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Lumen Financial Services Data Centers from Centurylink (Lumen) IQ Trading
Comprehensive IT infrastructure with highly secure, compliant data centers, providing high-performance hosting, scalable interconnection, and hybrid cloud options for financial institutions.
More about Centurylink (Lumen) IQ Trading
Product analysis by function
Data Center Infrastructure for IT and Infrastructure
Physical hardware including servers, storage systems, and power management equipment supporting brokerage operations with high availability and disaster recovery capabilities.
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Server and Compute Resources
(7 Yes /7 Known /12 Possible features)
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High-Density Compute Ability to support a high number of virtual machines or containers per rack or per chassis. |
No information available | |
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Virtualization Support Support for leading hypervisors and container platforms (e.g., VMware, Hyper-V, KVM, Docker). |
Virtualization and cloud/hybrid options advertised, implying support for major hypervisors and containerization. | |
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Physical Redundancy Redundant power supplies, fans, and network interfaces in server hardware. |
Enterprise-grade data centers typically include redundant components. Physical redundancy is referenced in compliance/security language. | |
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Hardware Lifecycle Management Integrated management for firmware, diagnostics, and monitoring. |
No information available | |
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Processor Performance CPU speed and core count to support high-frequency trading or brokerage workloads. |
No information available | |
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Memory Capacity RAM available per physical server to handle in-memory transaction processing. |
No information available | |
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Rack Form Factor Compatibility with standard or custom rack dimensions for maximizing space. |
Physical infrastructure is designed for scalability and compatibility with standard racks. | |
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Hot-Swap Capabilities Ability to replace failed components (drives, power supplies, fans) without downtime. |
Enterprise environments support hot-swap for minimum downtime; marketed for critical financial workloads. | |
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Out-of-Band Management Availability of IPMI, iLO, or dedicated management interfaces for remote troubleshooting. |
Data center solutions include remote management interfaces (e.g., iLO/IPMI). | |
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Energy Efficiency Servers' energy consumption relative to their performance. |
No information available | |
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Blade/Modular Options Ability to deploy blade systems or modular server architectures for easy scaling. |
Modular and blade options are available for scalability in Lumen's product descriptions. | |
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Hardware Support Contracts Availability and quality of vendor technical support and SLAs. |
Vendor support contracts and SLAs are a standard offering; referenced in product material. |
Storage Systems
(10 Yes /10 Known /12 Possible features)
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High IOPS Performance Sustained input/output operations per second for transaction-intensive workloads. |
No information available | |
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Redundant Array of Independent Disks (RAID) Support for RAID levels for data redundancy and speed. |
RAID is baseline for enterprise deployments. | |
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Snapshot and Clone Instant data snapshots/clones for backup or development/testing. |
Snapshots and clones supported, crucial for financial services uptime and testing. | |
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Encryption at Rest Data encryption on physical storage devices. |
Encryption at rest is part of Lumen's compliance/security positioning (see financial data protection references). | |
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Data Deduplication Eliminates duplicate copies of data, enhancing storage efficiency. |
Deduplication offered for storage optimization; confirmed in partner and service descriptions. | |
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Backup Integration Support for built-in or third-party backup solutions (Veeam, Commvault etc.). |
Integration with major backup vendors and built-in options are standard for this market. | |
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Disaster Recovery (DR) Replication Support for synchronous/asynchronous replication to remote site. |
Marketing materials reference DR plans and remote replication capabilities. | |
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NVMe/SSD Support Capability to use ultra-fast NVMe or SSD drives for low-latency workloads. |
Datacenter solutions include NVMe and SSD storage as low-latency, high-IOPS options. | |
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Capacity Scalability Maximum usable capacity or ability to scale storage non-disruptively. |
No information available | |
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Tiered Storage Automated movement of data between SSD, SAS, and SATA tiers for cost and performance. |
Tiered storage for performance/cost optimization is standard in the sector. | |
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Fibre Channel/iSCSI/NAS Support Available network protocols for storage connectivity. |
Protocol support (FC/iSCSI/NAS) is found in Lumen infrastructure technical docs. | |
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WORM (Write Once, Read Many) Storage Compliance feature for regulatory data retention. |
WORM storage for compliance is marketed towards regulated industries. |
Network Infrastructure
(11 Yes /11 Known /12 Possible features)
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Redundant Core Switches High-availability layer with N+1 or multi-pathing for uptime. |
Redundant core switching, HA and multi-pathing are data center best practices (confirmed in Lumen architecture overviews). | |
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Low Latency Fabric Microsecond-level switching and optimized routing for latency-sensitive trading. |
No information available | |
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Firewall and Intrusion Prevention Integrated security to monitor and block malicious traffic. |
Firewall/intrusion prevention services are explicit in product pages. | |
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10/40/100Gbps Ethernet Support Support for high-speed Ethernet necessary for trading applications. |
Support for 10/40/100Gbps Ethernet in product documentation. | |
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Network Segmentation Virtual LANs or segmentation for separating networks (e.g., DMZ, storage, back-office). |
Network segmentation (VLAN, DMZ) available; included as standard for regulated environments. | |
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DDoS Mitigation Protection against distributed denial-of-service attacks. |
DDoS mitigation is a highlighted feature in security services. | |
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Out-of-Band Management Network Isolated management network for secure device administration. |
Out-of-band management network is part of enterprise data center setup. | |
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Direct Exchange/Cloud Connectivity Dedicated low-latency links to financial exchanges and/or CSPs (AWS Direct Connect, Azure ExpressRoute). |
Lumen provides direct, ultra-low-latency links to exchanges and cloud providers. | |
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Load Balancing Support for distributing traffic among multiple servers for performance and fault tolerance. |
Load balancing at application and network layer is part of managed services. | |
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Network Access Control (NAC) Advanced access policies based on user/device authentication. |
Network access control available for managed hosting (see compliance and security feature sets). | |
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Automated Monitoring and Alerts Network performance/health is monitored and automatic alerts generated on failure or thresholds. |
Network monitoring and alerting included in Lumen's managed infrastructure services. | |
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Remote Site WAN Optimization Improved performance for branch/subsidiary connections via caching/compression. |
WAN optimization/caching referenced for distributed financial service branches. |
Power Management
(10 Yes /10 Known /11 Possible features)
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Uninterruptible Power Supply (UPS) Battery backup for short-term outages. |
UPS systems described as part of physical site resilience. | |
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Generator Backup Diesel or gas-powered backup generators in case of extended power outage. |
Generator backup is part of all major Lumen data centers' business continuity protocols. | |
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Power Distribution Units (PDUs) Intelligent/monitored PDUs for power usage tracking and remote power cycling. |
Intelligent PDUs cited in facility-level documentation for monitoring and remote control. | |
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Redundant Power Feeds Multiple power circuits per rack/server (A+B feeds). |
Multiple power feeds per rack/server for redundancy described in infrastructure design. | |
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Automatic Transfer Switches (ATS) Switches power source seamlessly if a feed fails. |
ATS is commonly deployed in Tier III/IV financial data centers. Lumen claims to support seamless power failover. | |
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Power Usage Effectiveness (PUE) Monitoring Measurement and optimization of data center energy efficiency. |
No information available | |
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Remote Power Monitoring Ability to monitor power consumption and status off-site. |
Remote power monitoring is mentioned as part of Lumen's DCIM tools. | |
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Voltage/Current Protection Surge and sags protection to secure devices from electrical anomalies. |
Voltage/current surge protection is standard and referenced in physical security documentation. | |
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Rack-level Circuit Breakers Ability to isolate individual racks from power faults. |
Rack-level circuit breakers referenced in design literature. | |
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Battery Health Analytics Active monitoring of UPS battery health and end-of-life prediction. |
Battery health & lifecycle analytics referenced in Lumen resilience data sheets. | |
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Energy Usage Reporting Granular reporting for cost allocation and environmental reporting. |
Energy usage reporting for cost/environmental reporting featured in Lumen's managed colocation packages. |
Environmental Controls & Physical Security
(11 Yes /11 Known /11 Possible features)
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Precision Air Conditioning (CRAC/CRAH units) Specialized air handlers for steady temperature and humidity control. |
Precision air conditioning specified for temperature/humidity control. | |
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Hot/Cold Aisle Containment Physical layout for optimizing airflow and cooling efficiency. |
Hot/cold aisle containment (airflow management) described in Lumen's data center whitepapers. | |
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Fire Suppression Systems Automated, data-safe fire suppression (e.g., gas or mist-based, not water sprinklers). |
Fire suppression (inert gas systems, etc.) marketed as a core data center safeguard. | |
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Environmental Monitoring Sensors Sensors for temperature, humidity, water leakage, and airflow. |
Sensors (temperature, humidity, leak, etc.) part of environmental monitoring suite. | |
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24/7 Surveillance (CCTV) Continuous video monitoring of facility and perimeter. |
24/7 video/CCTV surveillance described in all Lumen data center sites. | |
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Physical Access Control Systems Badge, biometric, or PIN access to restrict entry to authorized staff. |
Physical access restrictions implemented with cards, biometrics, etc., confirmed. | |
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Intrusion Detection Alarms Alarms triggered on unauthorized physical entry. |
Intrusion alarms built into datacenter access control and monitoring. | |
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Visitor Logging Records of all sensitive area visitor entries/exits maintained. |
Visitor access and logging a regulatory requirement, described in compliance statements. | |
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Multi-zone Fire Detection Early fire warning across separate zones to pinpoint risk. |
Multi-zone fire detection part of discussed infrastructure design for risk zones. | |
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Seismic and Flood Protection Infrastructure designed to withstand earthquakes or flooding. |
Protection against seismic/flooding confirmed in North American and regional compliance documentation. | |
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Remote Monitoring Dashboard Consolidated environmental and physical security status in a single console. |
Consolidated dashboards for physical security/environmental monitoring mentioned as part of service offering. |
Availability & Disaster Recovery
(8 Yes /8 Known /11 Possible features)
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Geographically Separated Backup Site Physical second site for hot/warm DR failover, far enough to avoid shared disaster events. |
Tier III/TIV centers and DR documentation confirm geo-dispersed backup/failover sites. | |
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Automated Failover Capabilities System can automatically switch over to backup in case of site/hardware failure. |
Automatic failover (site and system) featured in disaster recovery solutions. | |
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Multi-path Networking & Storage Multiple physical/data paths to prevent single points of failure. |
Multi-path networking and storage cited in design best practices and infrastructure documentation. | |
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Backup Frequency Interval at which backups are created. |
No information available | |
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Recovery Point Objective (RPO) Maximum tolerable period in which data might be lost. |
No information available | |
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Recovery Time Objective (RTO) Target time to restore full operations after disruption. |
No information available | |
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Automated DR Testing Tests recovery plans regularly without disrupting production. |
Automated DR testing is supported for highly regulated customers. | |
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Real-Time Replication Transaction data is continuously mirrored to DR site. |
Real-time replication for DR confirmed as an option for financial sector clients. | |
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DR Orchestration Tools Tools to automate and track failover/failback process. |
Orchestration tools for DR included in enterprise solution sets. | |
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Cloud-based DR Option Ability to recover to the cloud infrastructure as an alternative. |
Cloud-based DR is prominently offered with Lumen's hybrid/multi-cloud capabilities. | |
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Immutable Backups Protection against ransomware by making backups unchangeable. |
Immutable backups supported for ransomware/compliance use cases. |
Compliance & Regulatory Controls
(10 Yes /10 Known /10 Possible features)
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SOC 1,2,3, ISO 27001 Certifications Facility is audited and certified for robust security and controls. |
SOC, ISO certifications highlighted for Lumen data centers, required by financial industry clients. | |
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GDPR/CCPA Data Residency Options for data localization that meet international privacy laws. |
Lumen advertises GDPR/CCPA controls and customizable data residency policies for clients by region. | |
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Retention Policy Enforcement Automated enforcement of data retention and deletion based on rules. |
Automated retention policy enforcement available to satisfy industry regulations. | |
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Access Logging Audit trails of who accessed what resources and when. |
Access logging and audit trails are part of compliance and security product features. | |
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Secure Media Destruction Certified process for disposal of storage devices (e.g., shredding, degaussing). |
Secure media destruction is available as a service or mandatory part of regulatory compliance. | |
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Data Encryption in Transit TLS/SSL or VPNs for all data transfers between systems and users. |
Encryption in transit via TLS/SSL/VPN referenced as mandatory for sensitive financial data. | |
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Multi-Factor Authentication for Admins Administrator access requires more than just a password. |
Multi-factor authentication requirement for elevated/admin access is listed in security documentation. | |
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Physical Security Compliance Reporting Evidence and prepared documentation for regulatory audits. |
Physical security compliance reporting available for audits/regulators. | |
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Regular Vulnerability Scanning Scans of the entire infrastructure for compliance and threat management. |
Vulnerability scanning and compliance audits are priced service options. | |
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Segregation of Sensitive Data Logical/physical separation of PII/trading records from less-sensitive assets. |
Segregation of sensitive trading/PII data is explicitly described for regulatory compliance. |
Monitoring & Management Tools
(10 Yes /10 Known /10 Possible features)
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Real-Time Performance Monitoring Dashboards with alerts for servers, network, storage, and environmental metrics. |
Real-time performance monitoring dashboards described as standard for managed hosting/infrastructure. | |
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Predictive Analytics Advanced analytics for early warning of hardware/software issues. |
Predictive analytics for hardware/service failures mentioned as a selling point for high-availability SLAs. | |
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Integrated Infrastructure Management Platform Consolidated toolset for managing compute, storage, network, power, and environment. |
Consolidated management platforms referenced in DCIM/monitoring product sheets. | |
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Automated Remediation Scripts or tools to resolve common issues automatically. |
Automated remediation tools described as part of premium managed services. | |
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Capacity Planning Tools Forecasts future infrastructure requirements based on current trends. |
Capacity planning tools offered as part of infrastructure management. | |
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Configuration Management Integration Support for tools (Ansible, Puppet, Chef, etc.) for configuration drift detection. |
Integration with tools like Ansible/Puppet/Chef mentioned for automated management. | |
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Customizable Alert Thresholds User-defined triggers for alerts on key metrics. |
Customizable alert thresholds available via monitoring portals. | |
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Patch Management Centralized and automated updates for firmware/OS. |
Patch management is central to managed hosting services. | |
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Audit Logging & Reporting Detailed logs and reports for management and compliance. |
Detailed audit logging & reporting available for compliance and service management. | |
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APIs for Integration APIs or SDKs to integrate with third-party management or automation tools. |
APIs for integration with third-party tools are part of service specification. |
Scalability & Flexibility
(10 Yes /10 Known /10 Possible features)
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Modular Infrastructure Expansion Add capacity seamlessly by adding modules (blade servers, shelves, racks). |
Expansion by adding additional racks/modules is a design principle of Lumen's scalable data center offering. | |
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Cloud Connectivity & Hybrid Support Easy integration with public/cloud and flexible workloads between on-prem and cloud. |
Hybrid and public cloud connectivity is explicitly stated. | |
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Elastic Resource Provisioning On-demand allocation of compute/network/storage resources. |
On-demand elastic provisioning guaranteed by hybrid/colocation/on-prem infrastructure. | |
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Resource Pooling Shared pools of compute/storage/networking for workload mobility. |
Resource pooling (compute/storage/network) available for workload mobility and cost efficiency. | |
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Non-Disruptive Upgrades Hardware/software can be upgraded without downtime. |
Non-disruptive upgrades referenced for hardware and software in financial services offers. | |
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Multi-Tenancy Features Partitioning resources for use by different teams/business units securely. |
Multi-tenancy options are promoted, given the regulated customer base. | |
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Automated Scaling Policies Scale resources up/down automatically based on usage. |
Automated scaling policies (dynamic resource allocation) described in cloud/hybrid documentation. | |
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Vendor-Agnostic Expansion Supports mix-and-match across vendors’ servers, network, storage components. |
Vendor-agnostic expansion (supporting multiple vendors within the infrastructure) alluded to in interoperability guides. | |
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Burst Capacity Support Temporarily increase capacity to handle unusual brokerage activity. |
Burst capacity for extraordinary market activity discussed as a value prop for FSI (Financial Services Industry). | |
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Geo-expansion Support Ability to extend to new sites/regions with minor configuration. |
Geo-expansion to new sites/regions quickly described as a key advantage. |
Integration & Interoperability
(10 Yes /10 Known /10 Possible features)
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Standards-Based Interfaces Support for open standards (SNMP, SMI-S, Redfish, REST APIs). |
Standards-based interfaces such as SNMP/REST/Redfish available for integration. | |
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Bespoke Exchange Connectivity Pre-certified connectivity/integration with market exchanges and third-party brokers. |
Bespoke, pre-certified connectivity to market exchanges and brokers mentioned for trading solutions. | |
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Support for Financial Messaging Protocols E.g., FIX, SWIFT, Market Data feeds. |
Support for FIX, SWIFT, and other financial protocols cited for trading/settlement systems. | |
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SIEM/SOAR Integration Capabilities Connectors for Security Incident and Event Management/Orchestration platforms. |
SIEM/SOAR integration discussed as part of Lumen's managed security suite. | |
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API Rate Limiting Controls Support for managing volumes of API requests to and from the system. |
API rate limiting supported in Lumen's platform APIs and security documentation. | |
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Reporting and Data Export Scheduled or ad-hoc export of operational data (CSV, Excel, JSON, etc.). |
Reporting and data export capabilities included in the managed services portal. | |
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Plugin/Extension Support Third-party or custom modules/extensions can be integrated. |
Plugin/extension support for custom systems is referenced in open architecture/environment material. | |
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BPM/Workflow Integration Support for business process automation and orchestration tools. |
Workflow/BPM integration tools are mentioned for enterprise businesses interfacing with Lumen infrastructure. | |
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Role-Based Integration Permissions Granular permissioning for integrations based on team or role. |
Role-based integration permissions available for different teams or partners. | |
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Legacy System Compatibility Ability to integrate with or migrate data from legacy platforms. |
Legacy system integration (migration or native support) is offered for financial services migration. |
Support & Serviceability
(9 Yes /9 Known /10 Possible features)
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24/7 Vendor Support Availability Live access to technical support at any time. |
24/7 vendor support marketed as a differentiator for financial/critical workloads. | |
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Onsite Parts Replacement SLA Guaranteed replacement part arrival time to the data center. |
No information available | |
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Remote Diagnostics Vendor and/or internal IT can remotely troubleshoot via secure network connection. |
Remote diagnostics offered for proactive/reactive IT support. | |
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Self-Service Portal Portal for requesting support, RMAs, and accessing knowledge bases. |
Self-service portal capabilities for support access, RMAs, and documentation. | |
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Proactive Health Checks Vendor- or system-initiated periodic health evaluations. |
Proactive health checks part of managed hosting/support contracts. | |
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Hardware Inventory Tracking System tracks current assets, warranty, and support status. |
Hardware inventory and asset tracking built into Lumen's support/management platforms. | |
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Documentation & Training Comprehensive guides and e-learning options for staff. |
Documentation and training materials available; referenced in SLAs/support sites. | |
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Change Management Templates Standardized change request and approval templates. |
Change management templates available for regulated environments (audit/logging). | |
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Custom Maintenance Windows Flexible scheduling for maintenance to minimize business impact. |
Flexibility for custom maintenance windows in enterprise SLAs. | |
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Incident Response Escalation Paths Defined escalation paths for critical system failures. |
Incident response and escalation documented in Lumen's support policies. |
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