Why SingTel Won’t Peer

William B. Norton

Co-Founder & Chief Technical Liaison

Equinix, Inc.

Asia Pacific Peering ForumSingapore, Oct. 5, 2006Slide Set 1.2

Internet Researcher

• 90% externally focused

• Many documents on Protocols

• Lack of Operations documents

• Research: Peering – How does Peering work?– What are the definitions?– What are the “Tricks of the Trade?”

• 7 years of researching/documenting

White paper process..

Community Operations Research

1. “Ground Truth” w/dozens of experts2. Write White Paper v0.13. Walk community through WP for

comments4. Revise White Paper into new version5. Present White Paper at conferences6. Solicit comments over lunches and

dinners

White papers so far…

Internet Operations White Papers1) “Interconnection Strategies for ISPs”2) “Internet Service Providers and Peering”3) “A Business Case for Peering”4) “The Art of Peering: The Peering Playbook”5) “The Peering Simulation Game”6) “Do ATM-based Internet Exchanges Make Sense Anymore?” 7) “Evolution of the U.S. Peering Ecosystem”8) “Asia Pacific Peering Guidebook”9) “A Business Case for Peering in 2004”10) “The Folly of Peering Ratios?”

Freely available. See Web site or send e-mail to wbn@equinix.comOr Google for “William B. Norton” Introduction-Basic Definitions

Def: TransitThe Internet is a Network of Networks.

An ISP sells access to the Internet, so……must itself get attached to someone who is already attached to the Internet.

Transit Provider B

Transit Provider A$ meter

1) Transit Provider sells metered Internet access.

Def: Peering

Transit Provider B

Transit Provider A

2) Peering is a business relationship wherebytwo companies RECIPRICALLY exchange access to each others customers.

Why Peer?1. Reduce Transit Costs2. Lower Latency3. More Control over Traffic

Peering

AU Internet Region

SG Internet Region

US Internet Region

Global Internet Peering Ecosystem

Tier 1 ISPs

Tier 2 ISPs

Content Providers

What is this Internet Peering Ecosystem anyway?

Characteristics of theseEcosystem Organisms?

Ecosystem Member: Tier 1 ISP

T T

$$ …

P

Tier 1 ISP P

Def: A Tier 1 ISP is an ISP that has access to the ENTIRE Internet Region Routing Table Solely via Peering Relationships

(Doesn’t buy transit from anyoneto reach any destination in theInternet Region.)

Motivation: Is NOT motivated toPeer in region to reduce transit fees,Is NOT motivated to peer with anybody else.

Behavior: “Restrictive” Peering Policy

Ecosystem Member: Tier 2 ISP

T T

$$ …

P

P

Def: A Tier 2 ISP is an ISP that has to purchase Transit to access some part of the Internet Region.

Motivation: Is motivated toPeer in region to reduce transit fees.

Behavior: “Open” Peering or“Selective” Peering PolicyActive in Peering Forums

T T$$

…

Tier 2 ISP

Content Providers

Def: A Content Provider focuses oncontent development and does notSell access to the Internet.

Motivation: SLAs w/well known ISP

Behavior: “No Peering” Policy

T T$$

…

ContentProvider

Generic Peering Ecosystem

Tier 1 ISPs

Tier 2 ISPs

Content Providers

TT T T

T T TTT

T T T

$ flow up

Active Peering GroupsPeering ForumsIX Meetings

Test: Apply defs…

Apply Defs: Peering Dynamics & Motivations

Tier 2 ISP

ContentProvider

Tier 2 ISP

T

T

T

P

$ $

$

P?No, like $.

P?No, like $,

& I Like customer

B

No, I already hear your routesfor FREE!

Synch Point: You have all the defs needed to predict behavior in the Peering Ecosystem.You should be able to answer the question at hand.

Tier 1 ISP Y Tier 1 ISP Y

P?

Why SingTel Won’t Peer?

Why SingTel Won’t Peer?That’s right.They don’t have to.

Why SingTel Won’t Peer?They don’t have to. And,No different from otherTier 1’s in the world

How much Will this “Free Peering”Cost me?

$/Mbps

# of Mbps

Cost of Traffic Exchange

Transit

Amount of Traffic Exchange

Internet

ISP B

+Exchange Point Colo+Peering Port

x

Router

Local Loop

=Monthly Recurring Cost of Peering

ISP A

Peering BreakevenPoint (PBE) PeeringCost=TransitCost

Peering

Peeringvs.Transit

How much Will this “Free Peering”Cost me?

$/Mbps

# of Mbps

Cost of Traffic Exchange in Singapore

Transit $150/Mbps

Amount of Traffic Exchange

Internet

ISP B

+ Rack Space $700+100M Peering Port

x$800

45M Local Loop $3000

=$4500 per month

ISP A

Peering BreakevenPoint (PBE) PeeringCost=TransitCost

Peering

Peeringvs.Transit

Conclusion: If you can peer 30Mbps-45Mbps, Peering it will be cheaper than transit

Scale up…

Rack $700 Rack $700 Rack $700100MPort $800 100MPort $800 gigPort $2,50045Mloop $3,000 155Loop $7,000 155Loop $7,000Mbps Peering Transit

10 $450 $15020 $225 $15030 $150 $15040 $113 $15050 $170 $15060 $142 $15070 $121 $15080 $106 $15090 $94 $150

100 $102 $120110 $93 $120120 $85 $120130 $78 $120140 $73 $120150 $68 $120160 $64 $120

Peering vs Transit in Singapore

$0

$100

$200

$300

$400

$500

1 3 5 7 9 11 13 15

$ of 10's Mbps exchanged

$/m

bp

s

Peering

Transit

# ISPs

Value of an IX

# of Participants at IX

Cost of Building in to IX

Value of an Internet Exchange

$ valueTransitsaved

Peering BreakevenPoint (PBE) Cost=Value Derived