Tag: Benefits of Peering

While buying IP transit is always just a best-effort method, without any guarantee that data is delivered or that the delivery meets any quality of service, peering increases the stability of your network. Read on to learn how this happens in this sixth instalment of our “reasons to peer” series.

Peering gives you direct access to many of your required traffic partners without having other networks in between. Internet Exchanges are the central Points of Presence (PoPs) for most networks, meaning that networks treat those PoPs well and put special effort in regards to redundancy, router hardware, etc. As mentioned in the previous article, for the major content, streaming, social, and gaming networks, peering is the key to having good network performance. Their presence at the major Internet Exchanges is at the heart of their network.

Secure routes to important networks

By being directly connected to an Internet Exchange, you secure the traffic routes to these most important networks. Aside from this, you also have a better-working network, as you have less latency, fewer jitter problems, less packet loss, and more throughput – which has a strong impact on the stability of your network. And in case of failure in peering, you are backed up by your IP transit.

You can read the previous articles in the Reasons To Peer series below :

• 5. Peering improves your connection to major players
• 4. Peering increases throughput to other networks
• 3. Peering lowers latency
• 2. Peering lowers your costs
• 1. Peering Raises Your Revenue

Peering at an Internet Exchange means being part of an interconnection ecosystem. While the exchange itself is a small niche topic for those who operate it, the ecosystem around it offers a very broad range of possibilities for doing business – another reason to peer.

While the Internet Exchange (IX) or Internet Exchange Point (IXP) is the physical infrastructure which lets networks exchange traffic, the networks who want to peer at one create their own ecosystem. They have large demands on data center space, backhauling, IP transit, voice and VoIP business, CDN clusters, maintenance and operational staff, MPLS and much more. In the big hubs, this is a billion-dollar business.

Peering is about community

Beyond business and engineering, a successful ecosystem also requires the building of a community. Peering requires a common understanding and mutual agreements for the benefit of better, more resilient Internet infrastructure.

Interconnection beyond peering

The leading Internet Exchange operators connect thousands of networks both locally and through remote peering at their locations around the world. They also offer additional interconnection services such as security solutions, cloud connectivity solutions, direct connections with SDWANs, and the possibility to create Closed User Groups.

Internet Exchanges have become the enabler for a whole interconnection ecosystem connecting businesses and people in the most transparent, secure, and performant way.

You can read the previous articles in the Reasons To Peer series below :

• 8. Peering improves user experience
• 7. Peering makes partnerships possible
• 6. Peering increases the stability of your network
• 5. Peering improves your connection to major players
• 4. Peering increases throughput to other networks
• 3. Peering lowers latency
• 2. Peering lowers your costs
• 1. Peering Raises Your Revenue

When it comes to end-user experience, peering has a lot of advantages compared to IP transit-only designs. Better latency, less packet loss, and higher throughput all mean that your services work better and your users will be happy.

We have already talked about latency in a previous article in this “reason to peer” series, when we said even a 2-second delay in the loading time of a website is sufficient to increase the bounce rate more than 100%.

Another good example is gaming in the cloud: Cloud gaming providers have to select their servers and Internet Exchanges through which the game data is transported in such a way that they are closer to the gamers, meaning that the data path between the user and the server is as short as possible, resulting in the best possible latency and the best possible gaming experience.

Increase performance and access speed

Peering can also solve some of the challenges larger enterprises are facing. From video conferencing to cloud computing, digital capabilities are essential for any organization that wants to build a more efficient workforce – especially at a time when people are increasingly working from home. Rising volumes of IP traffic need to be distributed efficiently and cost-effectively to employees around countries and around the world. By peering at an Internet Exchange, you can increase the content performance and access speeds, enhance productivity, and reduce frustration with unresponsive applications.

You can read the previous articles in the Reasons To Peer series below :

• 7. Peering makes partnerships possible
• 6. Peering increases the stability of your network
• 5. Peering improves your connection to major players
• 4. Peering increases throughput to other networks
• 3. Peering lowers latency
• 2. Peering lowers your costs
• 1. Peering Raises Your Revenue

As we have learned in this reasons to peer series, peering has many advantages, ranging from financial benefits to having a more robust and stable network. It can also offer opportunities for new partnerships.

Easy start for premium services

Internet Exchanges not only offer you access to hundreds of networks for peering, but also to hundreds of possible partners e.g. for buying or selling MPLS connections (known as: MPLS NNI). You can target hundreds of networks without organizing or buying additional expensive fiber patches or ending up in problems with different, not matching data center locations. Peering on an Internet Exchange platform gives you an easy, cheap, and quick start for premium services.

Further, you can also go for dedicated VLAN connections to other members if you need a logical separation of the handover of these services.

You can read the previous articles in the Reasons To Peer series below :

• 6. Peering increases the stability of your network
• 5. Peering improves your connection to major players
• 4. Peering increases throughput to other networks
• 3. Peering lowers latency
• 2. Peering lowers your costs
• 1. Peering Raises Your Revenue