What Does Internet Exchange Point (IXP) Mean?

Techopedia Explains Internet Exchange Point (IXP)

The advantages of Internet exchange points include:

  • Allowing high speed data transfer
  • Reducing latency
  • Providing fault tolerance
  • Improving routing efficiency
  • Improving bandwidth

The physical infrastructure includes one or more high-speed network Ethernet switches. The traffic exchange in an IXP is enabled by the Border Gateway Protocol (BGP). The traffic exchange is managed through a mutual peering agreement conformed to by all ISPs. The ISPs normally specify the routes through the peering relationship. They may choose to route the traffic through their own addresses or addresses of other providers in the network. In some scenarios, the IXP serves as a backup link to allow traffic to pass through in case of a direct link failure.

The operational costs of an IXP are often shared among all the participating ISPs. For sophisticated exchange points, ISPs are charged a monthly or annual fee based on the port type and traffic volume.