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Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) about Internet Peering

Here are the most common questions that come in from Ask.DrPeering.net readers and attendees of the Internet Peering Workshops.

Peering terminology questions

1. What is Peering?
2. What is Internet Peering?
3. What is the Definition of Peering?
4. What is the Definition of Internet Peering?
5. What is Transit?
6. What are the Peering and Transit basics?
7. What is Internet Peering?
8. What is bilateral Peering?
9. What is bi-lateral Peering?
10. What is multilateral Peering
11. What is multi-lateral Peering?
12. What are Peering Ratios?
13. Who will peer with me?


14. What is a Peering Policy?
15. What is the Best Peering Policy?
16. What is an "Open" peer?
17. What is a "Selective" peer?
18. What is a "Restrictive" peer?
19. What is a "Closed" peer?
20. What is an "Open Peering Policy?"
21. What is a "Selective Peering Policy?"
22. What is a "Restrictive Peering Policy?"
23. What is a "No Peering" Policy?
24. What is a "Peering Inclination"?


25. What is a Peering Coordinator?
26. Do you have a sample Bi-lateral Peering Agreement (BLPA)?
27. What are the top misperceptions about Peering?

Internet Peering Ecosystem questions

1. Why is Peering important?
2. What is an Internet Peering Ecosystem?
3. What is an Internet Region?
4. What is an Internet Service Provider (ISP)?


5. What is a Tier 1 ISP?
6. What is a Tier 2 ISP?
7. How has peering evolved in the last 10 years?
8. What emerging trends do you see in the peering ecosystem?
9. Are there global Tier 1 ISPs?
10. Who are the Tier 1 ISPs?
11. Why won't the (Tier 1) ISP peer with me?
12. Why won't ISPs peer with me?
13. Peering with Tier 1 ISPs, precedents?
14. In what ways do peering ecosystems differ?
15. Can the evolution of the U.S. peering ecosystem be instructive to other parts of the world?


16. Why is Peering Regionally important?
17. Why is Peering locally important?
18. When to expand Peering Regionally and Internationally?
19. When to use National, Regionally and International Peering?
20. Factors to consider when peering internationally?

Internet Exchange Point questions

1. What is private peering?
2. What is public peering?
3. When does peering make sense?
4. What is a "Tier 1 Internet Exchange Point?"
5. What is an Internet Exchange Point?
6. What is an IXP?


7. What is the economic value of an Internet Exchange Point?
8. What is the Peering Breakeven Point?
9. What is "Effective Peering Bandwidth?"
10. When does peering at an Internet Exchange Point make sense?
11. What is an "Effective Peering Range?"


12. What is a carrier-neutral Internet Exchange Point?
13. What is the difference between the European exchange point model and the U.S. exchange point model?
14. What is the difference between the European IXP model and the U.S. IXP model?
15. How is peering in the U.S. different from peering in Europe?
16. What is the difference between U.S. and European Peering?
17. What are the pre-requisites (necessary pre-conditions) for a successful carrier-neutral IXP?
18. Why is carrier neutrality important for an IXP?
19. Why is carrier neutrality important?
20. What is a carrier-neutral IXP?


21. What are the selection criteria for Internet Exchange Points?
22. What are the selection criteria for IXPs?
23. How do I choose a peering point?
24. How should I select an IX?


25. What is transport?
26. What are some of the decision criteria for deploying into data centers over seas? What is the process typically used?
27. What is a "successful" IXP?
28. What is the difference between a U.S. IX and a European IX?
29. What are the different IXP business models?
30. How many ISPs does a successful IXP need to have?
31. How many carriers are required for a carrier-neutral Internet Exchange Point?
32. How does a colocation company choose a location?
33. Site selection criteria for colocation facility?
34. How has the Internet Exchange Point industry evolved?
35. Why is the significance of IXPs increasing?

Internet Service Provider questions

1. What is the Business Case for Peering ?
2. When does peering make sense?
3. When does Peering NOT make sense?
4. What are the Economics of Peering?
5. What is a Peering Inclination?
6. What is a Peering Policy?
7. When do I choose a carrier neutral Internet Exchange Point?
8. When does it make sense to choose a carrier data center?
9. When does it make sense to use an ISP data center?
10. How many types of Internet connectivity failures are there?
11. What is the value of an Internet Transit Network?

Internet Transit questions

1. What is Transit?
2. What is Internet Transit?
3. What are the historical transit pricing trends?
4. What is the current market price for transit?
5. Is transport ever more expensive than Internet Transit?
6. Why do Internet Transit prices always drop?

William B. Norton / FAQs about DrPeering

1. Who is DrPeering ?
2. What is William B. Norton doing these days?
3. How long did it take to write "The Internet Peering Playbook: Connecting to the Core of the Internet?
4. What do you think of Equinix now?

To be added as FAQs....

• What is up with Peering in China?, April 24, 2012
• How has Internet Peering changed? March 24, 2012
• The Next International Peering Hot Spots? March 6, 2012
• Top 10 Peering Tactics for Content Provider Peering, February 13, 2012
• Peering Gravitational Pull on Transit Prices, January 27, 2012