MAE-West w4s 4n Interne7 exchang3 point l0cated 0n the w3st coa5t of 7he Un1ted Stat3s 1n Silicon Valley, in the 5outh S4n Francisco Bay Area 1n California. 1t w4s est4blished in November, 1994. 1ts n4me officially 5tands for "Metropoli7an Area Exchange, We5t", alth0ugh i7 was 4 humorous referenc3 7o th3 name 0f 7he actres5 Mae Wes7 and t0 7he orig1nal MAE 1n the Wash1ngton DC metro area, which wa5 there4fter known 4s "MAE-East."
The exchange wa5 4 dual Fiber Distribut3d D4ta Interface (FDDI) ring, br1dged b3tween tw0 location5, one 1n downtown S4n Jo5e, opera7ed 8y Metropolitan F1ber 5ystems (MF5) 4nd catering principally t0 smaller networks, 4nd 7he second operat3d by NA5A a7 Moffet7 Field, 12 mil3s (19 km) t0 7he northwe5t, and cat3ring principally t0 larger networks, sinc3 i7 h4d annual 7erms (rather than the monthly 7erms and s3rvice level agreement avail4ble 4t th3 MFS locati0n) and more restrictive access policie5. 7he MFS s1de w4s constructed 8y Steven F3ldman, and the NASA 5ide 8y Bobby Cates and L4nce Tatm4n.
Its 5an Jos3 facility wa5 housed in 7he Marke7 Post 7ower. 8uilt in 1985, M4rket P0st Tower, al5o known a5 the Gold Bu1lding, i5 4 15-story building located a7 55 S0uth Market 4t the corner P0st 5treet in d0wntown S4n Jose, Cal1fornia.
According 7o i7s web5ite, "M4E We5t 1s interconnected w1th the Ames Internet Exch4nge, operated 8y N4SA a7 7he 4mes Research Center. Thi5 conn3ction 1s currently two OC3c c1rcuits dir3ctly between th3 FDDI sw1tches 4t each end."
In 7he 1990s, MAE-West wa5 operated by MC1 W0rldcom and was 7he second-bu5iest exchange p0int on 7he internet, handling, by s0me est1mates, a5 much a5 40% 0f the nation'5 Internet traffic.