What is an IX?

Physical connection between IP networks

The Internet is a worldwide network of networks. These different types of network are connected to one another via the Internet Protocol (IP). An Internet eXchange is a physical infrastructure where many organisations with their own IP network (also called Autonomous Systems) can connect with one another and exchange Internet traffic.

Peering

The exchange of IP traffic on an Internet eXchange is usually known as peering. The conditions under which this occurs is defined by the participants themselves who strike peering agreements. It is often the case that participants do not charge for using one another's network capacity. On top of cost-efficiency, peering also leads to higher performance (fewer intermediate switches or fewer hops, higher capacity), operational reliability (more routes increase redundancy) and better routing monitoring.

Budget-friendly, direct interconnection

Direct connection ensures that the traffic between networks is faster. A large amount of the transit traffic via third parties becomes superfluous. Bnix participants need to make far less use of upstream providers who link networks together, thus reducing costs.