Peering - Benefits?

Fri Oct 31 16:58:14 UTC 2008

My company will be peering with two other SPs in the area purely for
business strategic purposes. It turns out that at least one of these SPs
owns the fiber running to the first CO in our transit back to Chicago.
So it helps to be buddies with these companies.

Paul Vixie wrote:
> "Paul Stewart" <pstewart at nexicomgroup.net> writes:
>
>   
>> ...
>>
>> My question was meant at a much higher level - a level where costs are
>> equal for peering/transit and all the "technical" and the "financial"
>> homework has been done already.... now I'm the stage of one last meeting
>> with top level management to explain "peering" and it's magic.  These are
>> mainly non-technical people - so my question to NANOG was for viewpoints
>> on peering of which hopefully I could reinforce some of my own thoughts
>> with.  Whether or not someone operating at scale isn't the discussion -
>> and it's funny how many people involved with companies (that are
>> "operating at scale") have emailed me offline since this discussion
>> started a few days ago with questions/thoughts and strategy.
>>     
>
> if the financials and technicals are similar enough to be factored out,
> then what you have to look at is possible variance between tactical and
> strategic cost/benefit ratios.  basically this boils down to the cost of
> lock-in.  if you're going to avoid lock-in then you have get your own
> address space and build out to at least one IXP and then, buy diverse
> transit.  once you have done all that, the cost of also peering is in the
> noise, whereas the advantage of also peering is noticeable if not always
> easily measureable.  if you're not going to avoid lock-in, then everything
> you'd need to spend to avoid it can be avoided, and you won't be peering
> unless it's for purely strategic reasons.
>   

-- 
Steve King

Cisco Certified Network Associate
CompTIA Linux+ Certified Professional
CompTIA A+ Certified Professional