECX, a service chain to another virtual device or any other communication.
Internet exchange	See Equinix Internet Exchange.
Internet Exchange Port	A type of network port that starts peering on the Equinix Internet Exchange.
Intra-Customer Cross Connect	A cross connect type that allows a customer to connect to their own cage or cabinet in the same suite or floor of the same IBX. For more information, see Cross Connects Data Sheet.
Intra-Facility Cabling (IFC)	An Intra-Facility Cabling (IFC) connects colocation spaces to the Meet Point Room for interconnection via Cross Connect.
Intra-Facility Cross Connect	A cross connect type that allows a customer to connect to another customer in select IBX locations where a Meet Me Room (MMR) architecture is used. For more information, see Cross Connects Data Sheet.
IP	Internet Protocol, a communications technology using the internet for communications.
IPv4	Version 4 of the IP protocol providing 32-bit addresses. For standards reference, please see http://www.ietf.org/ rfc/rfc791.txt
IPv6	Version 6 of the IP protocol providing 128-bit addresses. For standards reference, please see http://www.ietf.org/ rfc/rfc2460.txt
IP Transit	Refers to Internet Access.
IR	Incident Report
IR	Infrared spectrum used by thermal imaging technologies.
IXP	Internet Exchange Point
IX Platform	A network platform enabling the exchange of IP traffic between multiple peers on a many-to-many basis
IX Point	A specific instance of an IX Platform
JVM	Java Virtual Machine, Java interpreter. Software that converts the Java intermediate language into executable machine language.
kBTU	Kilo British Thermal Unit, one thousand BTU (see BTU).
kCFM	Kilo Cubic Feet per Minute, one thousand CFM (see CFM).
kV	Kilovolt, one thousand volts, (see V).
kVA	Kilovolt Amperes = voltage x current (amperage) (see VA)
KVM	Keyboard, Video, Mouse, an interface technology that enables users to access multiple servers remotely from one or more KVM sites. More obscurely, can also mean Kernel base Virtual Machine: a version of the Java Virtual Machine for small devices with limited memory.
kW	Kilowatt
kWh	Kilowatt-hour, one thousand watt-hours (see Wh). kWh is a common unit of electrical energy.
Latent Cooling	The process of condensing water out of air, then evaporating the water later. Energy is given up by the water during condensation. If the water is then later evaporated (such as from a drip tray), the amount of energy used to evaporate the water is the same as the amount of energy given up by the water vapor to the cooling equipment when it was condensed. Cooling is occurring later in time, hence the name "latent cooling". In a system where condensed water is pumped or drained away, the cooling that may occur from evaporation does not cool the environment where the condensation took place, so the cooling capacity spent condensing the water vapor is wasted energy.
Latent Cooling Capacity	Cooling capacity related to wet bulb temperature and objects that produce condensation.
Layer 2 (switching)	When the ECX Fabric makes forwarding decisions at the Ethernet protocol level (Layer 2), and does not examine the IP addressing the service
Layer 3 (routing)	Layer 3 connections occur when the ECX Fabric makes customer traffic forwarding decisions by examining the IP addressing of that traffic.
LEC	Local Exchange Carrier
License	Most virtual devices require a license from the vendor to deploy and operate the device. It will come with certain settings, such as maximum throughput and speeds, operating system, and other parameters. Individual vendors may have specific license types or terms, and users are encouraged to consult the vendor documentation to learn more about the options available.
Line Noise	Distortions superimposed on the power waveform that may cause electromagnetic interference.
Liquid Cooling	A general term used to refer to cooling technology that uses a liquid evacuate heat. In data centers, the two prevalent forms of heat evacuation are liquid (chilled water) and refrigerant (DX).
LOA	Letter of Authorization
Load	The demand placed on a system, typically used to describe the electrical demand on the electrical supply system or the cooling demand on the cooling system. Units are power such as kW, BTU/hr., Tons, etc.
MACD	Move, Add, Change, Delete
MAH	Makeup Air Handler, an air handler that conditions and delivers outside air into an occupied space.
Make-Up Air	The conditioned air delivered by a MAU or MAH.
Managed services	Services offering proactive monitoring of a customer's equipment.
Master Administrator	The primary administrator of the customer organization who manages all administrators and users access and permissions for all accounts across all locations within a portal organization.
MAU	Makeup Air Unit, synonymous with MAH.
Maximum Temperature Rate of Change	An ASHRAE standard established to ensure stable air temperatures. The standard is 9 degrees F per hour.
MC	See Media Converter (MC).
MDF	Main Distribution Frame
Media Converter (MC)	A media converter (MC)connects two dissimilar media types. e.g. fiber optic cabling can be connected to copper-based cabling with an MC.
Meet Me Room (MMR)	A space within a data center where ISPs, telecommunications carriers, cable companies and other companies handling lots of digital traffic can connect to one another and exchange data. In the case of Equinix, an MMR facilitates connections exclusively between Equinix customers. Only select IBX locations within the Americas and the EMEA region use MMR architecture. For more information, see Intra-facility cross connects in the Cross Connects Data Sheet.
MERV	Minimum Efficiency Reporting Value, ASHRAE 52.2, for air filtration measured in particulate size
Metro Connect	A point-to-point link between two IBX locations in the same Equinix metro area. Equinix Metro Connect services provide direct, dedicated, carrier-grade network links between customers in one IBX data center and partners in another IBX within the same metro. With Metro Connect, customers enjoy fast, convenient and affordable integration with customers, partners and service providers within the Equinix digital ecosystem. Customers' organizations benefit from highly reliable, extremely low-latency communication, system integration and data exchange For more information, see Equinix Metro Connect.
MLPE	Multi-Lateral Peering Exchange
MMF	Multi-Mode Fiber
MMR	See Meet Me Room (MMR).
Mobility Exchange	A fully managed, Ethernet-based switching platform designed specifically for exchange of mobile internet traffic. GPRS (General Packet Radio Service) roaming exchange. A platform allowing the exchange of roaming traffic between mobile network providers For more information, see Equinix Internet Exchange.
Mobility Exchange Location	An Equinix IBX location or campus with a Mobility Exchange present
MPOE	Minimum Point of Entry
MRC	Monthly Recurring Charge
MRR	Monthly Recurring Revenue (Interpretation of MRC for internal use)
Managed Service Provider (MSP)	A Managed Service Provider (MSP) is a business entity that helps enterprises architect, build and support a technology strategy that may include ECX. Often also called system integrators, consultants or others. An MSP may frequently aggregate customers similar to an Network Service Provider (NSP).
Multi-homed	It refers to Dual Port configuration.
N+1	Need plus one, a redundancy concept where capacity is configured to include used capacity plus one additional device to enable continued operations with the failure of one system in the configuration.
NEBS	Network Equipment-Building System design guidelines applied to telecommunications equipment.
Network Ports	Network ports are physical ports that facilitate network connectivity. This includes Internet Exchange Ports, Equinix Fabric Ports, and ports for Metro Connect.
NFV	Network Functions Virtualization is the result of turning network activities, protocols, traffic flow and design into a software service or code. NFV takes a lot of forms from purely new network and traffic flow methods and operating systems to making an entire hardware device accessible via a GUI. At Equinix, we use the term to refer to designing and configuring network solutions using our platform and software, regardless of the device, object, component or vendor. Network Edge is the first NFV offer in our interconnection portfolio and represents a significant leap in a customer's ability to deploy and manage network in a rapid, on-demand way.
NNI	Network to Network Interface
No.	Number
NOC	Network Operations Center
Nominal Cooling Capacity	The total cooling capacity of air conditioning equipment includes both latent cooling and sensible cooling capacities.
Non-Streamlined customer	A Non-Streamlined customer is a customer who must approve the pricing of every individual order in the portal before it can proceed for fulfillment. After creating an order, the portal will prompt the approving user with a message for Orders on Hold. This user must either accept or reject the one-time and monthly fee(s) presented to them in order for the order status to change from 'Pending Action Required' to 'Submitted' or 'Cancelled'.
NPA/NXX	Area Code and First 3 Digits of a Phone Number
NRC	Non-Recurring Charge
NSE	Network Support Engineering
Network Service Provider (NSP)	A Network Service Provider (NSP) is a business entity that provides and sells services such as network access (local loop, wide area network (WAN), Internet transit) and bandwidth. NSPs are also referred to as carriers
NTP	Network Time Protocol
OAuth	OAuth (Open Authorization) is an open standard for token-based authentication and authorization on the Internet.
OM	Order Management
OpEx	Operating Expense, the ongoing expenses related to operating the data center.
Optional Service Network Service	Optional service and network service refer to a series of independent features that can be added to a component, connection, device or other object. Example services might be SSH or Network Address Translation. The service is usually defined with one or more fields to configure and prepare it for launch into production, and may have restrictions on when it can be added or deleted. Although most are optional, you may find that some complete solutions or offers will not operate properly without a specific service or series of services. Some services will also have additional associated charges.
Order Status Types	Orders are tracked from submission to completion, and users would be updated of the order status as it is changes. Order status types are as follows: In Quote, Order Received, In Progress, On Hold, Pending Action Required, Completed, and Cancelled.
Overcooling	A situation where air is cooled below optimum levels. Typically used in reference to rack inlet temperatures.
Patch Cable Installation	Installation of a cross connect patch cable.
PDU	See Power Distribution Unit (PDU).
Power Distribution Unit (PDU)	This typically refers to one of two pieces of equipment in the power delivery chain. One is the combination transformer/breaker panel that is often used between a UPS supplying voltage higher than that used by the IT equipment and the cabinets. The other is the smaller "power strip" like device that is used inside the rack to distribute power to the IT equipment.
Peering	A voluntary interconnection between separate Internet networks to directly exchange data. This is typically a settlement-free business relationship whereby companies reciprocally provide access to each other’s customers at no additional cost.
Permissions	Permission is the access granted to a user via the portal through the authority of the Master Administrators. The Master Administrator would grant the user access and permissions to customer portal products and services. Depending on the permissions granted to the user, they would be able to make orders, submit trouble tickets, generate reports, etc. for select IBX. Without permissions from the Master Administrator, the user would not have access to the portal.
PF	See Power Factor (PF).
PH	See Phase (PH).
Phase (PH)	Phase (PH) is a term that describes the relationship between multiple time varying waveforms which have a constant frequency but differ in their position relative to time. It is also used to refer to the number of sinusoidal voltages that make up the power delivery to a device. Most common are three phase and single phase. Single phase consists of 2 conductors between which a sinusoidal voltage is present. Three-phase is a set of 3 or 4 conductors. In the case of 3 conductors, a sinusoidal voltage of a constant magnitude and frequency but differing relationship with respect to time exists between any 2 conductors. In a 4 wire system, the same voltage as in the 3 wire case exists between any of the three "hot" conductors and in addition, between any of the three "hot" conductors and fourth neutral conductor there exists a voltage that is smaller by a factor of the square root of three than the voltage between any of the "hot" conductors. An example of this is a 208/120 three phase system. 208 volts exists between any of the three "hot” conductors and 120 volts exists between any of the "hot" conductors and the neutral conductor.
PII hold	PII (Post Initial Install) hold is an ordering hold automatically applied to customers that are Non-Streamlined, or customers that requested a final approval process prior to final submission of orders. Customers must provide final approval within 10 days of order , failing which the order will be automatically cancelled.
Plate and Frame	A type of heat exchanger commonly used in water to water systems. It is a series of plates held in a frame through which exist 2 paths for water which are adjacent but separate. Plate and frame heat exchanges are simple to size via the addition of additional components and maintenance is straight forward via disassembly.
Plenum	A receiving chamber for air used to direct air flow.
PM	Project Manager
PMO	Project Management Office
PNI	Private Network Interface
PO	Purchase Order (PO) is a blanket purchase order by the customer. This PO number would be validated and tracked when customer creates an order or submits a trouble ticket in the portal.
POC	Point of Contact (see SPOC)
Pole	A row of power receptacles with power supplied from a PDU.
Pole Position	A power receptacle on a pole.
Potential Transformer (PT)	A device used to transform electrical potential (voltage) from one level to another with a specific ratio. For example, a 480:120 potential transformer transforms voltage on the primary side to voltage on the secondary side with a ratio of 4:1. CTs are typically used to transform large voltages to much smaller voltages so that standard metering equipment can be used on a variety of circuits by measuring the secondary voltage rather than the large primary voltage.
POTS	Plain Old Telephone Service
POW	Power Item
Power Factor (PF)	Powere Factor (PF) represents the portion of the apparent power that is real power. The source of power factor is non-resistive components (inductors and capacitors) in the load on an AC power system. These components draw current that is 90 degrees out of phase with the voltage across them resulting in zero real power being delivered. While the power delivery system must carry this current (as well as all the current which does result in real power being delivered), it does no useful work. Power companies often charge a penalty for loads which have a power factor that is significantly far away from 1.0 since the size of the equipment that must be in place is dependent upon the total current delivered, but normal billing is based on real power delivered.
PPP	Policies, Procedures, Processes
Pressure Differential	The difference in pressure between two locations in the data center. Air flows from higher pressure areas to lower pressure areas. Often, the pressure differential between the underfloor plenum and the above floor space is controlled by varying the speed of the fans supplying air to the underfloor plenum. This allows the addition of vented floor tiles to occur without affecting the air delivered to existing vented floor tiles so that additional IT load may be placed on the floor without disturbing the tuning of the existing floor.
Pricing	The one-time and recurring fees presented to the non-streamline customer user for approval to process an order for fulfillment. Until the pricing approval is carried out by the user, the status of the order will remain as 'Pending Action Required'.
Primary Loop	Refers to the water loop which cools the condenser side of a chiller. This loop is cooled by dry coolers or cooling towers.
Private Patch Panel	A dedicated patch panel in the Meet Me Room (MMR) to reduce lead time and/or lower costs for customers. For more information, see Intra-facility cross connects in the Cross Connects Data Sheet.
Protected Metro Connect	A metro connect that provides resiliency for WAN connections with two diverse fiber paths using a single switch at each IBX. For more information, see Equinix Metro Connect Services.
PT	See Potential Transformer (PT).
PU	Packaged Unit, an air handler that is a complete device shipped ready for use rather than a custom device that is assembled on site from components.
QOH	Quantity on Hand
Rack	Refer to Cabinet (CAB).
RAH	Recirculation Air Handler, a device that circulates air but does not cool the air.
Raised Floor	Metal flooring on stanchions that creates a plenum for airflow and cabling, synonymous with RMF.
Rate limit	A rate limit is a bandwidth control that is placed on a connection or service that limits the amount of traffic that can be sent or received to an amount less than the physical size of the ports. This is also referred to as a policer or “policing” a service, and is typically implemented using a VLAN on a sub-interface.
Recirculation	Air which exits IT equipment and then re-enters either the same IT equipment or another piece of IT equipment without being cooled. Typically caused by poor control of airflow due to missing blanking panels, gaps in rows, insufficient air supply, etc.
Refresh Token	A token that contains the information required to obtain a new Access Token.
Reports	Consolidated records for customer reference. Various reports can be generated on a regular or ad-hoc basis in the portal and downloaded in Excel format. These include reports for assets, security, finance, as well as for site and environment.
Return Air	The heated air returning to air conditioning equipment.
RFI	Radio Frequency Interference.
Rh	Relative Humidity.
RMF	Raised Metal Floor, an alternate term for the more commonly used term 'raised floor'.
ROI	Return on Investment, a measure of the money that an entity earns as a percentage of the total value of its assets that are invested.
RPM	Revolutions per Minute, a unit of angular velocity.
RPP	Remote Power Panel
RTU	Rooftop Unit, an air handler designed for outdoor use mounted on a rooftop.
S+S	System plus system.
SCFM	Standard Cubic Feet per Minute, the volumetric flow rate of a gas corrected to standardized conditions of temperature, pressure and relative humidity.
SDN	Software-Defined Networking (SDN) is another industry term sometimes interchangeable with NFV but SDN often refers to a more specific set of protocols and rules about the flow of traffic and data. SDN frequently means the separation of the flow of the data from the control and management of the network in the form of software.
SE	Sales Engineer
Secondary Loop	Refers to the water which is used to cool the heat exchangers in AHUs and is cooled via the expansion unit in a chiller.
Seller	A seller is a user who makes their services available to end customers through ECX. This guide refers to sellers for shorthand, but ECX generally regards a “seller” as an activity rather than a static person.
sFlow	A method of collecting network traffic statistics from network hardware. Used to compute the inbound and outbound traffic statistics on the IX Portal. For standards reference, see http://www.ietf.org/rfc/rfc3176.txt
Sensible Cooling	The action of lowering the dry bulb temperature of air without condensation taking place.
Set Point	In a control system, this is the value against which the variable that is being controlled is compared. Temperature and humidity set points are common in the cooling system for a data center.
SH	Smart Hands
Short Cycling	Chilled airflow returning to cooling units without passing through IT equipment, also referred to as bypass.
Single-homed	It refers to Single Port configuration.
SLA	Service Level Agreement.
SLO	Service Level Objective
Smart Hands	Smart Hands is an around-the-clock, on-site, operational support service for remote management, installation and troubleshooting of your data center equipment. For more information, see Smart Hands.
SME	Subject matter expert
SMF	Single Mode Fiber
SOP	Standard Operating Procedure
SOW	Statement of Work
SPOC	Single Point of Contact (see POC)
SR	Service Request
SSH	Secure Shell is a protocol that allows customers to connect to a device (that supports and has enabled SSH) directly. This allows the user to access all features of the device, including those not supported from the portal or API, and make changes, manage and observe and other activities. Caution: if a user connects into a device directly and makes changes that are not tracked or possible from the portal or API, some functions may fall out of sync and may into work at all and Equinix cannot guarantee support and accuracy once this occurs.
Standard Cross Connect	A cross connect type that allows the customer to connect to a service provider in the same IBX or a different IBX within an Equinix campus. For more information, see Cross Connects Data Sheet.
STORflex	Storage Space
Streamlined customers	A Streamlined customer is a customer that can place orders and submit tickets for immediate fulfillment. They do not have to go through an additional pricing approval process that Non-Streamlined customers must do in order to proceed with their orders.
STS	Static Transfer Switch, a solid-state device which transfers the feed of power from one source to another source such as from the incoming utility to a generator.
Sub-Floor	The open area underneath a raised computer floor, also called a sub-floor plenum.
Subscription License	Subscription license is provided by Equinix on an ongoing basis and is billed by the month. While not a pure "pay as you go" model, this is the typical license you would select if you do not already have one from the vendor or as part of a larger contract that your company has. There will be monthly charges on your invoice associated with this license.
Suite	A secured, custom built (as per customer’s requirement) area fully enclosed by solid partitions to house multiple cabinets in it. Suites may be private (housing only one customer), or shared (housing multiple customers).
Supply Air	The cooled airflow emitted from air conditioning equipment.
TCE	Triton Coefficient of Effectiveness, a data center efficiency metric developed by the Uptime Institute synonymous with UCE. (See also CoE)
TCY	Telecity
Thermistor	A type of resistor with resistance varying according to its temperature.
TIA	Telecommunications Industry Association
Trouble ticket	An order that a user submits through the Equinix Customer Portal to resolve an IBX issue that is impacting their service. A trouble ticket must be submitted for any IBX issues pertaining to the following:  power; cross connect; environment; hardware; network; security; smartview. For more information, see Trouble Ticket in the Equinix Smart Hands™ Welcome Guide.
TSA	Transition Services Agreement
U	A unit of space in a rack, equal to 1.75". The vertical dimension of racks and IT equipment is often specified in "Us" such as 42U.
UCE	Upsite Coefficient of Effectiveness, a data center efficiency metric developed by the Uptime Institute synonymous with UCE. (See also CoE)
Uninterruptible Power Supply (UPS)	A device placed in series with the supply of power from the utility which contains energy storage such that the supply of power from the UPS is continuous even when the utility supply is removed. While battery-based energy storage is the most common, flywheel-based energy storage is gaining in popularity due to the reduced maintenance cost.
Unprotected Metro Connect	A metro connect that provides Inter-IBX connectivity within a metro over a single fiber path. This offering does not provide any redundancy. For more information, see Equinix Metro Connect Services.
UPS	See Uninterruptible Power Supply (UPS).
User	A user of the customer organization who can place orders in the Equinix Customer Portal in accordance with the permissions granted to them by the Master administrator and IBX administrator.
V	Volt, a unit of electrical potential.
VA	Volt-Ampere, a unit of apparent power. In AC circuits, the magnitude of the voltage across a circuit times the current through the circuit is the apparent power. Including a representation of the angle between the two waveforms in the form of power factor (see PF) yields the real power.
Vendor	A vendor is the company, manufacturer or owner of a specific device that can be deployed. For example, Cisco and Juniper manufacture devices that can be launched into the ENE platform. Each vendor may have one or more devices offered on ENE, and the vendor usually has a uniform licensing model and other services for their library of available devices.
VFD	Variable Frequency Drive, a device which supplies AC power of varying frequency, typically used to control the speed of induction motors. In the data center, it is common to vary the speed of fans, pumps, and chillers.
Virtual Device	The Virtual Device is the software "image" that launches on the ENE platform when a user selects a device. The device could be a router, firewall or other types. This image is generally specific to a vendor (for example: Cisco) and specific device ID that the vendor has integrated with our platform. From this Virtual Device, you can create connections like you would from a port on ECX.
vNF	A virtual Network Function (vNF) is similar to the term NFV but typically refers to a discrete task, feature or service that does one thing in a larger solution. For example, a piece of code that can stand as a service that performs IP Address translation might be a vNF.
VNI	Virtual Network Interface
W	Watt, a unit of power, commonly used in electrical discussion, watts are the product of potential (volts, see V) and current (amps, see A). If the current and voltage are AC, the relationship between watts, volts and amps includes power factor (see PF), watts = volts x amps x PF.
Waterside Economizer	A system which uses a source other than a chiller to cool the secondary loop water used by the AHUs. This typically consists of either a dry cooler or cooling tower, piping, valves and in the case of a cooling tower, it also includes a heat exchanger since the secondary loop water is treated completely differently than the primary loop water and is typically much "better" water.
Water Usage Effectiveness (WUE)	A sustainability metric defined by The Green Grid, which is a measure of the water used on-site for data center operations including humidification and on-site evaporation for cooling or energy production. WUE is calculated by dividing “annual water usage” by the “energy consumption of the IT computing equipment”. The units of WUE are liters/kilowatt-hour (L/kWh).
Wet-Bulb Temperature	The temperature of the air measured using a wet-bulb thermometer, that is, the temperature to which a wet surface can be cooled by evaporation. This temperature is affected by both the dry bulb temperature and the dew point of the air. Dryer air has a lower wet bulb temperature. This is a design constraint when utilizing cooling towers or evaporative pads in the cooling process.
Wg	Inches of water column, a unit of pressure based on the height of a column of water supported by the pressure differential between the top and bottom of the column. 1-inch wg = .036 psi.
WIP	Work in Progress
Work Cell	The area of a rack and the related area immediately in front of and behind the rack. Standard racks are 2 feet wide and 4 feet deep. Standard aisles are 4 feet wide, so half of that space is workspace for a given rack. This results in a standard work cell of 16 square feet. Actual work cell size varies with data center design.
WPSF	Watts per Square Foot, a unit of power density. In a data center this is a bulk term that refers to the total load in a space divided by the total area of that space. This is a design parameter for total capacity of the cooling and power systems and is used in conjunction with point load (the amount of load in a small space such as a rack).
WUE	See Water Usage Effectiveness (WUE).
Z-Side	Non-Ordering Customer side (often but not always a Carrier).