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  1. #1
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    How do internet exchanges work?

    Hello, I am really curious about that. How do Internet Exchanges work?

    Let's say I am in a carrier neutral datacenter (colocation) and connected to Cogent and Level3 with IP transit and have a connection to the AMS-IX. When I am connected to these three networks, AMS-IX will use my bandwidth (IP transit carriers, level3 and cogent) for its purposes and I will use its, right? The main thing is to leverage each other's network when it is needed (in order to provide the shortest routes), isn't it?

    If I am wrong, could you please clarify how they work? I am a total newbie here and want to know the basics of colocation.
    Last edited by tmrd; 05-11-2014 at 12:01 AM.

  2. #2
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    Quote Originally Posted by tmrd View Post
    If I am wrong, could you please clarify how they work? I am a total newbie here and want to know the basics of colocation.
    Thats definitely not a basics question. This is something only datacenter owners need to know. But if someone has time to answer i would like to know too. But you might better go to a Q&A site like serverfault.com

  3. #3
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    It is not like that. When a network participates to an IX it announces only its own prefixes. It doesn't make sense for all IX members to announce what they get from their upstreams. Plus different IX have different policies. YOu need to go read their F.A.Q.
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  4. #4
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    Ok, here is the second question.

    If I am colocating my servers in a carrier neutral datacenter, all I need is to get IP transit from carriers and I have nothing to do with internet exchanges like AMS-IX/DE-CIX, am I right?

  5. #5
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    Quote Originally Posted by tmrd View Post
    Ok, here is the second question.

    If I am colocating my servers in a carrier neutral datacenter, all I need is to get IP transit from carriers and I have nothing to do with internet exchanges like AMS-IX/DE-CIX, am I right?
    Correct. If you are only collocating a few servers then I suspect it won't benefit you becoming a member of any exchanges. Direct transit will be the best option.

    However, if you continue growing, you will at some point reach a certain threshold of traffic where it would make more financial sense to connect to an IXP, than send all your traffic over transit.

    Most peoples reasons for joining IXP's are to reduce transit costs. By sending traffic over the IXP, you reduce the amount of traffic you send by transit, thus reducing the amount of transit bandwidth you need to commit to. You also obviously reduce the number of hops etc. etc.

    IXP's are not an alternative to IP transit. On an IXP, you can only access other networks that also peer with the same IXP. You still need transit to get those routes which aren't accessible on the IXP in your location. Most IXP's strictly forbid members from using the IXP route server as a default route.

    Example:
    You want to send traffic to Google, Amazon and eBay. Google and Amazon are members of the IXP in your location. You peer with the IXP's route server, and send your traffic destine for Google and Amazon via that peering session. You don't pay any transport costs (other than your IXP membership and port costs) for this traffic.

    As eBay isn't a member of that IXP, you have to send any traffic you want to reach eBay via your transit connection.
    Last edited by robclarkey; 05-11-2014 at 02:21 PM.
    Rob Clarke
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  6. #6
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    Quote Originally Posted by robclarkey View Post
    Correct. If you are only collocating a few servers then I suspect it won't benefit you becoming a member of any exchanges. Direct transit will be the best option.

    However, if you continue growing, you will at some point reach a certain threshold of traffic where it would make more financial sense to connect to an IXP, than send all your traffic over transit.

    Most peoples reasons for joining IXP's are to reduce transit costs. By sending traffic over the IXP, you reduce the amount of traffic you send by transit, thus reducing the amount of transit bandwidth you need to commit to. You also obviously reduce the number of hops etc. etc.

    IXP's are not an alternative to IP transit. On an IXP, you can only access other networks that also peer with the same IXP. You still need transit to get those routes which aren't accessible on the IXP in your location. Most IXP's strictly forbid members from using the IXP route server as a default route.

    Example:
    You want to send traffic to Google, Amazon and eBay. Google and Amazon are members of the IXP in your location. You peer with the IXP's route server, and send your traffic destine for Google and Amazon via that peering session. You don't pay any transport costs (other than your IXP membership and port costs) for this traffic.

    As eBay isn't a member of that IXP, you have to send any traffic you want to reach eBay via your transit connection.
    I think I got it, IXP provide you the access to the local ISP's and other international networks, right? But the question remains. Let's imagine that I am running a service like Youtube or Vimeo, I will benefit from the Internet Exchange locally, but what do I have to give it to the exchange in return? Nothing?

    Thanks for the first reply.
    Last edited by tmrd; 05-11-2014 at 03:51 PM.

  7. #7
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    Quote Originally Posted by tmrd View Post
    I think I got it, IXP provide you the access to the local ISP's and other international networks, right? But the question remains. Let's imagine that I am running a service like Youtube or Vimeo, I will benefit from the Internet Exchange locally, but what do I have to give it to the exchange in return? Nothing?

    Thanks for the first reply.
    IXP's provide you access to local networks, correct. Lots of international networks will also use them as well. For example, companies like Google like to pick up traffic as close to the source as possible. By peering with networks locally, they pickup the traffic and transport it on their own network, most likely at a lower cost than it going via transit.

    Yes, if you were a service like YouTube, it would benefit you being connected to IXPs. Most major eyeball networks offload traffic onto IXP's locally, so that they don't have to transport it long distances. By being on the IXP, you would be closer to your end users.

    In terms of "giving back" to the exchange, each one is different. With LINX for example, you pay a membership fee, and then a monthly fee per port that you use. The faster the port, the higher the fee. I believe AMS-IX follows the same sort of policy.
    Rob Clarke
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    Portsmouth, England
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  8. #8
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    An exchange just provides convenient infrastructure for peering. What peering arrangements you make is between you and the other network on the exchange.

    Keep in mind that even if you don't have to pay for bandwidth to your settlement-free peers, there are still costs involved with peering. Generally, you would need to pay for x-connects, and unless you colo at a facility that has an AMS-IX extension, you may end up paying for metro transport. There's also the membership and port fees. Last but not least, in order to effectively do full BGP, you would need to spend at least 5 figures for proper routers, as well as either the staff of consultant resources to manage it all. You would need to be doing a good amount of traffic before peering would be cost effective, and that's assuming that you're able to establish peering agreements with the networks that your traffic actually needs to get to.
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  9. #9
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    Transit provider will advertise their customer prefixes to IXP so you can get that route for free, your Transit provide will also do the same thing.

    If you do not want to advertise your Transit prefixes, you just don`t need to advertise your upstream routing to the IXP public route server then other members will not route the traffic to you generally but it still have security issue for sure(Some of the Tier1 was de-peer with public IXP ).

    If you ask for private peering, some cost may apply to you (Private VLAN, XCON, your extra VLAN or port if any)

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