01
Networks that peer
You want AMS-IX and NL-ix ports, a dozen transit and PNI cross-connects, and the shortest possible path to Nikhef. Science Park is where that is cheapest to build.
Datacenters we work with
Amsterdam Science Park: colocation next to AMS-IX and Nikhef
Science Park is the carrier and research campus in Amsterdam-Oost, and the reason a lot of networks rack in this city at all. We are an independent advisor, not an operator here: the datacenter pays us a fee, and you contract directly with them.
Location
Nikhef and the Digital Realty buildings on the campus.
Nikhef
Digital Realty AMS17
Digital Realty AMS9
Science Park station
The campus in numbers
What Science Park is, and what it is good at.
Indicative figures for the area, not a spec sheet for any one building. Halls, power ceilings and availability differ per operator; we check the current ones before we recommend anything.
- Amsterdam-Oost, inside the A10
- Science Park sits in Watergraafsmeer, east of the centre. University buildings, research institutes and several datacenter operators on one campus.
- AMS-IX · NL-ix · Nikhef
- The reason to be here. Both exchanges have a presence on and around the campus and Nikhef is the carrier hub; the fibre run between buildings is short, which shows up in the price.
- 3–70 kW per rack
- The band we usually place. Science Park halls skew toward carrier and network density rather than the largest power blocks in the metro. Check the ceiling per hall.
- 7 · 8 · 11 ms
- Typical round-trip from Amsterdam to London, Frankfurt and Paris over a carrier network; a ping over the public internet runs a few milliseconds higher. Close enough to serve all three from one site, which is the other half of why networks land here.
- 6 km from the city centre
- Indicative: about 6 km and 15 minutes by road outside rush hour from Amsterdam city centre, and roughly 19 km (20 minutes) from Schiphol. A short walk from Amsterdam Science Park station if your engineers come by train.
- Operators on the campus
- Digital Realty is one example of an operator with an Amsterdam Science Park presence, and it is not the only one. We are tied to none of them.
Operators here typically hold
ISO 27001 · ISO 9001 · ISO 14001 · SOC 2 · PCI-DSSWhat we'd place here
Three workloads that belong on Science Park.
The campus earns its price when the network matters more than the floor space. If it does not, one of the other areas is usually a better deal.
02
Hosting and CDN edges
Latency-sensitive front ends that need carrier choice more than they need 40 kW. A few racks with a fat carrier list beats a cheap hall with two.
03
Research and data transfer
Big, bursty flows to other institutions. The campus is built around that kind of traffic, and the neighbours understand it.
What to check before you sign
Five questions specific to this campus.
Science Park pricing is easy to get wrong in both directions. These are the things we pin down before anyone quotes you.
- Power ceiling per hall
- Older halls on the campus were not designed for the densities people ask for now. Ask what your specific hall delivers per rack today, and what the upgrade path costs.
- The Nikhef path
- Whether your cross-connect to Nikhef stays inside the building, crosses the campus, or becomes a metro circuit. Those are three different monthly numbers.
- IX port sizing
- A 10G port you outgrow in nine months means a second order, a new cross-connect and a migration window. We size this with you before the quote, not after.
- Term and expansion
- Campus space is tight. Ask what happens when you need the next two racks, how long a reservation is held, and at what rate.
- Remote hands SLA
- Response time, what is included, what is billed per quarter hour. Your engineers can get here quickly, but not at 03:00 on a Sunday.
Datacenters we send elsewhere
When Science Park is the wrong campus.
If you need many racks at high density, the bigger power blocks are usually easier to find in Schiphol-Rijk, and we will say so even though this is the more famous address. If you want 1U or a shared rack, we do not do that anywhere and will name a party that does. And if all you needed was better transit at your current site, that is a cheaper conversation and we will have it with you.
Other options in Amsterdam
The rest of the metro, in one place.
Science Park is one of three areas worth considering, and the operator matters as much as the postcode. Start here. Digital Realty vs NorthC sets Science Park against Schiphol-Rijk and Zuidoost by workload.
Digital Realty Amsterdam
One of the operators we place customers with. Several Amsterdam campuses, a wide power range and a deep carrier mix.
NorthC Amsterdam
A Dutch operator we also work with. Worth a look if a smaller footprint or a regional second site fits you better.
Schiphol-Rijk
Large campuses on the south side of the airport. Where the bigger power blocks usually sit.
Amsterdam-Zuidoost
The southeast business district. Several operators within a few kilometres of each other.
Questions we get
Price, operators, Nikhef and minimum footprint.
Why is Science Park often more expensive than other Amsterdam areas?
You are paying for interconnection, not floor space. AMS-IX, NL-ix and Nikhef density on one campus keeps your cross-connect and transit costs down, which often more than pays for the rack. If your workload does not use that, you are overpaying. What each line of a rack quote pays for is in the note on negotiating a rack price.
Which operator should I pick on Science Park?
Depends on the hall, the power ceiling and the carriers in the meet-me room. Digital Realty is one example of an operator with a presence there; we compare what is available and tell you which fits, with no exclusivity to any of them.
Can I cross-connect to Nikhef from here?
Yes, and the path matters for the price. We check whether it stays in-building or becomes a metro circuit before you get a number.
Do you place single servers on Science Park?
No. Dedicated racks, cages and suites only. For a few servers we will point you at a shared-colocation party that does it well.
Thinking about Science Park?
Tell us your racks, power per rack and the ports you need. We will say whether this campus earns its price for your workload.
Independent advisor, free to you: the datacenter pays our fee. You contract directly with Digital Realty, NorthC or another Amsterdam operator.
Reply within one business day