RE: IXP hardware

["Barry Raveendran Greene" <bgreene at cisco.com>]

We ship out CAT 2900XLs in the "IXP Kits" we donate. With duplex 100M, it
has plenty of power to get an IXP up and running.

> -----Original Message-----
> From: owner-afnog at afnog.org [mailto:owner-afnog at afnog.org]On Behalf Of
> Geert Jan de Groot
> Sent: Thursday, March 07, 2002 2:21 PM
> To: antonio at nambu.uem.mz
> Cc: afnog at afnog.org
> Subject: Re: IXP hardware
>
>
> On Thu, 07 Mar 2002 11:24:56 -0800  Randy Bush wrote:
> > > how can I connect those ISP's over a leased line to the
> switch at the IXP?
> > usually the isps each has their own router next to the l2 switch, and
> > each is responsible to bring connectivity to that router.
>
> In addition to Randy's excellent answer, I should add that you don't
> need to go wild-hog with the central switch equipment. The predecessor
> to AMS-IX (the Amsterdam exchange) used a piece of 10-BASE5
> ('thick ethernet', you know, the gardenhose cable with the need
> to drill holes to place a vampire tap on the cable), that ran
> between three physically-connected buildings that happened to
> house the exchange users at that time.
>
> At that time, the aggregate bandwith brought to the IX was much less
> than 10 mbit and hence 10mbit/sec was quite sufficient.
> They upgraded to something fancier when people started bringing in
> multiple T1's, but that was much later in the game.
>
> In your case, in the beginning, a simple 10mbit hub might be sufficient.
> Heck, Randy has given those away at previous AFNOG meetings...
>
> Later, as traffic increases, you can go for 100BASE-TX (100 mbit),
> switched, and what-have you. At that time, you hopefully also will
> have the resources to pay for that kind of equipment.
>
> Each ISP would bring his own router, preferrably something that
> can carry a full routing table but you might be able to get started
> with 2500-style boxes if there are only a few routes to swap.
>
> Every ISP also administers his own box. The IXP assigns IP addresses,
> and probably should maintain a list of who-is-who (name of party,
> IP address, ASN and peering contact info), but that's enough to
> get started. A pile of 2600's with a hub will be a fine starting point.
>
> Experience has learned that a shared, level3 device in the middle
> is a mistake. Keep it simple, keep the IXP a layer2 thing.
>
> Do label everything right from the start. Cables, boxes, everything.
> Keep in mind that you'll be working closely together with others
> and you don't want to mess with the wrong cable.
>
> [People will argument that a hub allows sniffing. Sniffing on a router
> is difficult and besides, I assume the IXP will be occupied by adults]
>
> Go for it!
>
> Geert Jan
>
>
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