Internet Exchange Points are an underappreciated resource that all internet users rely on, but governments have unfortunately ignored them, despite their status as critical infrastructure.<\/p>\n
So says Flavio Luciani, chief technology officer at Italian outfit Namex, which operates Roma IXP.<\/p>\n
His position isn\u2019t just self-serving, because according to the Internet Society\u2019s (ISOC\u2019s) IXP tracker<\/a>, 1,519 IXPs are currently active and have a collective capacity of 2,086,083 Gbps.<\/p>\n As ISOC explains, IXPs \u201care physical locations where different networks can send traffic to one another, serving as a kind of \u2018traffic circle\u2019 for the data that flows through them. So, rather than a network having to go all the way back to its own hub, which might be located halfway across the world, it can use another network to move the data.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThis practice, known as peering, reduces latency, lowers costs, and makes connections more reliable,\u201d ISOC adds, before lauding peering for creating \u201ca larger number of routes for data traffic to travel on, which makes the whole network more resistant to problems in international connectivity.\u201d<\/p>\n The ISOC says peering at IXPs \u201ccan improve access and support economic growth,\u201d an assertion helped by the fact that IXP members don\u2019t charge one another for peering services.<\/p>\n Most IXPs are privately operated and their existence and role isn\u2019t widely known beyond the small community of internetworking wonks.<\/p>\n In an article that regional internet registries RIPE NCC<\/a> and APNIC<\/a> both published this week, Luciani argues that IXPs are therefore \u201coften invisible in both public discourse and infrastructure policy\u201d.<\/p>\n He thinks that may be because \u201cMany IXPs start small, often as collaborative efforts between local ISPs, universities, or Network Operator Groups (NOGs).\u201d<\/p>\n