38-473: The Toronto Internet Exchange Community ( TorIX ) is a not-for-profit Internet Exchange Point (IXP) located in a carrier hotel at 151 Front Street West , Equinix 's TR2 data centre at 45 Parliament Street and 905 King Street West in Toronto , Ontario , Canada . As of March 2021, TorIX has 259 unique autonomous systems representing 285 peer connections and peak traffic rates of 1.344 Tbps, making it
76-421: A list of references , related reading , or external links , but its sources remain unclear because it lacks inline citations . Please help improve this article by introducing more precise citations. ( June 2010 ) ( Learn how and when to remove this message ) ( Learn how and when to remove this message ) A route server is a computer server that was originally developed by
114-472: A benefit in such arrangements, including many of the country's largest ISPs , Bell Canada is not a participant at TorIX. By keeping Canadian Internet traffic local within the country, many organizations are able to alleviate concerns regarding Canadian source/destination Internet traffic, particularly involving concerns regarding the American NSA 's interception of cross-border traffic, best demonstrated by
152-474: A direct link to another ISP and accept a route (normally ignored) to the other ISP through the IXP; if the direct link fails, traffic will then start flowing over the IXP. In this way, the IXP acts as a backup link. When these conditions are met, and a contractual structure exists to create a market to purchase network services, the IXP is sometimes called a "transit exchange". The Vancouver Transit Exchange, for example,
190-450: A transitional strategy, they were effective, providing a bridge from the Internet's beginnings as a government-funded academic experiment, to the modern Internet of many private-sector competitors collaborating to form a network-of-networks, transporting Internet bandwidth from its points-of-production at Internet exchange points to its sites-of-consumption at users' locations. This transition
228-717: Is attractive for smaller companies, while larger companies can see significant operational expense savings by utilizing the exchange at a fraction of the cost of commercial Internet transit. By utilizing the exchange, members can keep their Internet traffic "local," without the added latency of a third-party Internet transit provider. For example, Internet traffic between two points in the same province that used different last mile ISPs may travel extensive physical distances, including to and from other countries, which would negatively impact latency-sensitive applications. Through direct peering relationships, members and their customers realize better network performance. While many companies see
266-591: Is described as a "shopping mall" of service providers at one central location, making it easy to switch providers, "as simple as getting a VLAN to a new provider". The VTE is run by BCNET, a public entity. Advocates of green broadband schemes and more competitive telecommunications services often advocate aggressive expansion of transit exchanges into every municipal area network so that competing service providers can place such equipment as video on demand hosts and PSTN switches to serve existing phone equipment, without being answerable to any monopoly incumbent. Since
304-419: Is open to all companies capable of connecting to the exchange at 151 Front Street West or Equinix TR2, and have their own Autonomous System Number (ASN) . The typical peer is an ISP , communications company or a content delivery network , though overall membership includes a broad range of enterprise companies, government, and educational institutions. Peers have autonomous control over their routing policies at
342-576: The BGP routing protocol. Single-mode fiber is the only physical connection media supported. The Exchange also offers two BGP Route-Servers , which allow peers to exchange prefixes with each other while minimizing the number of direct BGP peering sessions configured on their routers. Participation is voluntary, with approximately 85 percent of the membership using the free service. Strict prefix filtering to prevent unintentional announcements of IP address blocks to other participants. The exchange allows participants
380-624: The AMS-IX in Amsterdam and at the DE-CIX in Frankfurt. The principal business and governance models for IXPs include: The technical and business logistics of traffic exchange between ISPs is governed by bilateral or multilateral peering agreements. Under such agreements, traffic is exchanged without compensation. When an IXP incurs operating costs, they are typically shared among all of its participants. At
418-691: The Exchange or the wider Canadian Internet. Since 2012, TorIX has been hosting a cluster of Network Time Protocol (NTP) servers for use by the Internet as a whole. Using servers which sync to both GPS and CDMA sources, the TorIX NTP cluster is a stratum 1 time source. The original equipment was donated by the Canadian Internet Registration Authority (CIRA) and has since been replaced and upgraded. As of June 2019, it provides time to over 500,000 devices worldwide every minute. Membership
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#1732858785395456-619: The IP routing table of an autonomous system where the server is located. Further reading [ edit ] Doyle, Jeff; DeHaven Carroll, Jennifer (April 2001). Routing TCP/IP . Vol. 2. Cisco Press. ISBN 1-57870-089-2 . Lu, Xicheng; Zhao, Wei; Zhao, Wei (August 2005). Networking and Mobile Computing . New York: Springer-Verlag. ISBN 3-540-28102-9 . External links [ edit ] "Route Servers" . INetDaemon Training. "Route Server Next Generation" . Merit Network Inc. Archived from
494-710: The Routing Arbiter project, with funding from the National Science Foundation . This routing process directs information among Border Gateway Protocol (BGP) routers. These servers are placed at Network access points (NAPs), where centralized computers organize and match routing data. Route servers are important because they help manage BGP sessions. BGP sessions have difficulties with overhead when managing sessions where routers with single and multiple domains are connected ( also known as full mesh routing connectivity ) . Route servers reduce overhead by referencing
532-492: The building's meet-me-room (MMR), which makes the IX reachable by any organization with a presence in the building. At Equinix TR2, TorIX is available to all organizations present there. At 905 King Street West, TorIX is accessible via the building meet-me-room. TorIX initially started by Bill Campbell and Jason Lixfeld in 1997 the RACO facility in suite 604 at 151 Front Street West. In 2003,
570-648: The characteristics of the network effect . Internet exchange points began as Network Access Points or NAPs , a key component of Al Gore 's National Information Infrastructure (NII) plan, which defined the transition from the US Government-paid-for NSFNET era (when Internet access was government sponsored and commercial traffic was prohibited) to the commercial Internet of today. The four Network Access Points (NAPs) were defined as transitional data communications facilities at which Network Service Providers (NSPs) would exchange traffic, in replacement of
608-450: The contracted commitment level, the customer usually pays based on an agreed per-megabit charge. Billing is typically done based on the 95th percentile. As a not-for-profit, TorIX charges a small port fee based on the speed of the port the member desires, rather than the amount of traffic traveling over TorIX. The more traffic, the better, but peers are not penalized for lower traffic levels. The low-cost barrier to entry for prospective peers
646-461: The dissolution of the Internet backbone and transition to the IXP system in 1992, the measurement of Internet traffic exchanged at IXPs has been the primary source of data about Internet bandwidth production: how it grows over time and where it is produced. Standardized measures of bandwidth production have been in place since 1996 and have been refined over time. Route server From Misplaced Pages,
684-549: The exchange began offering gigabit Ethernet. In 2008, the Exchange began offering 10GE ports. In 2015, 100GE ports began to be offered. The exchange is Ethernet -based and currently operates Cisco Nexus switches 9000 series switches. Core nodes handle port speeds of GigabitEthernet , 10 Gigabit Ethernet and 100 Gigabit Ethernet , including bonded configurations. Peers connect to the Layer 2 fabric using IPv4 & IPv6 addresses provided by TorIX to communicate with each other using
722-549: The exchange, and may peer with as few or as many as desired. The exchange does encourage use of the route-servers . Members are not required to have their own provider-independent address space , but it is recommended. For those that do not, and who wish to join the exchange, companies are asked to provide a Letter of Authority from their ISP permitting them to advertise their IPv4 or IPv6 prefixes. Peers must have their own unique ASNs. Organizations wishing to connect to TorIX can arrange colocation for their equipment with one of
760-508: The 💕 Type of server instrumental to network access point operations [REDACTED] This article has multiple issues. Please help improve it or discuss these issues on the talk page . ( Learn how and when to remove these messages ) [REDACTED] This article needs to be updated . Please help update this article to reflect recent events or newly available information. ( July 2017 ) [REDACTED] This article includes
798-494: The largest IXP in Canada. According to Misplaced Pages's List of Internet Exchange Points by Size , TorIX is the 16th largest IXP in the world in numbers of peers, and 17th in the world in traffic averages. The Exchange is organized and run by industry professionals in voluntary capacity. Within 151 Front Street, TorIX is accessible within facilities operated by Equinix, Cologix , Neutral Data Centres and Frontier Networks, or available via
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#1732858785395836-944: The many companies operating at 151 Front Street West or with Equinix at TR2, or use long-haul Ethernet transport through a third-party provider capable of physically connecting to the exchange. Justification for joining the Toronto Internet Exchange is typical to most IXPs: financial, network performance and/or security. High-profile members of TorIX include Google , Akamai , Facebook , Amazon , Yahoo! , Telus , Zayo Group , CANARIE , CBC , CenturyLink , CloudFlare , Cogeco , DigitalOcean , Distributel , Dropbox , Eastlink , Fastly , iTeraTEL, Limelight Networks , LinkedIn , Microsoft , ORION , OVH , Primus Canada , Rogers Communications , Shaw Communications , StackPath , TekSavvy , Twitch , Cogent Communications , Frontier Networks , Freedom Mobile and Vianet Inc . Compared to commercial Internet transit pricing in Canada,
874-515: The market at their peak, and there was an attempt by Stockholm -based IXP NetNod to use SRP/DPT , but Ethernet has prevailed, accounting for more than 95% of all existing Internet exchange switch fabrics. All Ethernet port speeds are to be found at modern IXPs, ranging from 10 Mb /second ports in use in small developing-country IXPs, to ganged 10 Gb /second ports in major centers like Seoul, New York, London, Frankfurt, Amsterdam, and Palo Alto. Ports with 100 Gb/second are available, for example, at
912-484: The more expensive exchanges, participants pay a monthly or annual fee, usually determined by the speed of the port or ports which they are using. Fees based on the volume of traffic are less common because they provide a counterincentive to the growth of the exchange. Some exchanges charge a setup fee to offset the costs of the switch port and any media adaptors ( gigabit interface converters , small form-factor pluggable transceivers , XFP transceivers , XENPAKs , etc.) that
950-623: The new participant requires. Internet traffic exchange between two participants on an IXP is facilitated by Border Gateway Protocol (BGP) routing configurations between them. They choose to announce routes via the peering relationship – either routes to their own addresses or routes to addresses of other ISPs that they connect to, possibly via other mechanisms. The other party to the peering can then apply route filtering , where it chooses to accept those routes, and route traffic accordingly, or to ignore those routes, and use other routes to reach those addresses. In many cases, an ISP will have both
988-772: The option of eliminating the TorIX ASN from the AS path of prefixes received via the route-servers. This can substantially increase the utility of the route-servers for participants, but should only be undertaken after careful consideration. In addition, TorIX participants will have a range of BGP communities that can be used for traffic engineering purposes. The Exchange operates a members-only portal that allows peers to publish their peering policies, contact other members with peering requests, configure route-server access and options, track traffic usage, etc. TorIX will consider hosting Internet community projects that are of an interest to members of
1026-550: The other is a general member participation list. The exchange also hosts a mailing list for wholesale ISPs that connect to Bell Canada (formerly Bell Nexxia)'s wholesale DSL services, and this is a key source for up-to-date information on day-to-day issues experienced by operators. TorIX has been a gold sponsor of the annual Canadian ISP Summit in Toronto since 2011. TorIX sponsored NANOG 65 Montreal in October 2015. In April 2010, TorIX
1064-408: The participating ISPs connect. Prior to the existence of switches, IXPs typically employed fiber-optic inter-repeater link (FOIRL) hubs or Fiber Distributed Data Interface (FDDI) rings, migrating to Ethernet and FDDI switches as those became available in 1993 and 1994. Asynchronous Transfer Mode (ATM) switches were briefly used at a few IXPs in the late 1990s, accounting for approximately 4% of
1102-406: The per-megabit cost of being a typical TorIX peer works out to cents-on-the-dollar, versus tens of dollars per megabit. According to Job Snijders' IXP Pricing List, TorIX is one of the lowest cost IXP's in the entire world. Most commercial Internet transit agreements require a minimum traffic commitment level, which the customer must pay regardless if their usage is below that point. If usage exceeds
1140-551: The phrase lives on to a small degree, among those who conflate the NAPs with IXPs. The primary purpose of an IXP is to allow networks to interconnect directly, via the exchange, rather than going through one or more third-party networks. The primary advantages of direct interconnection are cost, latency , and bandwidth . Traffic passing through an exchange is typically not billed by any party, whereas traffic to an ISP's upstream provider is. The direct interconnection, often located in
1178-515: The publicly financed NSFNET Internet backbone. The National Science Foundation let contracts supporting the four NAPs, one to MFS Datanet for the preexisting MAE-East in Washington, D.C., and three others to Sprint , Ameritech , and Pacific Bell , for new facilities of various designs and technologies, in New York (actually Pennsauken, New Jersey ), Chicago, and California, respectively. As
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1216-490: The rest of the Internet. However, a connection to a local IXP may allow them to transfer data without limit, and without cost, vastly improving the bandwidth between customers of such adjacent ISPs. Internet Exchange Points (IXPs) are public locations where several networks are connected to each other. Public peering is done at IXPs, while private peering can be done with direct links between networks. A typical IXP consists of one or more network switches , to which each of
1254-415: The revelations of Edward Snowden to the press. Peers are charged an annual port access fee, with the cost dependent on the type of port and the number of ports required. These fees are used to offset the costs of running the exchange, including vendor support contracts, spare optics and hardware upgrades. TorIX operates several mailing lists: three are TorIX specific, two deal with operational issues, and
1292-569: The same city as both networks, avoids the need for data to travel to other cities—and potentially on other continents—to get from one network to another, thus reducing latency. The third advantage, speed, is most noticeable in areas that have poorly developed long-distance connections. ISPs in regions with poor connections might have to pay between 10 or 100 times more for data transport than ISPs in North America, Europe, or Japan. Therefore, these ISPs typically have slower, more limited connections to
1330-508: The set of ISPs that participate in that IXP). The primary alternative to IXPs is private peering , where ISPs directly connect their networks. IXPs reduce the portion of an ISP's traffic that must be delivered via their upstream transit providers, thereby reducing the average per-bit delivery cost of their service. Furthermore, the increased number of paths available through the IXP improves routing efficiency (by allowing routers to select shorter paths) and fault-tolerance . IXPs exhibit
1368-545: The three telco-operated NAPs faded into obscurity relatively quickly after the expiration of the federal subsidies, MAE-East , thrived for fifteen more years, and its west-coast counterpart MAE-West continued for more than twenty years. Today, the phrase "Network Access Point" is of historical interest only, since the four transitional NAPs disappeared long ago, replaced by hundreds of modern Internet exchange points, though in Spanish-speaking Latin America ,
1406-983: Was a co-sponsor of ARIN 's conference in Toronto. In February 2007, TorIX was a co-sponsor of NANOG 's conference in Toronto. Internet Exchange Point Early research and development: Merging the networks and creating the Internet: Commercialization, privatization, broader access leads to the modern Internet: Examples of Internet services: Internet exchange points ( IXes or IXPs ) are common grounds of IP networking, allowing participant Internet service providers (ISPs) to exchange data destined for their respective networks. IXPs are generally located at places with preexisting connections to multiple distinct networks, i.e. , datacenters , and operate physical infrastructure ( switches ) to connect their participants. Organizationally, most IXPs are each independent not-for-profit associations of their constituent participating networks (that is,
1444-634: Was particularly timely, coming hard on the heels of the ANS CO+RE controversy , which had disturbed the nascent industry, led to congressional hearings, resulted in a law allowing NSF to promote and use networks that carry commercial traffic, prompted a review of the administration of NSFNET by the NSF's Inspector General (no serious problems were found), and caused commercial operators to realize that they needed to be able to communicate with each other independent of third parties or at neutral exchange points. Although
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