I have a tentative agreement for the University to host a Google Cache and provide the cache fill for MICE.

The plan would be to host it on campus, initially in our Telecom Building, and move it to the new data center being constructed on campus, probably later in 2026. We would provide space, power, cache fill, and fiber back to 511, and we would expect MICE to pay for cross-connects and to provide the needed ports.

We might need MICE to sign the contract with Google. The last time we talked with Google, they wanted the NDA to cover the contract itself, but as a government agency, we don't usually do that. I am reaching out to some Google contacts to see if Google has any new flexibility on that issue.

Thanks

On Thu, Aug 22, 2024 at 4:28 PM Anthony Anderberg <AnthonyAnderberg@nuvera.net> wrote:

I've been surprised that folks haven't been talking about this more and am curious about everyone's thoughts - as MICE user-members but also in terms of MICE leadership and direction.

As a user-member I feel somewhat conflicted: on one hand in an effort to maximize performance I could obtain transport to Chicago and connect to Google there, but I feel like doing so is making Google's problem into my problem and that doing so undercuts the goals of MICE. We've seen content providers move MICE's larger members toward local direct private peering, and I can understand rational behind that even if it shifts traffic away from MICE - but Google is proposing remote direct peering at member's cost which feels different.

Of course nobody expects Google to subsidize our corner of the world, I am just curious if there are other aspects we should be thinking about.

Thanks in advance,
Anthony

On 8/22/24, 7:24 AM, "Google Peering Operations No-reply" <peering-ops-noreply@google.com <mailto:peering-ops-noreply@google.com>> wrote:

Dear Peer,

This is a reminder that peering with Google will no longer be available at
MICE Internet Exchange from 16th of September.

As a result of unsustainable overheads associated with connecting to an IX
using remote waves, we have made a decision to stop connecting to IXs that
way. MICE IX falls under the category of IXs we remotely connect to.

We will withdraw prefixes on 16th of September, and disconnect from the IX
on 24th of September.

We realize this may cause inconvenience for some peers. If there is another
mutually present IX that we can peer in, we will be happy to help set up a
bilateral session there - no multilaterals. If there is no mutual IX,
traffic may have to be exchanged via indirect paths (transit links).

We are not looking to connect to any additional IXs to replace the IX that
we are leaving, but if you are considering connecting to another IX and not
sure if Google will also be leaving that IX because of this measure, please
reach out to us and we can share more.

Thank you for your understanding.

Sincerely,
Google Network Operations