Cisco Catalyst 1200 switch, made by Cisco Systems, Inc., United States, 1994. Serial number: 62007011. London Internet Exchange

Cisco Catalyst 1200 switch, made by Cisco Systems, Inc., United States, 1994.

This switch was first used by London Internet Exchange (LINX) in 1994. LINX was the first exchange to route Internet traffic over UK networks, rather than routing it over unnecessarily large distances. It was formed in 1994 as a loose cooperative between five leading UK-based Internet Service Providers (ISPs): PIPEX, BT Internet Services, Demon Internet, EUnet GB and UKERNA/JANET. LINX became operational less than two months after the original agreement, when the first Internet traffic was transmitted through its routers on 8 November 1994. By 2004, LINX was the world's largest Internet exchange, handling 90% of the UK's Internet traffic.