North American Network Operators Group

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Re: Peering - Benefits?

  • From: Andy Davidson
  • Date: Mon Nov 03 12:57:11 2008


On 31 Oct 2008, at 16:56, Paul Stewart wrote:


Why does the controversy word keep coming up? You're the third personnow to ask if I was trying to provide controversy and for the third time, NO I AM NOT.

Hi,


I have no intention of fanning the fire, but I can explain the controversy message pretty well.

Bringing a whole new methodology to how an organisation interconnects is hugely controversial for most organisations who are not already peering.

In my role as a consulting engineer in this field, I most recall introducing peering to two 'enterprise' organisations. Both joined exchanges in Europe at a time when their network edge was redesigned to support 'better practice' IT. Both were e-commerce organisations who traded directly with the general public, and ran open peering policies soliciting sessions with eyeball networks. At the end of my involvement with both, each organisation was peering off a third or so of their traffic.

One is still peering and probably peers off more traffic. The other withdrew from peering operations after around six months. Wearing another hat as an IX operator, I can confirm that IXPs do not want organisations to join and leave, since most of the IXP costs are front- stacked and relate to setup.

So what went wrong ? The organisation which is still peering has a more rich technical culture, willing to accept the so-called intangible benefits of peering. The second asked "are we a sales and marketing firm designed to shift widgets, or are we a fancy technical firm with a big network ?"

The culture of many firms is to keep-it-simple-stupid, and if your proposal for peering reached C*O levels, then it would be met with significant controversy if you are not already peering. Especially when the C*O responsible for legal hears about peering contracts...

Furthermore, to get and retain the peers you need, you need to make relationships with other peering co-ordinators. Attending the peering conferences is hard work and all of your colleagues will think you're on a jolly !

If you can't get sponsorship for your idea outside the technology department, then the idea is probably dead. Are there some PNIs you can run in the local area which will have a significant impact on your resiliency and traffic profile ?

Good luck. I am happy to talk to you in more detail about this subject if you would like more advice, drop me a line off-list.

Best wishes
Andy Davidson.