There can be significant cost advantages in connecting to INEX. When connecting to the Internet via one or more upstream Internet Service Providers (ISP) transit charges have to be paid to these companies for data routed through the Internet. Organisations connecting to INEX can directly negotiate to exchange a proportion of their traffic with other members via peering on a settlement-free basis.
As consumers demand a more responsive online experience the latency (or delay) on their IP service provider’s routing connections is an important factor. By connecting the customer directly to INEX, the number of hops between the customer and customers of other IP service providers, or the servers of content providers that they need to communicate with, is reduced, leading to higher-speed, shorter round-trip access for end users. This is especially important for delay-sensitive internet content such as video/audio conferencing, video on demand, online gaming and VoIP.
INEX is based upon local area network (LAN) technology and can thus offer much higher capacity and more scalable bandwidth connections to the Internet than WAN based telecom carrier connections offered by ISPs. Higher capacity connections enable faster data transfer and enable large volumes of traffic (e.g. multimedia data) to be shipped to a larger number of customers more quickly.
ISPs, content providers and others delivering services over IP who exchange traffic within a given region by peering with each other reduce round-trip delays and enhance value to the all users local to that region. Typically, a provider sourcing content can benefit by peering with those providers servicing a material proportion of their customer community.
Organisations connecting to the Internet via a single upstream transit provider are at risk from that single provider, and the connection to it, being a single point of failure. By connecting to INEX, while the Member will still need to buy connectivity from one or more transit providers in order to reach those parts of the Internet not reachable via peering, they will also gain connectivity to the many other members at the exchange, and can therefore spread the risk of any single provider’s failure. Contingency arrangements for backup purposes are similarly facilitated. INEX provides its Members with considerable additional redundancy by having dual switches in some of its switching centres and resilient INEX-managed fibre connectivity between those centres.
By negotiating packages of peering and transit arrangements at one or more Internet Exchanges, the ISP, or content provider, can enjoy a much greater degree of autonomy about how it routes its traffic, to which part of the Internet, and by what means. This gives them far greater control and the potential for better utilisation of resources.
As a neutral, not-for-profit association INEX management is regularly approached by organisations as to which companies they can/should purchase IP transit from. Naturally, we refer them directly to INEX members who provide such services.
By joining INEX, an independent and neutral exchange, all members have an equal vote with other Members on policy decisions. INEX is the only IX on the island of Ireland and has a major role to play in the national internet community infrastructure.
With over 100 members, INEX brings together a significant number of networking and industry professionals from Ireland and around the World. With quarterly meetings for the INEX members and industry representatives, there are great opportunities for networking and getting first hand information on developments.
Representatives from INEX members are not only encouraged to attend INEX meeting but also contribute technical presentations, should they wish.
