AMS-IX B.V.

What is an Internet Exchange?

As a network of networks the Internet builds onto the reliability of these networks Interconnection. This is where Internet Exchanges come into the picture. At an Internet Exchange, the networks of Internet Service Providers, telecommunications carriers, content providers, webhosters and the like, meet to exchange IP traffic with one another.

Exchange points offer a shared infrastructure for the networks to interconnect on an individual basis with all the other networks. This exchanging of regional, national and/or international IP traffic is generally known as ´peering´. AMS-IX is one of the world's largest Internet peering exchange points.

Every member at AMS-IX is in the position to peer with any of the other connected parties although they are not obliged to: each member might have a different peering policy, and this policy may differ depending on the party that is negotiating with them. Peering is mostly done without an exchange of money and based on a situation where parties see a mutual benefit.

This mutual benefit is generally established by the (type of) traffic and routes sent and received, so unless parties have an open peering policy, they will peer with parties of about the same size. Open peering policies make sense if you have a lot of content to distribute that is interesting traffic for access networks or if you are a party that whishes to offload as much traffic as possible by peering to decrease traffic that has to be send the commercial route (buying transit).

In general parties peer at an Internet exchange to decrease network costs, to improve network performance and to make their network more redundant. Improving network performance is done by accessing many networks directly at the exchange that otherwise would have taken several network 'hops' through other parties. The redundancy is served by having many routes at the exchange through which traffic can be sent, many alternatives available. Also into play comes that peering networks prefer the autonomy over their own network and traffic  management.

More background information on Internet Exchanges can also be found on the website of the association of European Internet Exchanges Euro-IX.

This short 5 minute movie explains about Internet Exchanges and Reveals the Internet