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Random freezes, missing sound and display glitches usually trace back to one bad driver. Find and replace yours safely.Free scan · under a minuteEquinix closed its $335 million acquisition of Packet on March 3, 2020, aiming to combine Packet’s automated bare-metal servers with Equinix’s data-center and interconnection platform. That plan eventually became Equinix Metal, but the service is now shut down: service ended June 30, 2026, and its resources were removed July 1. Equinix’s transition guidance points former customers toward its colocation and Managed Solutions offerings or a third-party provider—not to one designated replacement.
What Equinix bought—and what it planned to do
Equinix announced its agreement to acquire Packet on January 14, 2020, and completed the $335 million transaction on March 3. Packet’s core proposition was API-driven automation for dedicated physical servers: customers could provision and manage bare-metal infrastructure with a more cloud-like workflow.
At closing, Equinix said Packet would operate as “Packet, an Equinix company” while the combined business developed enterprise solutions joining Packet’s automation with Platform Equinix’s ecosystems, global reach and interconnection fabric. The strategic bet was that customers could run workloads on dedicated hardware while connecting it to cloud services and networks, rather than having to buy and operate all infrastructure themselves.
Contemporary coverage described an initial focus on extending the capability across Equinix’s colocation facilities. Broader edge expansion was described as dependent on customer demand, not as a guaranteed rollout. The announcement therefore set out an integration ambition; it did not promise that Packet would remain a separately branded, permanent product.
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How the plan changed
Equinix’s 2020 answer to “what’s next?” was integration and expansion. The later customer answer is migration. In the fourth quarter of 2024, Equinix announced that Equinix Metal would no longer be commercially available and began winding down the service. A 2025 quarterly filing put expected wind-down costs at up to approximately $14 million; that is a company cost estimate, not a customer charge or a measure of the acquisition’s value.
The acquisition itself was completed; the later shutdown concerns the Metal service, not a reversal of the Packet transaction. The available company statements do not establish that Packet’s original product continues as a separate service.
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Equinix Metal’s shutdown dates and what they mean
- June 30, 2026: Equinix Metal service ended. Equinix required workload migrations to be complete by 11:59 p.m. PDT that day.
- July 1, 2026: Metal resources were removed, and customers could no longer create new resources.
- January 1, 2027: Equinix says the Metal console is scheduled to go offline. Customers who need historical invoices should download them before that date.
These dates distinguish the end of running workloads from the later loss of console access. As of October 2, 2026, the service and resources have already been removed, while the stated console-removal date is still ahead.
What to use instead
Equinix’s transition guidance names three broad paths: Equinix colocation, Equinix Managed Solutions, or a third-party provider. It does not name a single preferred outside replacement or publish a provider-by-provider comparison. The right choice depends on which parts of the old setup matter most: dedicated physical hardware, operational responsibility, automated provisioning, connectivity, location, contract terms, migration assistance, security controls, or workload performance.
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1Scan for outdated or missing drivers - takes under a minute2Repair Windows errors before they cause bigger problems3Fix the driver behind crashes, sound loss and screen glitches| Path | What Equinix’s guidance establishes | What to verify before choosing |
|---|---|---|
| Equinix colocation | Named by Equinix as an in-portfolio alternative for Metal customers. | Whether the specific facility, hardware model, operating responsibility, provisioning automation, connectivity, contract terms, migration help, security controls and performance requirements fit your workload; these details are not stated in the transition guidance. |
| Equinix Managed Solutions | Named by Equinix as an in-portfolio alternative. | Which infrastructure and operational tasks are included, along with available locations, automation, connectivity, contract terms, migration help, security controls and performance characteristics; these details are not stated in the transition guidance. |
| Third-party provider | Equinix explicitly allows customers to choose a third-party solution alternative; it does not endorse a particular provider. | Metro coverage, dedicated-server availability, API capabilities, cloud and network connectivity, pricing and term, migration support, data-deletion procedures and workload performance. Provider-specific comparisons are not stated in Equinix’s guidance. |
A practical selection sequence
- Write down the workload’s non-negotiables. Record required metros, server specifications, network paths, performance thresholds, software or hardware dependencies and recovery requirements.
- Decide who should operate the infrastructure. Determine whether your team wants to manage physical infrastructure directly or evaluate a managed option. Confirm exactly what the provider takes responsibility for.
- Test the provisioning model. If Metal’s API-driven workflow was important, validate the replacement’s automation and operational interfaces with a representative deployment rather than relying on a broad “cloud-like” label.
- Check the commercial and exit terms. Compare quoted pricing and contract duration for the relevant configuration, and ask how migration assistance, data handling and deletion are covered. Equinix’s guidance does not provide comparable prices or service-level details.
- Plan and validate migration. Map dependencies, move a representative workload, and verify connectivity, performance, monitoring, backup and recovery before shifting remaining production workloads.
What the acquisition means now
Packet gave Equinix an automation capability and a route to offer dedicated hardware through its platform; the 2020 announcement described how the company hoped to combine those assets. Equinix Metal’s later discontinuation means that original service is no longer a live option for new or existing workloads. For displaced customers, the actionable decision is among Equinix’s stated colocation and Managed Solutions paths and an independently evaluated third-party provider, based on the workload and operating model—not on an assumed successor to Packet.
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