How can you optimize ISP peering and transit for your organization?

1 What are ISP peering and transit?

ISP peering and transit are two methods of exchanging traffic between ISPs. Peering is when two ISPs agree to exchange traffic directly, without paying each other, usually through a common point of connection called an internet exchange point (IXP). Transit is when an ISP pays another ISP to carry its traffic to other networks, usually through a dedicated link or a router. Peering and transit are not mutually exclusive, and most ISPs use a combination of both to reach the entire internet.

2 Why are ISP peering and transit important?

ISP peering and transit are important because they affect the quality of service (QoS) that you and your users experience. QoS refers to the speed, latency, bandwidth, and availability of your internet connection. Optimizing ISP peering and transit can improve your QoS by reducing the number of hops and the distance that your traffic travels, increasing the redundancy and diversity of your network paths, and negotiating better prices and terms with your ISP partners. This will result in lower latency and packet loss, enhanced availability and resilience, as well as lower costs and increased flexibility.

3 How can you measure ISP peering and transit performance?

To optimize ISP peering and transit, you need to measure and monitor their performance regularly. To do this, you can use various tools and metrics, such as ping and traceroute to test latency and the route of your traffic, bandwidth and throughput to measure the amount and speed of data transfer, packet loss and jitter to indicate the quality and consistency of your traffic delivery, as well as service level agreements (SLAs) which specify the minimum QoS standards your ISP partners must meet.

4 How can you optimize ISP peering and transit strategies?

To optimize ISP peering and transit, organizations should adopt strategies that suit their goals, needs, and budget. This could include choosing ISPs with high peering capacity and coverage to exchange more traffic with more networks directly, as well as establishing peering relationships with ISPs that serve target markets and regions. Additionally, balancing peering and transit based on traffic volume and patterns can help optimize costs and performance, while switching or adding ISPs when performance deteriorates can help maintain or improve QoS.

5 How can you optimize ISP peering and transit configurations?

To optimize ISP peering and transit, you need to configure your network devices and settings properly. Border Gateway Protocol (BGP), routing policies, load balancing, and traffic engineering are all viable options. BGP enables you to exchange routing information with your ISP partners and control how your traffic flows. Routing policies are rules that determine how you prefer, filter, or modify your traffic based on various criteria. Load balancing distributes your traffic across multiple network paths or ISPs, based on availability, performance, or cost. Traffic engineering optimizes your network resources and performance based on your traffic demands and QoS objectives.

6 Here’s what else to consider

This is a space to share examples, stories, or insights that don’t fit into any of the previous sections. What else would you like to add?