Telx Opens Exchanges in Dallas, NYC

Telx has launched new Telx Internet Exchange (TIE) peering platforms in the New York and Dallas markets, the company said today. The New York TIE service will be offered in Telx facilites at two major carrier hotels in Manhattan at 60 Hudson Street and 111 8th Avenue. More than 400 service provider and enterprise customers are connected with Telx in these buildings. In Dallas, a new exchange will allow customers to leverage peering within 2323 Bryan and the Telx facility at 8345 Stemmons Freeway.

“Telx is fully committed to providing superior Internet Exchange points within its facilities, and as a result have chosen to launch the next phases of our Internet Exchanges in the New York and Dallas markets,” said Michael Lucking, Director of IP Development and Engineering. Telx has existing TIE peering nodes in Atlanta and Phoenix.

Peering Key to Managing Bandwidth Bills

Equinix is the industry leader in peering, a traffic management strategy that can help large companies save money on their bandwidth bills and improve network performance. The explosive growth of Internet traffic, driven by the emergence of online video and photo sharing, has made peering perhaps more important than ever.

Peering allows two providers exchanging large volumes of traffic to save money by connecting directly, rather than routing traffic across their paid Internet connections.  Peering is often free as long as the amount of traffic exchanged is not out of balance, providing substantial cost savings for bandwidth for high-traffic sites and networks. Internet exchanges allow participants to peer with other providers connected to the exchange.

Equinix and other peering specialists provide the physical network connections between networks. This can be done by running a cable between the two companies’ network equipment, which is known as a cross-connect. This is an effective means of connecting one network to another.

But what if your company needs to exchange traffic with many different providers? Each Equinix data center includes The Equinix Exchange, a central meeting place where companies can peer with multiple providers, exchanging traffic over a 10-Gigabit Ethernet fabric. The ability to connect to so many key partners in a single location makes peering points critical to the growth and network management for companies with large Internet operations.

Equinix is the largest player in the peering arena. Other companies with significant peering businesses include Switch and Data (which operates the former PAIX interconnection sites), Terremark, Telehouse, Telx, CRG West and Interxion.

Peering is most often in the news when two companies have a dispute over the details of their traffic exchange agreements. When the balance of traffic between peering partners gets out of whack, someone usually wants to get paid. If they can’t work things out, one provider may “unplug” the peering connection, causing problems for users who’ve come to rely on their ability to access the other network.

An example: During the 2008 peering dispute between Cogent and Telia, gamers whose ISPs relied solely on Cogent for connectivity were unable to access World of Warcraft, the world’s most popular online game.

Peering disputes are really loud business negotiations, with angry customers used as leverage by either side. They usually end with one side agreeing to pay up or manage their traffic differently.

PAIX: A Key Hub, From Alta Vista To Facebook

A look at the battery room in the Switch and Data PAIX data center in Palo Alto, Calif.

Last week I noticed a link touting an “Exclusive Look at Facebook’s Main Data Center” and clicked through, only to encounter photos of the building housing the Palo Alto Internet Exchange (PAIX). Apparently Facebook’s mojo has made its presence the headline-grabber in any facility where it houses equipment. But veterans of the data center industry know that the PAIX, which is now operated by Switch and Data (SDXC), has a fabled history that predates the social networking boom.

In 1996 the PAIX facility was established as the first major carrier-neutral Internet exchange point, providing connectivity from multiple fiber providers. That bucked the trend at a time when most major exchange points were owned or controlled by telecom companies. The Palo Alto exchange was launched in the incubator labs of Digital Equipment, and its founders included Jay Adelson (who went on to found Equinix and Digg) and Paul Vixie (author of BIND and a key player in the DNS industry).

“The primary reasons the Palo Alto exchange existed was for interconnections,” said Drew Leonard, a PAIX veteran who is now director product marketing for Switch and Data. “It wasn’t a server farm. It was really customers who wanted access to the PAIX peering fabric.”

That peering operation started in the basement, which quickly got crowded as demand for space grew. “We were putting people everywhere just to fit them in,” Leonard recalled. The technical space was soon expanded to the first floor, and has since grown to encompass nearly the entire building.

Cogent, Sprint Reconcile on Peering

This year’s marquee peering dispute has been a dust-up between Cogent Communications (CCOI) and Sprint, which depeered Cogent in late October, which affected the Internet routing of hundreds of customers of both networks. After several days of customer complaints, Sprint restored its connection with Cogent but emphasized that it was a “temporary reconnection” while they work out their differences.

Today the two companies announced that they have reached a multi-year interconnection agreement that effectively resolves the earlier dispute. “The specifics of this agreement are confidential,” the announcement noted, while addingthat the agreement “is in accordance with both parties’ previous and long standing interconnection policies and agreements.” Translation: neither party will acknowledge blinking, but the customers are now spared the effects of further peering drama.

Sprint, Cogent Resume Peering, Keep Arguing

As we predicted Friday, the peering dispute between Sprint and Cogent didn’t last long. Sprint said tonight that it has ” initiated a temporary reconnection” to Cogent’s network while the two companies seek to work out their differences. In its statement, Sprint made it clear that the reconnection was “temporary only, as the core issues in this dispute have not changed.”

Not surprisingly, Sprint blames Cogent for the breakdown between the two companies and says Cogent’s press release Friday (which blamed Sprint for the dispute) contains ”a number of distortions.” Here’s Sprint’s version of events: In mid-2007 Sprint and Cogent began a trial peering agreement to determine if the two companies could exchange traffic “settlement-free.” Peering is often free as long as the amount of traffic exchanged is not out of balance.

“Cogent did not meet the minimum traffic exchange criteria agreed to by both parties,” Sprint says “As a result, settlement-free peering was not established and Cogent was notified in writing of these results.”

Major Impacts from Cogent-Sprint Peering Flap

Who’s affected by the peering dispute between Cogent and Sprint? Lots of businesses, universities and government agencies, according to Renesys, which tracks Internet routing. In a business dispute between the two companies, Sprint has severed the network connections between them. That means any organizations that use only Cogent or only Sprint for their Internet access will be unable to see any sites on the other network. The dispute also leaves customers of WV Fiber unable to see Cogent’s network (more on this in a moment).

“Over 200 downstream autonomous system customers of each organization cannot reach the networks in the other,” writes Renesys’ Todd Underwood. “This is ugly and will remain so.” Todd’s post provides a thorough explanation of how the Cogent and Sprint networks are affected by the dispute. Here’s Renesys’ data on who’s affected:

• Folks that are “single-homed” with Sprint and cannot access Cogent’s network include Expedia Inc., Pfizer, Rutgers University, the Federal Aviation Administration and Sungard Higher Education, which provides technology management to colleges and universities.
• Organizations single-homed with Cogent include online video firm Joost, whose primary servers in the Joost Production Benelux Network in Amsterdam  use Cogent. Also affected are Loopt and NTT America.

Peering Dispute Between Cogent, Sprint

Many customers of Sprint-Nextel and Cogent Communications are likely to be inconvenienced by a peering dispute between the two companies. Almost all major  peering disputes these days seem to involve Cogent (CCOI), which has had earlier high-profile network spats with Telia,  Limelight Networks, Level 3, France Telecom and AOL. This time, Cogent was quick to point the finger at Sprint, issuing a press release shortly after the de-peering occurred.

“On October 30 at 4:30 pm Sprint-Nextel severed its Internet connection to Cogent thereby partitioning the Internet,” Cogent states. “It is no longer possible for many Sprint customers and Cogent customers to directly communicate across the Internet. Sprint did so in violation of a contractual obligation to exchange Internet traffic with Cogent on a settlement free peering basis. Sprint and Cogent are engaged in litigation over this matter.”

It’s the “settlement free” bit that is at the heart of the dispute. Peering allows providers to exchange traffic with one another at no cost (or low cost) by establishing direct connections between their networks, instead of routing traffic across the public Internet. Peering is often free as long as the amount of traffic exchanged is not out of balance, providing substantial cost savings for bandwidth for high-traffic sites and networks.

The Planet Expands Peering with Equinix

The Planet is beefing up its network by adding new nodes in Equinix colocation facilities in San Jose, Calif., and Ashburn, Va., The Planet, one of the largest hosting companies, said the access to additional networks through peering connections at the Equinix data centers will “significantly enhance network performance and latency.”

Network performance is important for large U.S. providers, serving as a major selling point for international customers who seek to host in American data centers because of their superior connectivity. About 42 percent of The Planet’s 22,000 customers are international.