Start of 2019, we setup a new server cluster located in the US region. This server cluster can be manually assigned to be used by customers that wish to have their data stored in the US and want all Proximi.io services running through it. All new and existing accounts are still automatically & by default running through the EU-server cluster as they have been before. We are not mixing things up; these two databases are totally separate entities and no data is being mixed between them.
If you are looking to use the new US cluster, it holds two main benefits: fastness of service in low latency and data storage separation from the EU region.
Decreased latency in the US
The main advantage of having a US cluster is reduction of latency in Proximi.io services in the North and South American region. Having the server cluster in the US will drastically improve the speed of Proximi.io services all together for our US customers & developers. These services include increased speed and reliability in the Proximi.io portal visualization, SDK, and Proximi.io rest API.
How does high latency affect the Proximi.io service? In the standard case where you have the service running with our EU-cluster and you are a US customer, it will increase the latency. High latency doesn’t affect the Proximi.io positioning, since its calculated on the device itself. Although high latency does make it slower for our SDK to connect e.g. the position updates back to our backend server, which in turn makes the mobile phone hang longer on the network. This has an affect on the battery usage of the mobile phone. Decreased latency will make the Proximi.io services also load faster, you can see the portal visualizations loading faster, updates to places, floorplans and beacons load faster.
Data residency separation
For our US customers, the main benefit is having the data stored under the local legislation. This in turn will ensure the data is governed and held under the laws of the United States, ensuring no cross-border legislative issues will arise. This is important since the new changes in the US legislation have given the right for authorities to access data of a US resident in case the data is being stored outside of the US.
Since the cluster is fairly new, we are keeping the US cluster service running separately for designated customers. If you register new account from the US, your data will still be stored in the EU server cluster. Using Proximi.io services in the US, you will be rerouted through a US proxy to the Proximi.io server in the EU. The same will occur in case you are for example an EU resident, just visiting the US. Your positioning data will be stored and handled by the EU server going through the US proxy. For all customers wishing to have their data run through the US server, drop us an email at sales@proximi.io and we can discuss the options of transferring your account.
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