November 1999 Internet Exchange Points & Colocation Keith Mitchell, Executive Chairman London Internet Exchange Keith Mitchell, Executive Chairman London Internet Exchange Colocation Summit, 30th June 2000

1 Bridging the Gulf Co-Locate Providers CLPs Internet Service Providers ISPs Internet Exchange Points IXPs (NAPs) Co-Locate Facilities CLFs

1 LINX - History & Status Started October 1994 Neutral, not-for-profit Now largest exchange in Europe 4th or 5th In world 100+ ISP Members ‘World Class’ facility Model for other IXPs

1 LINX Objectives Primary Objective  “To provide efficient interconnectivity for the UK Internet” Realise this by aiming to keep 100% of UK Internet traffic in the UK Secondary Objective  “To promote the interests of its members” Latter is only done on specific issues, where there is formal approval of strong consensus among members

1 LINX Principles Neutral locations  Not owned by ISPs or telcos Neutral management  By association of members Neutral operation  By dedicated autonomous staff Should not compete with members’ services  No retail members, only ISPs Well-funded quality facilities and infrastructure

1 Principles (continued) “Natural” national monopoly should be:  Not for profit  Efficient  Accountable Routing policy is purely a matter for members, though some constraints:  Members must peer with at least 1 other  Direct bilateral connections also permitted

1 LINX Members Cumulative

Members by Country Total = 109 1

1 Network Topology

1 Gigabit Ethernet MAN First deployed:  inter-switch 98Q4  inter-site 99Q1 Available to members:  pilot 99Q4  service 00Q2 - 8 members  higher than forecast demand as members break the 100Mbps barrier Total LINX traffic peak ~2.5Gbps

1 LINX Colocation Principles Some important concepts established from inception UK National IXP should be:  independent of any one CLP  located at commercial-quality facility (traditionally academic)  located at neutral facility

1 Initial LINX Locations From October 94 at Telehouse Rewarding relationship for both parties But around 1997, Telehouse mostly full  Also resilience concerns Went out to tender for second site  3 bids But winning bidder pulled out 

1 Model Evolution Re-tendered Commissioned 2nd Primary site with winners Telecity in 1998 High quality of bids Major co-lo provider growth in London Docklands & City area Interest from 7 other CLPs Requirements from LINX Members Created ‘Expansion Site’ plan

1 Interested Parties BT City Reach EGT/NTL Equinix Guardian DR Internet Facilitators InterXion IX Europe Level3 London Switch Redbus Interhouse ScoLocate/Zereau SGRS TeleCity Telehouse

1 Some ISP Trends Can’t fit all the content farms in one CLF Need to be at multiple CLFs Distinction between ISPs/CLPs/ content providers diminishing Dark fibre becoming more available and cheaper

1 Some CLP Trends Major influx of new players and money Successful CLFs filling up CLFs running out of rack and riser space Still demand/supply gap for quality colo:  not enough competition  high costs Multiple CLFs per CLP per city

1 Some IXP Trends More members, more traffic, bigger switches Running out of space Throwing out the content farms Trying to become CLF independent Native multicast finally arriving Multiple cities per country

1 Thesis IXPs originally provided efficient, co-ordinated connectivity through co-operation between ISPs To evolve they must provide efficient, co-ordinated connectivity between CLFs & ISPs through co-operation between CLPs and ISPs

1 Corollary IXPs which are not CLF independent will become increasingly tied to one CLP Preserving neutrality requires:  avoiding above  providing intra-city connectivity only

1 The Alternative  Multiple commercially competing CLFs per metro area will each have own IXP Each ISP will need (either/both):  a presence at many CLFs  many private bi-lateral interconnects The latter do not scale well across either full or many buildings

1 The Strategy Build an:  efficient  co-ordinated  neutral  not-for-profit dark fibre IXP between as many CLFs as possible

1 The Strategy Make IXP connection a:  single location  cheap  simple  facility independent service option for all ISPs

1 IXP/CLP Partnership Benefits Increased customer base Cost-effective use of infrastructure Enhanced marketing & publicity opportunities Brand quality validation Skills transfer

1 Why become a LINX site? LINX Members already appearing at new CLP sites Potential LINX Members enquiring about co-lo space LINX presence a great attraction to ISPs LINX presence represents high QoS

1 Basic Principles Must not expose LINX to unnecessary financial risk Costs borne by site operators Must not interfere with the operation of the ‘core’ facilities Will be as simple as possible to implement LINX must not distort market

1 Basic Principles (continued) Normal LINX Quality of Service will apply Differential between ‘Primary’ and ‘Expansion’ sites maintained  ‘Primary’ sites must be neutral  ‘Expansion’ site relationship non- exclusive, need not be neutral  Not all LINX facilities will be available

1 Application Process Sites must have >2 Members or potential Members  Mechanism for testing clearly laid out in plan Sites must meet technical criteria Standardised LINX Contract back-to-back with standard CLP contract

1 Technical Criteria Number of carriers with fibre into facility Size of facility Number of engineers, 24x7 operators Security measures Separate LINX cage located centrally Fire protection system Power: capacity, UPS, generators Air conditioning Verify by site visit

1 Selection Process First selection test  Number of Members at site committed to connecting Second selection test  Number of potential new Members submitting draft application Tie breaker  IETF Random selection process

1 Current Status Primary sites at:  Telehouse, TeleCity LINX purchased IRU on dark fibre to implement Gigabit MAN Q1 2000:  Redbus Interhouse  Telehouse Eastern extension Q2 2000:  Guardian DR, InterXion, IX Europe  equipment ready, waiting for fibre

1 Conclusions Have learnt lessons:  Physical infrastructure build quite painless  Contractual/legal issues very time consuming  New entrants to colo market a little over optimistic  Need to build relationship and trust with & between many CLPs Each one gets easier

1 The Future Developing 'Build your own exchange site' handbook Open to further Expansion Site bids Provisional approval from LINX members to work with CLFs:  outside London M25  not connected to existing sites

1 Further Information Fax