4 min readBy KiNET network team
What is an Internet exchange?
An Internet exchange is a place where networks connect to exchange traffic directly. Here is how exchanges work and which ones KiNET connects to.
An Internet exchange is a switching platform where many networks connect to exchange traffic directly. Each network brings one port and can then exchange traffic with every other network on the platform that agrees to peer.
How does an exchange work?
The exchange runs a large Ethernet fabric in one or more data centres. Members connect a router to the fabric and set up BGP sessions, either one by one with other members or through a route server that many members share.
Why does peering help?
Without an exchange, traffic between two networks usually passes through a transit carrier. With peering, it goes straight from one network to the other. The path is shorter, and neither side pays a carrier for that traffic.
Which exchanges does KiNET connect to?
KiNET connects to fourteen exchanges:
- Frankfurt: MegaIX, DE-CIX
- Singapore: SGIX, Equinix IX Singapore
- Shenzhen: CNIX, the National (Shenzhen Qianhai) New Internet Exchange
- Hong Kong: HKIX, Equinix IX Hong Kong
- Shanghai: SHIXP, the National (Shanghai) New Internet Exchange
- Taipei: STUIX, TPIX
- Tokyo: BBIX Tokyo, JPIX Tokyo, JPNAP Tokyo, Equinix IX Tokyo
The PoPs in Suzhou, Los Angeles and Seattle have no direct exchange connection yet and use blended transit.
What does this mean for a customer?
A KiNET port carries routes from both transit carriers and peers. If your users sit on a network that peers with KiNET at one of these exchanges, their traffic reaches you without a transit hop.
Questions
What is an Internet exchange?
An Internet exchange (IX) is a shared switching platform where many networks connect and exchange traffic with each other directly, instead of paying a transit carrier to carry it.
What is peering?
Peering is an agreement between two networks to exchange traffic between their own users. At an exchange, one port can peer with many networks.
Which exchanges does KiNET connect to?
MegaIX and DE-CIX in Frankfurt; CNIX in Shenzhen; HKIX and Equinix IX in Hong Kong; SHIXP in Shanghai; STUIX and TPIX in Taipei; BBIX, JPIX, JPNAP and Equinix IX in Tokyo; SGIX and Equinix IX in Singapore.