IXP Innovation in Ontario: Leveraging Network Peering as Value in Collaboration
OUCC2014April 28, 2014
Michael StudnibergMinistry of Research and
InnovationMinistry of Economic
Development Trade and Employment
Randy LaFramboiseCentre for Smart Community
Innovation (CSCI) University of Windsor
Agenda• Introduction• Background • What is an IXP?• Benefits of Peering• IT Perspective• IXPs in Canada and around the World• IXPs and Post-Secondary Institutions• A new IXP in Windsor • Other new IXPs in Ontario
2Ministry of Economic Development, Trade and Employment Ministry of Research and Innovation
Government of OntarioE-Business and Entrepreneurship
• Promote the adoption of e-business and access to ultra-fast broadband connectivity by Ontario’s small and medium enterprises.
• Enable them to improve their efficiencies, increase collaboration and market their goods to a global economy.
3Ministry of Economic Development, Trade and Employment Ministry of Research and Innovation
Government of OntarioBasic Broadband Programs
4Ministry of Economic Development, Trade and Employment Ministry of Research and Innovation
• Since 2007, Ontario invested $170 million and leveraged more than $300 million of private and federal funding to provide high-speed broadband service of at least 1.5 Megabits per second (Mbps)
• Broadband programs in Ontario:• Rural Connections• Building Broadband in Rural
and Northern Ontario• Eastern Ontario Regional
Network (EORN)• Northwestern Ontario
Broadband Expansion Initiative
• These will all be completed by the end of 2014
Canadian Context – Urban v. Rural
5Ministry of Economic Development, Trade and Employment Ministry of Research and Innovation
Close to 40% HH in
communities can get 100
Mbps
Close to 100% HH in
communities get over 1.5 Mbps, but
many rural HH rely on cellular.
Rural areas have much
slower speeds.
Source: CRTC Communications Monitoring Report 2013
Broadband Conduit CorridorsPercentage of customer connections that are fibre-to-the-home or fibre-to-the-building
6Ministry of Economic Development, Trade and Employment Ministry of Research and Innovation
Percentage of fibre connections – June 2013 - OECD broadband statistics [www.oecd.org/sti/ict/broadband]
• Canada ranks 24th on the list at 2%
• Canada is well behind other developed nations such as the USA and the UK
The Role of Government in Telecom
• Encourage and promote competition• Government is a large consumer of telecom services• Telecom infrastructure runs in government-owned
property through rights-of-way• Telecom is regulated by the federal government (CRTC)• Many telcos in Ontario are publically-owned• Broadband is increasingly viewed as an essential service• Government services are increasingly offered online• Government should ensure equitable access to ultra-fast
broadband
7Ministry of Economic Development, Trade and Employment Ministry of Research and Innovation
Centre for Smart Community Innovation - WEDnet
• WEDnet was created in November 1994 to create a high-speed communications infrastructure in the Windsor-Essex region
• By 1996, a consortium was formed that looked for similar interest in high-speed infrastructure. This was leveraged cooperatively, and today we have 10 Gigabit core throughput to ORION and by extension, CANARIE
• WEDnet is part of Connecting Windsor-Essex (CWE), and the Centre for Smart Community Innovation has been mandated to support the network and its related activities
• WEDnet today is a Regional Advanced Network (RAN) that depends on regional collaboration, both public and private sector, for Intelligent Community initiatives and innovation
8Ministry of Economic Development, Trade and Employment Ministry of Research and Innovation
CSCI – Communities and Internet
"Intelligent Communities leverage information and communications technology to improve the quality of life of their residents - in the delivery of education, health care and government services."[From http://www1.uwindsor.ca/csci/]
"Cisco defines the Internet of Everything (IoE) as bringing together people, process, data, and things to make networked connections more relevant and valuable than ever before-turning information into actions that create new capabilities, richer experiences, and unprecedented economic opportunity for businesses, individuals, and countries."[From http://www.cisco.com/web/about/ac79/innov/IoE.html]
9Ministry of Economic Development, Trade and Employment Ministry of Research and Innovation
10Ministry of Economic Development, Trade and Employment Ministry of Research and Innovation
Growth in Canadian Internet Traffic
Sources: 1. CRTC Report: Navigating
Convergence II: Charting Canadian Communications Change and Regulatory Implications. Convergence Policy, Policy Development and Research. August 2011
2. Cisco Visual Networking Index: Forecast and Methodology, 2012-2017.
1 Petabyte (PB) = 1,000,000 Gigabytes
2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 20200
500
1,000
1,500
2,000
2,500
3,000
3,500
4,000
4,500
5,000
Year
Dat
a Vo
lum
e (P
B)
23% annual growth
• Exponential growth in traffic will require Ontario’s telcos to make on-going capital investments
What is an Internet Exchange Point?
• Neutral facility where multiple organizations can inter-connect their networks through a central switching fabric
• Share data with each other without using the public Internet• Directly sharing data is called ‘peering’• Peering is the alternative to ‘transit’
11Ministry of Economic Development, Trade and Employment Ministry of Research and Innovation
Who Peers at an IXP?
• Historically, most peers were ISPs or RANs• Now:
• digital media firms, broadcasters, software development companies including gaming companies, web hosting firms, content delivery networks, large enterprises, public sector organizations, and many more!
12Ministry of Economic Development, Trade and Employment Ministry of Research and Innovation
How Transit Works
13
ISP
ISP
Internet
$Small
Company
LargeEnterprise
Website Hosting
Company
$
$
$
$
All organizations
are in the same
city/region
Ministry of Economic Development, Trade and Employment Ministry of Research and Innovation
How Transit Works
14
Internet
$Small
Company
LargeEnterprise
Website Hosting
Company
$
$
$
$ISP
ISP
Ministry of Economic Development, Trade and Employment Ministry of Research and Innovation
How Transit Works
• Traffic may go through other cities or even other countries
• Slow• Expensive
• You pay your ISP• Your ISP pays another ISP for access to the
global Internet• Shouldn’t local traffic stay local?
15Ministry of Economic Development, Trade and Employment Ministry of Research and Innovation
How Peering Works
16
IXP
Internet
$Small
Company
LargeEnterprise
Website Hosting
Company
$
$
$
$ISP
ISP
Ministry of Economic Development, Trade and Employment Ministry of Research and Innovation
How Peering Works
• You join the IXP as a member and lease a circuit into the IXP facility
• You set up peering agreements with other members (bilateral agreements)
• Traffic destined for other peers goes through the IXP instead of the Internet
17Ministry of Economic Development, Trade and Employment Ministry of Research and Innovation
Peering vs Transit
• By peering, you lower the volume of traffic you send to the Internet via your ISP
• Your connection to the IXP is a fixed cost• You don’t pay the other members to peer
18
Small Company ISP
IXPMinistry of Economic Development, Trade and Employment Ministry of Research and Innovation
Peering vs Transit
• The goal is to peer sufficient traffic such that the savings realized from peering are greater than the cost of IXP membership
19
Small Company ISP
IXPMinistry of Economic Development, Trade and Employment Ministry of Research and Innovation
Benefits of Peering
• Improved quality of service• Packets arrive at their destination faster• Less chance of encountering congested links
on the Internet• Important for streaming HD video and other
real-time services• Local Google, Akamai, Netflix caches
20Ministry of Economic Development, Trade and Employment Ministry of Research and Innovation
Benefits of Peering
• Redundancy
21Ministry of Economic Development, Trade and Employment Ministry of Research and Innovation
Source:
Benefits of Peering
• Redundancy
22Ministry of Economic Development, Trade and Employment Ministry of Research and Innovation
23Ministry of Economic Development, Trade and Employment Ministry of Research and Innovation
Benefits of Peering
Source: PCH for CIRA (2012) Toward Efficiencies in Canadian Internet Traffic Exchange
Benefits of Peering
• Transit group buying• Peers can band together to buy transit in bulk• Better transit unit price• Attract new ISPs to the city/region• Expected savings can be up to 50%
24
Source: Stanojevic, R, Castro, I, Gorinsky, S, CIPT: Using Tuangou to Reduce IP Transit Costs, ACM CoNext 2011, December 2011.
Ministry of Economic Development, Trade and Employment Ministry of Research and Innovation
Benefits of Peering
• Economic development perspectives• Companies lower their operational expenses
• Re-invest into expansion and new employees• Attract new companies to the region• Bolster city’s reputation
25Ministry of Economic Development, Trade and Employment Ministry of Research and Innovation
IT Perspective
26
ISP 1’s PR ISP 2’s PR
ISP 3’s PR ISP 4’s PR
Ethernet switch
ISP 1
ISP 4ISP 3
ISP 2
IXPMinistry of Economic Development, Trade and Employment Ministry of Research and Innovation
IT Perspective
• Simple layer 2 architecture• Ethernet
• Though ATM, frame relay, etc., IXPs do exist• Layer 3 IXPs exist (router-centric)
• More work to setup and run• More expensive• More typical in for-profit ‘American model’ IXPs
27Ministry of Economic Development, Trade and Employment Ministry of Research and Innovation
• Redundancy• Double up everything, especially the switch!
IT Perspective
2828
ISP 1’s PRs ISP 2’s PRs
ISP 3’s PRs ISP 4’s PRs
Ethernet switches
Ministry of Economic Development, Trade and Employment Ministry of Research and Innovation
• Value-added services• Attract new peers, improve business case
IT Perspective
2929
ISP 1’s PRs ISP 2’s PRs
ISP 3’s PRs ISP 4’s PRs
Ethernet switches
DNSNTPetc.
Ministry of Economic Development, Trade and Employment Ministry of Research and Innovation
IXPs around the World
30
Source: TeleGeography’s Internet Exchange Map: http://www.internetexchangemap.com/
Ministry of Economic Development, Trade and Employment Ministry of Research and Innovation
IXPs around the World
• There are approximately 400 exchange points around the world
• Top 3:
31
Frankfurt600+ peers3,400 Gbps peak
Amsterdam650 peers2,700 Gbps peak
London515 peers2,000 Gbps peak
Ministry of Economic Development, Trade and Employment Ministry of Research and Innovation
IXPs in Canada
• There are eight IXPs in Canada• Five are not-for-profit entities
32
Toronto100+ peers146 Gbps peak
Ottawa12 peers900 Mbps daily max
Ministry of Economic Development, Trade and Employment Ministry of Research and Innovation
IXPs in Canada
• Three new IXPs have launched in the last year!
33
Winnipeg
YYCIXCalgary Montréal
Ministry of Economic Development, Trade and Employment Ministry of Research and Innovation
34Ministry of Economic Development, Trade and Employment Ministry of Research and Innovation
IXPs and Post-Secondary Institutions
• Internationally, IXPs have a long association with colleges and universities• This is not as common in North America
• Peering and research opportunities• Bring the world "closer", while bringing local resources closer
• Opportunities for the next generation of Internet leaders • The "Internet of Everything" means the participation of
everyone to truly succeed• Post-secondary institutions bring together new ideas with
exposure to what is working now
IXPs and Post-Secondary Institutions
• Vienna Internet Exchange (VIX)• Provided and operated by the University of Vienna,
Austria• Redundant dual sites• The VIX Network Operations Center service is
exclusively provided by staff members of the University of Vienna Computer Center
• Norwegian Internet Exchange (NIX)• Owned and operated by the Centre for Information
Technology Services, University of Oslo
35Ministry of Economic Development, Trade and Employment Ministry of Research and Innovation
IXPs and Post-Secondary Institutions
• Hong Kong Internet Exchange (HKIX)• Founded in 1995 by the Information Technology
Services Centre of the Chinese University of Hong Kong
• Its aim is to keep all HK’s traffic in HK• Singapore Open Exchange (SOX)
• Hosted by the National University of Singapore
36Ministry of Economic Development, Trade and Employment Ministry of Research and Innovation
IXPs and Post-Secondary Institutions
• Malawi Internet Exchange (MIX)• Hosted at College of Medicine, University of Malawi• Malawi Internet Service Providers' Association
operates the IXP• The University was one of three co-founders
37Ministry of Economic Development, Trade and Employment Ministry of Research and Innovation
A New IXP in Windsor• MEDTE/MRI has been working with Windsor’s
CSCI• Windsor is a suitable location for a new IXP
• Windsor is a designated Intelligent Community (2011) by the Intelligent Community Forum
• Most of Windsor’s Internet traffic must travel through Toronto, even if its destination is also in Windsor
• Transit in the region is expensive compared to other urban areas• The region is transitioning away from its traditional manufacturing-
sector past
38Ministry of Economic Development, Trade and Employment Ministry of Research and Innovation
A New IXP in Windsor• An IXP in the Windsor-Essex region is the next logical
step in enabling enhanced communication and participating in a global economy.
• The "Internet of Everything" involves the participation of everybody.
• The two quotes from earlier have this in common...quality of life, collaboration, improving economic circumstance and services. But the only way it starts is by communication...and by having the framework to achieve it...
• Who should be involved? Anybody who leverages the Internet to do business!
39Ministry of Economic Development, Trade and Employment Ministry of Research and Innovation
A New IXP in Windsor• Presented to CWE board of directors and won
approval to proceed• Support from the local technology accelerator,
WEtech Alliance, a member of the ONE, and from the Windsor-Essex Small Business Centre
• Currently focused on raising awareness, outreach to industry, and securing funding for marketing and capital expenses
40Ministry of Economic Development, Trade and Employment Ministry of Research and Innovation
41Ministry of Economic Development, Trade and Employment Ministry of Research and Innovation
Draft for Discussion 41
Current & Potential Internet Exchange Points in OntarioFOR DISCUSSION PURPOSES ONLY
OTTIXOttawa
TORIXToronto
Sudbury-North Bay
To ChicagoTo
New York
London-Waterloo
St Catharines
Kingston
Orillia-Barrie
To Thunder
Bay
Windsor
QIXMontreal
Thank you!
Michael StudnibergSenior Analyst EngineerGovernment of Ontario(416) [email protected]
Randy LaFramboiseNetwork and Systems SpecialistCentre for Smart Community Innovation (CSCI) - ITSUniversity of [email protected]
42Ministry of Economic Development, Trade and Employment Ministry of Research and Innovation