Peering Exchange Configurations

Thu Apr 8 18:00:10 UTC 2010

I operate the exchange point in the Kansas City area so I'll answer your
questions based on how we do it.

1) Is a private AS typically used for the exchange side of the session?

No.  Each participant uses their own ASN.

2) Are RFC1918 IPs typically used for the p2p links into the exchange?

No.  Exchanges typically have their own IPs assigned by their RIR and pass
them out to the members for connections to the exchange.

3) Do peering exchanges typically remove their AS from the path  
advertised to exchange participants?

There is no peering directly with the exchange in a private link.  In the
case of peering with a route server on the exchange then it is considered
best practices to do so.

     3a) If no: Do participants typically preference exchange-learned  
routes over other sources?

Yes.  As far as I know all our members set routes learned through the
exchange fabric higher than anything else.  That's kind of the point as
exchange traffic is free so you always want to use it first.

4) Do exchanges typically support the following address families?
       IPv4 Multicast
       IPv6 Unicast
       IPv6 Multicast

No
Yes
No

In exchanges where a route server is employed:
4) Do participants have a p2p link into a simple routing environment  
then multi-hop to a route server?

No.  The route server is typically accessed like any other peer on the
fabric.

5) I see that Bird, OpenBDGd, and Quagga are all options for route  
server software. Does one of those packages stand out as the clear  
current choice for production peering exchanges?

We use Quagga.  It's what we we're most familiar with and we haven't had any
issues.

>I very much appreciate any responses.

No Problem.  Feel free to stop by and check out our fabric for yourself.

Aaron