Peering Coordinators by virtue of their jobs interact with people in similar positions in other companies. This is a close knit group that travels to peering forums in order to establish and maintain peering relationships.  But how to know who to speak with at the target organization? This is a frequently asked question for Dr Peering.

There are a bunch of folks DrPeering would describe as “cool”, meaning they are easy going, unlikely to be rude, maybe even open to peering with anyone. These are the first peering conversations that a new entrant might start with. once comfortable with the exchanges with peering prospects, the new entrant might move onto some “selective” peers, those with some prerequisites that the new entrant can meet.

It seems to take about ten conversations like this before the new entrant feels comfortable doing drive by nametag glancing and approaches.

Another mechanism DrPeering recommends is to then find a “Social Center”, a person in the Peering Community that seems to know everyone and/or has the pulse of the community by leading activities. Here are the Top Ten Most Influential Peering People in 2009.

And, so you feel at home with this group, here are some of the things network engineers talk about.