Abstract: New Directions in Peering for Tier-2 and Content Providers

The past two years have seen explosive growth in peering between Tier-2 ISPs, content providers, and others. This new and powerful trend in peering has caused a great deal of innovation and cost reduction, as companies such as PAIX, Equinix, and other collocation providers adjust to the new market. Recently, however, there have been three events which are proving disruptive to the peering industry:

1. The rapid drop in the price of transit around and following the collapse of many Internet businesses a year ago.
2. The decision of the top seven Tier-1 Service Providers to seek common collocation space for "Next-Generation" peering at OC-48 and higher speeds.
3. The availability of Metropolitan Multipoint Private Peering services on Metro-Ethernet, enabling efficient private peering as well as multipoint peering VLAN services similar to an exchange point, but distributed to multiple POPs in a metro area.

1. The new low prices for transit service mean that traditional Peering methods, such as legacy NAPs and private line peering, no longer offer the financial advantage over transit that they once did. Providers of peering services must provide a lower cost point in order to retain their business.
2. There is much Fear, Uncertainty, and Doubt clouding the issue of the large Tier-1s moving into common facilities for peering. The speaker presents an outsider's view on this move and its likely impact on peering, as well as on the collocation and transit markets.
3. Metro-Ethernet, with its inherent VLAN and multipoint capabiltiies, provides a new means of private peering in major Internet markets, with a price point that can significantly improve on traditional private lines if engineered correctly. Several Metro-Ether providers have signalled their intention to offer peering-centric services centered around these capabilities; the speaker will discuss the likely impact on the peering industry of such services.

Recent and likely future trends in peering are discussed throughout, including prices and levels of savings. Finally, relevant companies and their services are briefly discussed (from an outsider's view, with permission) and points of contact made available to those interested in examining the new services.

About the Presenter
Jeb Linton's background is in Network and Communications Systems Engineering research, development, and consulting for the Defense and Intelligence communities. He was hired during the merger of EarthLink, Mindspring, and OneMain to help integrate its legacy networks with a new backbone architecture. He has spent the past year developing a peering strategy for EarthLink while working with major Tier-1, collocation, and Metro-Ethernet providers on their peering strategies and service offerings.

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