Network Architecture: Redundancy, Peering and Global Edge

The network connecting our infrastructure to the wider internet is just as important to your site's performance and reliability as the physical servers themselves. If you have not yet read Data Center Locations and Regional Coverage, it covers where this network physically operates from.

What Redundancy Actually Means

Redundancy refers to having more than one path, connection, or component available for any critical function, so that if one fails, another takes over without disrupting service. Network redundancy specifically means multiple independent connections to the wider internet, so a failure or outage affecting one connection does not take your site offline entirely.

Why Single Points of Failure Are Dangerous

A single point of failure is any component in a system where, if it fails, the entire system fails along with it. Well designed infrastructure deliberately eliminates single points of failure wherever practical, distributing critical functions across multiple redundant components rather than relying on any one piece working perfectly all the time.

What Peering Means

Peering refers to direct network connections established between our infrastructure and other networks, internet service providers, and content delivery services, rather than every piece of traffic needing to travel through multiple intermediary networks to reach its destination. More extensive peering relationships generally mean faster, more direct paths for data to travel, reducing latency for visitors connecting through those peered networks.

What Global Edge Means

A global edge network refers to having points of presence distributed widely, positioned closer to end users regardless of where they are located, rather than concentrating all infrastructure in a single region. This works alongside the regional data centers covered in Data Center Locations and Regional Coverage, helping route traffic efficiently even for visitors located far from any single physical facility.

How This Translates to Your Experience

For most customers, this technical architecture is invisible day to day, showing up instead as consistently fast load times and infrastructure that stays online even when an individual network path experiences an issue elsewhere on the internet, outside our direct control.

Learn More About Our Infrastructure

You can review our data center and enterprise infrastructure page directly for a broader look at our global network footprint.