WAIA | Western Australian Internet Association – Western Australian Internet Association

What is Peering?
The Whatis.com site defines Peering as the arrangement of traffic exchange between Internet service providers (ISPs). Larger ISPs with their own backbone networks agree to allow traffic from other large ISPs in exchange for traffic on their backbones. They also exchange traffic with smaller ISPs so that they can reach regional end points. Essentially, this is how a number of individual network owners put the Internet together. To do this, network owners and access providers (ISPs) work out agreements that describe the terms and conditions to which both are subject. Bilateral peering is an agreement between two parties. Multilateral peering is an agreement between more than two parties.

Peering requires the exchange and updating of router information between the peered ISPs, typically using the Border Gateway Protocol. Peering parties interconnect at network focal points such as the network access points. Initially, peering arrangements did not include an exchange of money, however more recently some larger ISPs have charged smaller ISPs for peering. Each major ISP generally develops a peering policy that states the terms and conditions under which it will peer with other networks for various types of traffic.

Private peering is peering between parties that are bypassing part of the public backbone network through which most Internet traffic passes. In a regional area, some ISPs exchange local peering arrangements instead of or in addition to peering with a backbone ISP. In some cases, peering charges include transit charges, or the actual line access charge to the larger network. Properly speaking, peering is simply the agreement to interconnect and exchange routing information.

How does this relate to WAIA/WAIX?
WAIX commenced in early 1997 to allow members of the WA Internet Association (WAIA) the ability to inter-connect using an independent facility. The facility allows members to multi-laterally peer their networks at a considerably reduced rate.

The current WAIX facility allows members access to all networks connected to WAIX. For example, if ISP A and B connect to WAIX in Perth and ISP C connects in the South-West and ISP D connects from the Pilbara then information between each of the four ISPs are shared at no cost.

WAIA charges each of the four ISPs a quarterly fixed fee (plus setup charge) for connection and this allows them access to all shared information.

A list of currently active participants at WAIX is available here.

Emergency Access to WAIX
For emergency access please call Joe Wooller on 0412 00 54 57. After Hours emergency access may attract a call-out fee of $60/hr. This number is for emergency technical issues with WAIX only.

Peering Mailing List
WAIA operates a mailing list to discuss peering issues. See how to join here.

Please Note: WAIA does not keep a list of peered content. Please speak to your ISP support people, or view this page (external site, not WAIA content).

Find out how to become a WAIX participant here.