{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@type": "DefinedTerm",
    "@id": "https://hostdir.net/glossary/meet-me-room",
    "name": "Meet-Me Room",
    "alternateName": [
        "MMR"
    ],
    "description": "A meet-me room is a dedicated, secure space within a carrier hotel or colocation facility where network operators, carriers, and tenants physically interconnect their cabling to exchange traffic.",
    "url": "https://hostdir.net/glossary/meet-me-room",
    "inDefinedTermSet": "https://hostdir.net/glossary",
    "termCode": "meet-me-room",
    "mainEntityOfPage": "https://hostdir.net/glossary/meet-me-room",
    "license": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/",
    "_hostdir": {
        "kind": "glossary-term",
        "slug": "meet-me-room",
        "canonical": "https://hostdir.net/glossary/meet-me-room",
        "term": "Meet-Me Room",
        "category": "Data Centers",
        "category_slug": "datacenters",
        "summary": "A meet-me room is a dedicated, secure space within a carrier hotel or colocation facility where network operators, carriers, and tenants physically interconnect their cabling to exchange traffic.",
        "definition": "A meet-me room (MMR) is a physically secured area inside a carrier-neutral colocation facility or carrier hotel. It serves as the common termination point where multiple telecommunications carriers, Internet service providers, content delivery networks, and enterprise tenants place their network equipment or patch panels. Cross-connects, which are physical copper or fiber cables, run from each tenant's cage or cabinet into the MMR and are manually patched to a provider's demarcation point. The MMR is the central plumbing of multitenant data centers, enabling any-to-any interconnection without requiring each tenant to run cables across public property or negotiate individual rights-of-way.\n\nInside the MMR, structured cabling is organized on horizontal or vertical ladder racks, with patch panels labeled by provider. A carrier or tenant pays monthly recurring fees for each cross-connect, typically based on fiber strand count or copper pair count and distance. The facility operator manages physical security, access logging, and environmental controls to maintain signal integrity. The MMR operator does not actively route traffic; it only provides the physical medium. When two parties agree to peer or transit, a jumper is installed in the MMR between their respective panels, completing the Layer 1 circuit.\n\nThe MMR is a distinct architectural component from an internet exchange point (IXP). While an IXP uses an Ethernet switch fabric to exchange IP traffic at Layer 2 or 3, the MMR is purely a physical cable-termination room. Many IXPs are housed within or adjacent to an MMR, but the MMR itself only provides cross-connection. The concept originates from the early carrier hotels of the 1990s, such as 60 Hudson Street and One Wilshire, where competing carriers needed a neutral meeting point to physically interconnect their networks.",
        "examples": "A streaming video company colos servers at a carrier hotel and needs to reach subscribers on three ISP backbones. The company orders cross-connects from its cage to each ISP's demarcation panel inside the MMR. Facility staff run fiber jumpers between the corresponding ports. Within days, the streaming provider has physical links to all three carriers, paying a separate monthly fee for each circuit. No additional routing protocol configuration is required at the MMR layer; the streaming company configures BGP on its own router to announce prefixes over those physical links.",
        "key_facts": [
            "An MMR is a physically separate, access-controlled room within a colocation facility or carrier hotel.",
            "Cross-connects in an MMR run from tenant cages to carrier-terminated patch panels; no active electronics exist inside the MMR itself.",
            "The MMR model is carrier-neutral: no single provider owns the room; the facility operator manages the infrastructure.",
            "MMRs predate and coexist with internet exchange points, but an IXP adds switching gear for Layer 2/3 peering.",
            "Typical MMR cross-connect pricing is a monthly recurring charge, often $200-$800 per circuit depending on medium and distance."
        ],
        "related_terms": [
            "Carrier hotel",
            "Cross connect",
            "Colocation",
            "Internet exchange point (IXP)",
            "Demarcation point",
            "Patch panel",
            "Cage"
        ],
        "references": [
            {
                "title": "What is a Meet-Me Room?",
                "url": "https://www.datacenters.com/news/what-is-a-meet-me-room"
            },
            {
                "title": "Peering and Interconnection at Internet Exchange Points (RFC 7945)",
                "url": "https://www.rfc-editor.org/rfc/rfc7945"
            }
        ],
        "word_count": 292,
        "license": "CC BY 4.0",
        "license_url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/",
        "attribution": "HostDir Glossary — https://hostdir.net/glossary/meet-me-room"
    }
}