An Internet Exchange Point (IXP) is a shared network facility where multiple networks — ISPs, CDNs, cloud providers, and enterprises — interconnect to exchange traffic directly rather than routing through transit providers. The network infrastructure of an IXP has specific design requirements that differ from both enterprise and service provider networks.
IXP Network Design Requirements
- Layer 2 fabric reliability — most IXPs use a shared L2 Ethernet fabric where all participants connect; the fabric must be loop-free, highly available, and support hundreds to thousands of participant VLANs
- BGP route table scale — route server infrastructure processes the full internet routing table (1M+ prefixes) from hundreds of participants simultaneously
- Port density — large IXPs need hundreds of 1G, 10G, and 100G ports; dense platforms that minimize rack space and power are essential
- Traffic isolation — participant traffic must be strictly isolated; cross-participant L2 leakage is a security incident
- Operations simplicity — IXPs are often operated by small teams managing large infrastructure; automation and simple operational tooling are critical
OcNOS-DC for IXP Architecture
OcNOS-DC IXP Configuration
! OcNOS-DC -- IXP peering LAN fabric configuration
!
! Step 1: Create peering VLAN (shared by all participants)
vlan 100
name IXP-PEERING-LAN
!
! Step 2: Configure participant-facing access ports
interface Ethernet1/1
description ISP-A (AS64501)
switchport mode access
switchport access vlan 100
spanning-tree portfast ! Immediate forwarding on link-up
storm-control broadcast level 1 ! Limit broadcast to 1% of bandwidth
!
! Step 3: Private VLAN for bilateral peering (optional)
vlan 200
name BILATERAL-ISP-A-CDN
private-vlan community
!
! Step 4: SVI for route server connectivity
interface vlan100
ip address 193.0.0.1/24 ! IXP peering LAN address
no shutdown
!
! Step 5: BGP route server config (runs separately, not on fabric switch)
! Route server peers with all participants on peering LAN:
router bgp 65000
bgp router-id 193.0.0.1
!
! Template for all IXP members
neighbor IXP-MEMBERS peer-group
neighbor IXP-MEMBERS route-server-client
neighbor IXP-MEMBERS send-community both
!
neighbor 193.0.0.10 peer-group IXP-MEMBERS ! ISP-A
neighbor 193.0.0.11 peer-group IXP-MEMBERS ! ISP-B
neighbor 193.0.0.20 peer-group IXP-MEMBERS ! CDN Provider
!
! Verification:
show mac address-table vlan 100
show bgp summary
show spanning-tree vlan 100IP Infusion Engineering Team