White Paper on Peering in France

The white paper on peering in France

SUMMARY

1 - What is peering? 1
2 - The peering market in France 4

2-1 Current infrastructure: the various exchange 5
points and how they are developing
a- A specific French context
b- France IX’s innovative model

2-2 The different types of peers and their current 6
needs
a- Opportunities
2-3 Current issue 7
3 - Opportunities for the growth of peering 10
3-1 In France 10
3-2 From abroad 12

4 - Outlooks 14

PREFACE
After trying to find its feet for ten years, peering has reached maturity in France
and is federatingcoalescing around a key player, France IX. As a non-profit or-
ganisation under the French law of 1901 and a simplified joint stock company
in charge of operations, this key player is developing quickly both in France and
abroad through a system of partnerships based on a secure and shared plat-
form of the highest technical level to meet the new needs of internet specialists.

France IX offers numerous services to meet ever-increasing demands while combi-
ning partnerships in France with other exchange points such as those of Lyon (Lyo-
nix) and Paris (SFINX), or by operating its own platform at strategic points such as
Marseille. Located at the landing point of multiple intercontinental submarine cable
links, the city of Marseille will serve both as a showcase for France IX technologies and
as a stepping stone to developing markets such as Africa, the Middle East, and India.

Having currently reached critical mass, France IX will offer new, innovative ser-
vices as well as open up to new audiences, such as companies developing in the
cloud sector, and manage the growth of new uses of technology by individuals.


1 - WHAT IS
PEERING ?
Peering can be defined as a connection service to a redundant and shared platform
in order to exchange traffic publicly or privately between multiple connected
members, called «peers», or between a peer and route servers (servers where the
user announces its routes and collects those of other partners).
This service is accessible to all partners with an Autonomous System (AS) number
issued by the IP address registry of their geographical area.

This AS number provides access to a range of IPV4 and IPV6 addresses. All computing
devices connected to the Internet are assigned an IP address. Historically, this address
was an IPV4 address. Given the scarcity of IPV4 addresses caused by the explosion in
the number of connected devices, a second addressing system, considered to be nearly
unlimited, has emerged and is currently being deployed: IPV6.

A peering policy serves as a code of conduct by specifying the conditions to be met by peering
users. Under an open policy, the user exchanges routes with other members connected to the
exchange point.

Under a selective policy, certain conditions are imposed (minimum amount of exchanged
traffic, data on traffic location, etc). Under a closed policy, the routes remain private because
they only exchange traffic through private links.

Concretely, the service provided relies on an exchange point made up of network equipment
that is interconnected by fibre optic cables. This infrastructure is set up in one or more hosting
facilities where the exchange point equipment and users’ own infrastructures are installed.

Redundancy
To ensure high availability of the service, the infrastructure thus set up is duplicated redundant
so that the exchanged traffic arrives from point A to point B, in all possible cases. This means
setting up two links connecting the same sites or configuring traffic so that it goes through a
third point (point C).

1


Sharing
The infrastructure that has been set up is also shared. Instead of connecting to each other
privately via fibre optic or copper cables, operators use shared facilities. This means that
these facilities do not belong to them and are meant to be used by multiple operators.

The main advantage of this method is that it considerably reduces costs because exchanges
take place on a single platform and this platform is neither financed nor administered by the
operators. The costs of these shared platforms are significantly lower than the costs incurred
by setting up an infrastructure for each operator.

2


INTERVIEW
with Bruno Spiquel,
Network Administrator at
absolight Absolight

In what way are you a member of France IX? France IX is bringing together more and more
operators in the French regions and abroad. What
Like many members, through our IP operator can this development bring you in the future?
activity for the technical side and through
our involvement in network development for The shortest possible path to these operators, of
the social side. course :)

What convinced you to join this internet Is the neutrality of France IX an important point for
exchange point? you?
It’s essential. I prefer that an IXP remains a neutral
Since the beginning of our IP operator organisation. We saw what happened with private
business, we have been committed to having exchange points in the past.
a network that is as redundant as possible.
Therefore France IX was pretty obvious. The closest thing to France IX in this field is SFINX,
but it still remains a specific point. In addition, it’s
not always easy to share an exchange point with
What France-IX’s services do you use? one’s competitors.

Public peering, RS* and a private VLAN** with How does France IX enter into your cost
another member of the exchange point. analysis or your economic equation as a service
provider?
Are they similar to the services you use at
other internet exchange points? We don’t currently pay any recurring fees to
France IX. Our cost management approach is far
Yes. from traditional, as the company’s only concern is
to keep costs consistent with sales prices.

What services do you hope to have in the The amount of these costs is of secondary
future? importance.
L2 transport to European capitals and more
points in the French provinces in order
to reach more people. * Routes servers

** VLAN (Virtual Local Area Network)

3


2 - THE PEERING MARKET
IN FRANCE
In a mature market, needs differ according to the activities of exchange point users.
Demand is rising constantly due to the pervasive use of the Internet in business
activities. Peering developed fairly recently in France and has a rather original history.

CDN

ISP Operator Cloud

E-Commerce

Online
gaming

4


2-1 Current infrastructure: the various exchange points
and how they are developing
Over the course of fifteen years (the age of peering in France, following the creation
in 1995 of the SFINX platform, managed by the RENATER network), the situation has
changed significantly. The Internet has become ubiquitous in companies and in our
daily lives. During this time, the market has matured. For a long time, the market’s main
concern was having the cheapest possible Mbit/s transfer speeds.

The early 2000s even saw the emergence of specialised brokers to provide links at
rock-bottom prices between certain French cities or on dedicated links.

However, the growth of new computing uses now calls for further action. While economic
considerations require exchange points to charge reasonable prices, a very high quality
of service is also needed. Online games, streaming video technology, SaaS applications,
cloud computing, and the explosion of data traffic on mobile networks are all uses that shed
light on these needs. These uses are also expanding quickly.

Service quality is becoming a true differentiating factor for standing out in the competitive
web services market.

A - A specific French context

The current context of the French peering market is, to a large extent, based on the
history of peering in France. Peering’s first steps in France began with the creation of
SFINX, an exchange point created by the public interest group GIP RENATER that has
operated a dedicated network for universities and research centres in mainland France
and in the French overseas territories since 1992. This network has evolved since that
time and is currently in its fifth generation. The creation of this exchange point gave
ideas to several market players, who thought they could make money from peering, or
at least reduce the cost of Internet routes.

The first company in the running was France Télécom with its exchange point named
Parix. Others who had invested in the sector wanted to change the existing model by
pooling their existing investments in peering and by offering the possibility of using
exchange points free of charge. Free set the ball rolling with its FreeIX point, followed by
Bouygues Telecom. After acquiring the network portion of Club Internet, Bouygues Telecom
established its own peering point, the PaNAP.

Equinix, an important American player in the fields of hosting and data centres, also
followed this model with its private peering point. Today it is difficult to know whether this
offer was as successful as expected (no information is available on the volume of traffic
exchanged).

This complex economic model did not win over customers. Free gave up on its peering
point in favour of a private peering policy and Bouygues Télécom chose to merge its PaNAP
point with France IX at the end of March 2010. These different experiences showed that
only a new business model could function in our country.

5


B - France IX’s innovative model

The situation was straightforward. The proprietary model was not working and was unable
to bring together other specialists in the sector. The investments made in order to improve
peering points made them hard to sustain economically.

Thus France IX suggested a model based on peering point neutrality, with a fee-based
economic model that made it possible to bear the costs of technical updates for peering
points. France IX is a non-profit organisation under the law of 1901 whose members are
customers of a trading company that manages the contracts and operations of the peering
point. As both customers as well as members who determine the policies of France IX,
members invest for their own benefit and have a different kind of relationship than that of
a supplier and client.

2-2 The different types of peers and their current needs
The exchange point members (the peers) provide several types of services and the demands
made on peering points can vary. Depending on the situation, they may choose different peering
policies. The following examples demonstrate the variety of demands and the opportunities
offered by peering. Without peering points such as France IX, the various operators in the
Internet market could compensate with private peering networks. However, this solution
requires multiplying the number of direct physical interconnections with other partners. They
could also set up their Internet access through the exclusive purchasing of IP transit.

While this solution is more financially enticing, it does not guarantee a true quality of service,
which varies from one IP transit operator to another. In addition, the user relinquishes the ability
to control its own routing policy and thus cannot optimise it. While this may be a suitable option
for certain low value-added uses, other applications require significant control over the routing
policy, short response times, and no loss of IP packets.

A - Opportunities

Depending on their activities, peers will be able to use different services from France IX.
All in all, each member benefits from a connection to a shared platform and therefore
a reduction in costs related to managing and installing facilities while rapidly trading a
large volume of traffic.

Like any shared platform, the more people who are on it, the greater the savings, because
costs are shared between the different users. Users can also be sure that they are on a
platform that is technically sound, secure, and up-to-date, with a high level of quality of
service.

6


In this way, operators will be able to sell capacity via the private VLAN (Virtual Local
Area Network) service or use the reselling agreement service to connect users on the
exchange point, with the possibility of sharing a 10 Gbps port by dividing it into several
distinct connections for its customers. IP transit providers will have the same interests.

Internet service providers will be interested in offering a maximum number of routes to
their users through peering agreements or the route server service and will be able to
buy partial or full transit services from operators on the peering point.

Similarly, hostsing partners might use the peering point to make hosted content available to
a maximum number of members. They will also be able to choose the connections to peers
they are looking for (ISP, operators).

Online game service providers will benefit from short exchange point response times
through the interconnections between members on a single platform.

Using the platform will also allow them to access as many peers as possible, if they are
available. CDNs (Content Delivery Networks) will have similar interests to those of a host.
In general, these content providers have open peering policies in order to attract as many
individuals as possible via ISPs (Internet Service Providers) and as many businesses as
possible via operators who come to access websites.

2-3 The current issue

With more than 150 members, France IX has become a key player in the peering market
in France. However, the amount of traffic using France IX is still below that of its European
counterparts. Amsterdam, London and Frankfurt currently monopolise the majority of traffic.
These cities handle traffic of around one Tbps while France IX calibrates at around 100 Gbit/
bps. More precisely, the rate of traffic consolidated on the Frankfurt exchange point is 1.8
Tbps. Amsterdam is next (1.4 Tbps), followed by London (1 Tbps). The Moscow exchange
point is also far ahead of Paris with 700 Gbps.

Because of the growth of the Internet, with many new uses such as online application services
(SaaS or Software as a Service), social networks (Facebook, Linkedin, Viadeo, etc.), the
development of the cloud (distributed computing on the online cloud), this difference in traffic
is an anomaly.

The aim of France IX is to consolidate and raise Paris to the rank of a leader in international
peering by developing a range of services that satisfy a variety of current market needs
and by bringing together operators, content providers, and Internet service providers from
France and abroad. In order to do so, France IX is developing a strategy based on several
areas of action to join together even more French and foreign Internet operators and to bring
back traffic to France, and all this with the lowest possible economic cost in order to allow
partners to optimise their overall expenses.

7


INTERVIEW
with Christian Kaufmann,
Senior network architect
director at Akamai

In what context do you use France IX ?

We used to be connected to two exchange points in Paris: FreeIX and
PANAP. Everywhere else there is only one large exchange point and there is
no fragmentation like there is in Paris. When we heard about a cooperative
project in Paris similar to the one we know about in Frankfurt, we offered
to help. We joined the project 18 months ago.

What types of services do you expect from France IX ?

That depends on the type of exchange point you want! Public peering
with SLAs is quite a service. It didn’t really exist before now. And we want
to do more than just simple peering with mobile VPN services. We believe
that all services should be integrated.

What France IX services do you use ?

We need peering services to access numerous points and we need to add
hundreds more. We want to help increase the number of members so that
there are 200 or 300 in Paris.
Other than that, we use the same services as in Amsterdam on the AMS-
IX: level of quality, sub-networks for private peering. Collocation facilities
make services easier to use.

What services would you like to see in the future ?

Actually, we are satisfied by the services currently available. Extending
them is more important to us than having new ones, like having more
peers or data centre sites in Paris.

8


France IX is developing its services in the French regions and abroad.
What opportunities does that give you ?

We really like the idea of developing in Marseille and having access to
independent platforms like in Lyon. Maybe we could connect them with
Paris. To me it seems more important to have a good reselling programme
and good resellers. That’s another way to grow and increase the number
of peers.
We don’t think that we need new services. As I already mentioned, the
existing services are good and they are not far-fetched. Marseille is a good
starting point with its connections with India and the Middle East. We need
to go over there and tell them to get connected. If the right conditions are
in place, this will certainly be the most difficult task.

Is neutrality an important point for you?

We strongly believe in neutrality. We had the experience of FreeIX, and
they stopped providing support services.
In fact, the proprietary aspects of peering make it a weapon for retaining
power in the market. They forget that trust is the best part of peering.

How do you include France IX as part of your cost analysis?

France IX is pretty well-positioned in terms of price and is within the
market average. Furthermore, costs are calculated in the same way as
other exchange points in Europe.

9


3 - OPPORTUNITIES FOR THE
GROWTH OF PEERING
France IX is growing quickly, in relation to market demand. The first step consisted
in consolidating and revitalising the exchange point in Paris. It has now reached a
critical mass and data transmission rates are constantly on the rise with the return of
very large content providers such as Google and Microsoft, which only used private
peering before now.
The overall strategy of France IX can be summarised in three words: scalability,
proximity, and savings.

Because of its specific economic model, France IX was able quickly to set up an infrastructure
that meets its members’ needs, even for the most demanding among them in terms of quality
of service or bandwidth. The platform was designed to evolve quickly towards very high data
transmission rates and high levels of demand. Thus, the chassis have switching capacities
measured in terabits per second.

France IX’s pricing model allowed the platform to be financed. Prices are clear and easy to
find. All members pay the same amount according to the type of port and service set up.
This model makes it possible to carry out technical updates of the platform and ensures the
continuation of France IX and the simplified joint stock company responsible for operations.
Prices are based on the best prices of IP transit suppliers.

They are also comparable to those of other European exchange points. Furthermore,
these European exchange points are built on the same economic model as France IX.
The development of France IX’s national footprint beyond the Paris metropolitan area will
lead to substantial cost savings on fibre optic interconnections. This expansion of coverage
in the French regions and the proximity it provides make development in these regions a
priority.

3-1 En France

Developing throughout the national territory is a key area of development for France
IX. In consideration of its goal of bringing together French operators, France IX gives
priority where possible to partnerships with existing exchange points. This was the case
with SFINX (operated by Renater). Whenever a local initiative workfunctions well on its
own, France IX suggests a partnership. This was the case with the partnerships signed
with the exchange points in Lyon (LyonIX) and Paris (SFINX).

10


Marseille has a rather integral role in this framework. Because of its geographic location,
the city plays a dual role in the development of France IX and occupies a strategic
position. Like the other regional sites, Marseille contributes to the coverage of the network
and, with the installation of an exchange point in an SFR data centre in this city, creates
a direct link with the Parisian platform, thereby simplifying the traffic exchanges of
local as well as national operators.

The strategic nature of Marseille is strengthened by the fact that it is the landing point for
several submarine communications cables linking to very quickly expanding areas such
as Africa and the Middle East. The Marseille platform is becoming a key element for the
international development of France IX. The centre will become both a stepping stone and a
showcase for France IX abroad.

Asia

Middle East

11


3-2 From abroad

With the landing point for important submarine communication cables being located
in Marseille, this city is becoming an alternative to the traditional routes for Internet
communications coming from Africa, Asia, the Middle East, and India.

Communications links are still expensive for operators in these areas and Marseille represents
a shorter path for transmitting their content. In this sense, Marseille has an opportunity
to present itself as a facilitator for these areas by strengthening available infrastructures
and having a positive effect on practices in these various parts of the world.

As it does in its home country, France IX also focuses on proximity in these areas with
partnerships with nearby European exchange points. There are interconnections with
LU-CIX, the exchange point in Luxembourg, but they are also in talks with other cross-
border European exchange points. While the traffic currently brought in is minimal, the
possibility of piggybacking onto traffic coming from Marseille or other peering points in
the region will enhance the attractiveness of France IX to users in these countries.

France IX is active in European institutions in the sector, such as the Euro-IX association,
which works on priorities common to the various exchange point operators through working
groups focusing on best practices, new services or the monitoring of peering points.

12


INTERVIEW
with David Bordas,
technical manager at
Jeuxvideo.com

In what wary are you a member of France IX ? Therefore, we are always happy to see that
new members are joining France IX. It means
We are an online video game magazine. So we are new potential peers for our network.
a content provider.
Is the neutrality of France IX an important
What convinced you to join this IXP ? point for you ?
The migration of PaNAP to France IX and the
human aspects of our relationships with certain It’s important but not fundamental. The
founders of the exchange point. neutrality of France IX is indeed an important
point when it comes to the sustainability of an
internet exchange point. It also helps ensure
What France IX services do you use ?
that things are clear and transparent in regard
A 10Gbps port (limited for billing purposes to 2 to the development of this exchange point.
Gbps at the moment). This flexible billing system
for the 10Gbps port was a very important point
for us. We also use RS. How does France IX enter into your cost
analysis or your economic equation as a
Are they similar to the services you use on content provider ?
other internet exchange points ?
We make our living from advertising. Therefore,
We are only on France IX and Equinix-IX. But it is important to maintain a rather low cost
yes, the services that we use are equivalent on structure. Having «short» routes and sessions
each side. with members is a very good thing.

Now, if my peering cost exceeds the cost of a
What services do you hope to have in the
transit company by too much, the economic
future ?
equation will no longer be sustainable (even if
More members. :)
technically a peer is always better than a transit
company).
France IX is bringing together more and more
players in the French regions and abroad.
What can this development bring you in the
future ?

More potential peers! As a content provider, it is
important to have short and neat routes with the
ASs with which we exchange content.

13


4 - OUTLOOKS
After the consolidation stages of the Parisian platform and the opening of the
exchange point in Marseille, France IX is fully prepared for quick international
development in areas experiencing three-digit growth in Internet traffic!
However, the traffic from these areas must not simply be passing through on
the way to other exchange points. The priority will be to develop targetted and
innovative services quickly to meet the specific needs of stakeholders in these areas.

The perpetuation of exchanges with other international peering points should better
promote France IX and allow it to attract new traffic, as shown by the return of large content
providers during recent months.

In France, the expansion of coverage and the broadening of partnerships with exchange
points in the regions should loosen the stranglehold on provincial operators and
increase the number of members of the association.

New audiences are also future potential members. Cloud companies and providers may
have requests for direct interconnections or VPN services through their IP service providers
or their operator. Again, the development of new services based on the platform’s avenues
for growth will be important for the future development of the association.

In addition, France IX will continue to develop an active marketing presence, notably at
professional events such as those of the various NOGs*. These different elements should
bring back traffic to France. Exactly where it used to be.

* NOG (Network Operators Groups)

14


INTERVIEW
with Franck SIMON,
Managing Director at
France IX

How would you describe the current market ?

Neutrality is one of the founding principles of France IX. Demand is rising
quickly but is also becoming more sensible. For a long time, the priority was
obtaining the cheapest possible price per Mbps without worrying about the
quality of service. Today, we need to review these points and the competition
will require not only that we control costs but also that we set ourselves apart
through services.
The challenge is always difficult in this context. We need to demonstrate
that our added value goes beyond optimising costs per Mbps to include the
management of route policies and the wide range of interconnections on a
quality platform that meets even the most interactive or real-time needs, such
as online videos. Only exchange points like our own can guarantee that.

New computing uses such as the cloud are starting to pop up. How
is France IX involved with these uses? Is this a future avenue for
development ?

We are at the front end of this phenomenon with the appearance of cloud
managers. The cloud is becoming more democratic for both professional and
personal uses: storage and backup of data, the shift away from workstations,
virtual servers, game consoles, etc. For specialists in the cloud industry, in a
context where these resources are available, being connected to an Internet
exchange point is an advantage for reaching operators and users of these
services.

15


Development in the regions is one of your Neutrality is one of the founding principles of
priorities. What is your strategy in the area ? France IX. Why is it important ?

We must reach critical mass and bring together Neutrality allows us to ensure the survival of the
stakeholders that in the past were dispersed, in structure and to make sure that members are
order to obtain a snowball effect. There is still involved with the various activities.
work to be done. After having refocused the On France IX, it is possible to engage in public
Parisian platform, we must strive to bring this peering, private peering (via specific VLANs) or
added value to exchange points in the French even buy or sell partial or full IP transit.
regions. It is a worthwhile goal but the question
is not just a national one and the next step is the The same overall technical infrastructure is
interconnection with the cross-border exchange used (thus the interest in sharing resources) but
points. the different traffic flows are still seperated into
For the exchange points in the French regions, distinct sub-networks. Adapting does not mean
we favour partnership agreements. We don’t mixing everything together.
want any conflicts and we are looking for areas of
convergence such as in Lyon or Marseille. Marseille How will you participate in the work of
will play a special role by serving as a stepping institutions such as Euro-IX ?
stone and as a showcase for us by becoming a
hub due to its excellent location, namely as the
landing point for submarine cables linking Africa, We have cordial discussions with these
the Middle East and Asia to our continent. organisations, as we do with other European
exchange points where we are in more of a
Marseille represents an alternative, with shorter working group context, .focusing on good
routes than the traditional ones. We could act as practices, new services and the administration
a facilitator and optimise traffic flows on links that of exchange points.
are currently expensive for users in the geographic
areas. By offering specific and innovative services,
we can be a driving force for uses in these areas.
We still have to convince people that this will not
be just a crossing point.

16


Convergence hub

THE FIRST EXCHANGE
POINT IN FRANCE
France IX is a state-of-the-art exchange point offering Unicast and Multicast
IPv4/IPv6 peering services and private peering (Closed User Group) through
various connection ports:

5 reasons to choose France-IX

Federating exchange point
Convergence point for international traffic
Association-based structure focused on expanding neutral services to operators
Strong and safe dedicated infrastructure
24/7 technical support

Services Several types of ports are available
IPv4 Unicast 100 Mbps (copper)
IPV4 Multicast 1000 Mbps (copper) – traffic up to 200 Mbps or line-rate
IPv6 Multicast 1 Gbps (SX or LX) – traffic up to 200 Mbps or line-rate
Closed User Group 10 Gbps – traffic up to 2Gbps or line-rate
Routes Servers

The Internet exchange point that opens up France to the world.

17


Interxion 5
11-13 avenue des Arts et Métiers,
93200 Saint-Denis
customer.services@interxion.com

Telecitygroup 3
Telecitygroup 1
10 rue Waldeck Rochet,
130-136 boulevard de Verdun
93300 Aubervilliers
9 Energy Park / 92413
condorcet.support@telecity.
Courbevoie Cedex
energypark.support@telecity.com
Interxion 2
20-22 rue des Gardinoux,
93534 Aubervilliers Cedex

Telehouse 1
38 rue des Jeûneurs, Interxion 1
75002 Paris 45 avenue Victor Hugo /
colo@fr.telehouse.net Bâtiment 260
93534 Aubervilliers Cedex

Île-de-France
Telehouse 2
137 boulevard Voltaire,
75011Paris
Iliad-Datacenter 2 colo@fr.telehouse.net
29 rue Edith Cavell,
94400 Vitry-sur-Seine
sales@iliad-entreprises.fr

SFR Netcenter
Marseille
40 avenue Roger Salengro
13003 Marseille

Data Center / Coeur de réseau
Network core

Data Center

The architecture is based on a dual core network
to ensure redundancy.

18


For further information, check out our website
www.franceix.net or contact us at info@franceix.net.

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White Paper on Peering in France

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