Toronto Internet Exchange
Encyclopedia
The Toronto Internet Exchange Community (TorIX) is a not-for-profit Internet Exchange Point
(IXP) located in a carrier hotel at 151 Front Street West
in Toronto
, Ontario
, Canada
. , TorIX had 142 members and peak traffic rates of 75 Gbit/s, making it the largest IXP in Canada. According to Wikipedia's List of Internet Exchange Points by Size, TorIX is the 11th largest IXP in the world in numbers of peers, and 20th in the world in terms of peak traffic. The Exchange is organized and run by highly qualified industry professionals in voluntary capacity. It is accessible directly in two separate locations within the building, at facilities operated by Equinix and Standard Connections. Access is also available via the buildings meet me room.
-based and currently operates 3 chassis-based switches, two Cisco 7600
series and a Cisco 7010 series (Operationalized April 2011). Peers connect to the Layer 2 fabric, and use IPv4
& IPv6
addresses provided by TorIX to connect with each other, utilizing the BGP routing protocol. Port speeds of 1000LX (GigabitEthernet
) and 10GE are available, including in bonded configurations. Gigabit and greater speeds must use single-mode fiber, and can connect from anywhere in the building via the meet-me-room.
, which allow peers to exchange prefixes with each other while minimizing the number of direct BGP peering sessions configured on their routers. Participation is voluntary, with approximately 3/4's of the membership using the free service.
, though overall membership includes a broad range of enterprise companies, government, and educational institutions. Peers have autonomous control over their routing policies at the Exchange, and may peer with as few or as many as desired. The Exchange does encourage use of the Route-Servers
.
Members are not required to have their own Provider-Independent Address Space, but it is recommended. For those that do not, and who wish to join the Exchange, companies are asked to provide a Letter of Authority from their ISP permitting them to advertise their IPv4 or IPv6 prefixes.
Organizations wishing to connect to TorIX must arrange colocation
for their equipment with one of the many companies operating at 151 Front Street West.
Justification for joining the Toronto Internet Exchange is typical to most IXPs: financial and network performance.
Most commercial Internet transit agreements require a minimum traffic commitment level, which the customer must pay regardless if their usage is below that point. If usage exceeds the contracted commitment level, the customer usually pays based on an agreed per-megabit charge. Billing is typically done based on the 95th percentile. As a not-for-profit, TorIX charges a small port-fee based on the speed of the port the member desires, rather than the amount of traffic traveling over TorIX. The more traffic, the better, but peers are not penalized for lower traffic levels.
The low-cost barrier to entry for prospective peers is attractive for the smaller companies, while larger companies can see significant operational expense savings by utilizing the Exchange at a fraction of the cost of commercial Internet transit.
In April 2010, TorIX was a co-sponsor of ARIN
's conference in Toronto, Canada.
In February 2007, TorIX was a co-sponsor of NANOG's conference in Toronto, Canada.
Internet Exchange Point
An Internet exchange point is a physical infrastructure through which Internet service providers exchange Internet traffic between their networks . IXPs reduce the portion of an ISP's traffic which must be delivered via their upstream transit providers, thereby reducing the average per-bit...
(IXP) located in a carrier hotel at 151 Front Street West
Front Street (Toronto)
Front Street is an east-west road in downtown Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The street marks the rough outline of the shoreline of Lake Ontario as it existed during the original English settlement of York, then called Palace Street...
in Toronto
Toronto
Toronto is the provincial capital of Ontario and the largest city in Canada. It is located in Southern Ontario on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario. A relatively modern city, Toronto's history dates back to the late-18th century, when its land was first purchased by the British monarchy from...
, Ontario
Ontario
Ontario is a province of Canada, located in east-central Canada. It is Canada's most populous province and second largest in total area. It is home to the nation's most populous city, Toronto, and the nation's capital, Ottawa....
, Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
. , TorIX had 142 members and peak traffic rates of 75 Gbit/s, making it the largest IXP in Canada. According to Wikipedia's List of Internet Exchange Points by Size, TorIX is the 11th largest IXP in the world in numbers of peers, and 20th in the world in terms of peak traffic. The Exchange is organized and run by highly qualified industry professionals in voluntary capacity. It is accessible directly in two separate locations within the building, at facilities operated by Equinix and Standard Connections. Access is also available via the buildings meet me room.
History
TorIX initially started in July 1996 within the RACO facility in suite 604 at 151 Front Street West. In 2008 the exchange began offering 10GE ports.Architecture
The Exchange is EthernetEthernet
Ethernet is a family of computer networking technologies for local area networks commercially introduced in 1980. Standardized in IEEE 802.3, Ethernet has largely replaced competing wired LAN technologies....
-based and currently operates 3 chassis-based switches, two Cisco 7600
Cisco 7600
The Cisco 7600 series is a series of large network routers designed and manufactured by Cisco Systems.-Key Features:* Chassis ranges: 3-slot , 4-slot , 6-slot , 9-slot and 13-slot ....
series and a Cisco 7010 series (Operationalized April 2011). Peers connect to the Layer 2 fabric, and use IPv4
IPv4
Internet Protocol version 4 is the fourth revision in the development of the Internet Protocol and the first version of the protocol to be widely deployed. Together with IPv6, it is at the core of standards-based internetworking methods of the Internet...
& IPv6
IPv6
Internet Protocol version 6 is a version of the Internet Protocol . It is designed to succeed the Internet Protocol version 4...
addresses provided by TorIX to connect with each other, utilizing the BGP routing protocol. Port speeds of 1000LX (GigabitEthernet
Gigabit Ethernet
Gigabit Ethernet is a term describing various technologies for transmitting Ethernet frames at a rate of a gigabit per second , as defined by the IEEE 802.3-2008 standard. It came into use beginning in 1999, gradually supplanting Fast Ethernet in wired local networks where it performed...
) and 10GE are available, including in bonded configurations. Gigabit and greater speeds must use single-mode fiber, and can connect from anywhere in the building via the meet-me-room.
Route-Servers
The Exchange also offers two BGP Route-ServersRoute server
A route server is a server that was originally made with the intention to be a part of the National Science Foundation funded Routing Arbiter project. This routing process directs information among Border Gateway Protocol routers. These servers are placed at Network Access Points in which the...
, which allow peers to exchange prefixes with each other while minimizing the number of direct BGP peering sessions configured on their routers. Participation is voluntary, with approximately 3/4's of the membership using the free service.
The Portal
The Exchange operates a members-only portal which allows peers to publish their peering policies, contact other members with peering requests, configure Route-Server access and track traffic usage, amongst others. Created by Jon Nistor, the technical heart of TorIX, the Portal is considered unique amongst IXP's.Membership
Membership is open to all companies capable of connecting to the Exchange at 151 Front Street West, and have their own Autonomous System Number (ASN). The typical peer is an ISP, communications company or a Content Delivery NetworkContent Delivery Network
A content delivery network or content distribution network is a system of computers containing copies of data placed at various nodes of a network....
, though overall membership includes a broad range of enterprise companies, government, and educational institutions. Peers have autonomous control over their routing policies at the Exchange, and may peer with as few or as many as desired. The Exchange does encourage use of the Route-Servers
Route server
A route server is a server that was originally made with the intention to be a part of the National Science Foundation funded Routing Arbiter project. This routing process directs information among Border Gateway Protocol routers. These servers are placed at Network Access Points in which the...
.
Members are not required to have their own Provider-Independent Address Space, but it is recommended. For those that do not, and who wish to join the Exchange, companies are asked to provide a Letter of Authority from their ISP permitting them to advertise their IPv4 or IPv6 prefixes.
Organizations wishing to connect to TorIX must arrange colocation
Colocation
Colocation is the act of placing multiple entities within a single location.Colocation is often used in the data sourcing industry to mean off-site data storage, usually in a data center. This is very important for businesses since the loss of data can be crucial for companies of any size...
for their equipment with one of the many companies operating at 151 Front Street West.
Justification for joining the Toronto Internet Exchange is typical to most IXPs: financial and network performance.
Financial
Compared to commercial Internet transit pricing in Canada, the per-megabit cost of being a typical TorIX peer works out to cents-on-the-dollar, versus tens of dollars per megabit.Most commercial Internet transit agreements require a minimum traffic commitment level, which the customer must pay regardless if their usage is below that point. If usage exceeds the contracted commitment level, the customer usually pays based on an agreed per-megabit charge. Billing is typically done based on the 95th percentile. As a not-for-profit, TorIX charges a small port-fee based on the speed of the port the member desires, rather than the amount of traffic traveling over TorIX. The more traffic, the better, but peers are not penalized for lower traffic levels.
The low-cost barrier to entry for prospective peers is attractive for the smaller companies, while larger companies can see significant operational expense savings by utilizing the Exchange at a fraction of the cost of commercial Internet transit.
Performance
By utilizing the Exchange, members can keep their Internet traffic "local", without the added latency of a third-party Internet transit provider. For example, Internet traffic between two points in the same province which utilize different last-mile ISP's may travel extensive physical distances, including to and from other countries, which would negatively impact latency-sensitive applications. Through direct peering relationships, members and their customers realize better network performance.Fees
Peers are charged a small annual port-access fee, with the cost dependant on the type of port and the number of ports required. These fees are used to off-set the costs of running the Exchange, including vendor support contracts, spare optics and hardware upgrades.Mailing Lists
TorIX operates several mailing lists; two are TorIX specific, one dealing with operational issues, the other a general member participation list. The Exchange also hosts a mailing list for wholesale ISPs which connect to Bell Canada (formerly Bell Nexxia)'s wholesale DSL services, and this is a key source for up-to-date information on day-to-day issues experienced by operators. This list was formerly hosted by a dissolved Ottawa, Canada ISP called iStop, and was moved to the TorIX servers after numerous requests by members after that ISP folded.Sponsorship
In November 2011, TorIX was a Gold sponsor of the Canadian ISP Summit in Toronto, Canada.In April 2010, TorIX was a co-sponsor of ARIN
Arin
Arin may refer to:* American Registry for Internet Numbers* Arin, Armenia - A town in Armenia* Arin language - An extinct Yeniseic language* Arın Soğancıoğlu, Turkish basketball player...
's conference in Toronto, Canada.
In February 2007, TorIX was a co-sponsor of NANOG's conference in Toronto, Canada.