How To Choose A Peering Provider?
January 14, 2019Managing data flow is one of the biggest challenges that enterprises face in the digital age, which is why data center peering and the connectivity it provides is a vital tool for controlling the movement of that data for connectivity. The complexity of peering agreements and regional considerations can make it a challenge to know which peering provider to work with. But it’s best to start with a basic understanding of peering.
As explained in our Peering 101 blog, peering is when two or more networks connect directly for traffic exchange. There are many types of peering such as public, private, paid, and settlement free.
Internet exchange is the most popular form of peering as it provides control over routing and traffic flow with connectivity to hundreds of network providers. This gives users more control of traffic delivery, lower latency, greater bandwidth options and greater security. These are all very important considerations for enterprises that are likely using cloud services such as SaaS as well as video, VoIP and other applications that require bandwidth and low latency.
According to Cisco’s annual Visual Network Index (VNI) forecast, video will represent 82% of all IP traffic by 2021 up from 73% today. With one peering IX, an enterprise can gain access to hundreds of networks that can provide that bandwidth, low latency and lower IP costs that data-heavy functions require. Since not all data center peering services are the same, enterprises need to make the right choice based on the criteria specific to their needs.
How to choose a peering provider
Businesses should look at a number of criteria when choosing the right data center peering provider. The first thing to look at with a multi-tenant data center that offers data center peering is getting an understanding of the makeup of the membership and the peering policies in place. Tools such as PeeringDB can provide more details about prospective peering partners and their policies that are defined as open, selective, or restrictive.
Open refers to exchanges where membership has no preconditions while selective designations mean they have several prerequisites that the prospective member must meet. Selective peering exchanges have limited membership options for many prospective members as they usually have the maximum number of connections they want in any given region.
It’s always a good thing to look for peering exchanges that have more rather than fewer members, but there are also several other criteria to consider such as peering types, models and network providers that fit your need within that exchange.
To make an accurate comparison, you need a clear understanding of your traffic patterns. But gaining that visibility can be complicated. Monitoring tools provide things like traffic origins, ISPs, and bandwidth along with the number of requests and packets, type of traffic, and other attributes.
Traffic management and knowing the specifics of your traffic are crucial decisions where data center peering services providers such as Telehouse can offer the support needed to help make these determinations based on your needs. Today, your needs will require connectivity for moving data locally, nationally, and internationally. To learn more about data center peering and IX networks through Telehouse, visit our international peering exchange page and download the Telehouse Think Peering Guide.