BGP Peer Selection Considerations

Mon Nov 9 19:10:43 UTC 2009

On Mon, Nov 9, 2009 at 12:40 PM,  <adel at baklawasecrets.com> wrote:
> I have an existing relationship with provider A, colo, cross connects
> etc.  Provider A has offered to get the PI space, ASN number,
> purchase the transit for us with provider B and manage cross
> connects to provider B (they say they have a diverse "fibre
> backhaul network").  This is quite attractive from a support
> and billing perspective.  Also suspect that provider A will be
> able to get more attractive pricing from Provider B than I
> would be able to.
>
> Am I missing things that I need to consider?

What happens when provider A is bought by provider C and you want to
dump provider C but keep provider B? You'll have created a conflict of
interest for provider B in any negotiation you have with them.

Be aware that provider A's diverse network for provider A's service is
the same diverse network they'll use to connect you to provider B. As
a result, many or most of the outages which impact provider A will
also impact your connectivity to provider B, defeating the central
purpose of having a provider B.

Regards,
Bill Herrin

-- 
William D. Herrin ................ herrin at dirtside.com  bill at herrin.us
3005 Crane Dr. ...................... Web: <http://bill.herrin.us/>
Falls Church, VA 22042-3004