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Internet Exchange

An Internet exchange point, also known as IX or IXP, is an infrastructure through which autonomous systems exchange traffic. An IX can be a single local LAN or it can be spread across multiple locations.

In Peering Manager

Inside Peering Manager, you create an Internet exchange to then create one or more peering BGP sessions. Only Internet Exchange Peering Sessions can be related to an Internet exchange. For each Internet exchange you create, the following properties can be configured (n.b. some are optional):

  • Name: human-readable name attached to the IX.
  • Slug: unique configuration and URL friendly name; usually it is automatically generated from the IXP's name.
  • Status: session's status such as enabled, disabled, etc.
  • Local Autonomous System: your autonomous system connected to this IX.
  • Comments: text to explain what the Internet exchange is for. Can use Markdown formatting.
  • Import Routing Policies: a list of routing policies to apply when receiving prefixes though BGP sessions at this IX.
  • Export Routing Policies: a list of routing policies to apply when advertising prefixes though BGP sessions at this IX.
  • PeeringDB ID: an integer which is the ID of the IX LAN inside PeeringDB. This setting is required for Peering Manager to discover potential unconfigured BGP sessions.1
  • IPv6 Address: an IPv6 address used to connect to the Internet exchange network. 2
  • IPv4 Address: an IPv4 address used to connect to the Internet exchange network. 2
  • Router: a router connected to the Internet exchange. This is used to then generate and install configurations.2
  • Tags: a list of tags to help identifying and searching for a group.

Please note that an Internet exchange is a kind of BGP group with more specific properties aimed to match the purpose of an Internet exchange network. However while a group can be configured on more than one router, an IX can only be attached to a single router. This means that if you are connected more than once to an IX, you'll have to create one IX object per connection.

  1. This is no longer user edible ↩

  2. This moved to the Connection tab ↩↩↩