The Peering Simulation Game

The Peering Simulation Game

William B. Norton

11-12 August 2010Nairobi, KenyaSarova Panafric Hotel Nairobi

African Peering and Interconnection Forum: Unlocking Africa’s Regional Interconnection

Internet Researcher

• 90% externally focused• Many documents on Protocols• Lack of Operations documents• Research: Peering

– How does Peering work?– What are the definitions?– What are the “Tricks of the Trade?”

White paper process..

Community Operations Research

1. “Ground Truth” w/dozens of experts2. Write White Paper v0.13. Walk community through WP for

comments4. Revise White Paper into new version5. Present White Paper at conferences6. Solicit comments over lunches and

dinners

White papers so far…

Internet Operations White Papers1) “Interconnection Strategies for ISPs”2) “Internet Service Providers and Peering”3) “A Business Case for Peering”4) “The Art of Peering: The Peering Playbook”5) “The Peering Simulation Game”6) “Do ATM-based Internet Exchanges Make

Sense Anymore?” 7) “Evolution of the U.S. Peering Ecosystem”8) “Asia Pacific Peering Guidebook”9) “A Business Case for Peering in 2004”

Freely available. See Web site or send e-mail to [email protected] Google for “William B. Norton”

Where did the Peering Simulation Game come from?

• Conversations: 200 ISP Peering Coordinators

• Research Paper: “Internet Service Providers and Peering”

Today:1) Definitions of the trade2) Summary Findings from Research3) Live the Life: Peering Simulator

No Internet Preso is complete without…

Internet Statistics• 87.5% of all Internet statistics are made up

Made UpReal

Source: I made it up

3 minute Intro to Peering

Transit $$

Transit $$

ISP A

ISP B

Peering provides routes only to each others customers

1) Transit can costs big bucks.(But it is a convenient plug in the wall that says “Internet this way”)2) Peering costs little and reduces transit costs.3) Q: Who to peer with? How to justify Peering costs?

Upstream Transit Provider

Definitions of Peering and Transit

vs. Def: Transit is the business relationship whereby one ISP sells access to all destinations in its routing table.

Def: Peering is the business relationship whereby ISPs reciprocally announce reachability to each others’ transit customers.

Peering

USNet EastNetWestNet

Peering

RoutingTable

• (Note: Peering is a Non-Transitive Relationship)

The Players• Internet Service Provider A

– Peering Coordinator • Internet Service Provider B

– Peering Coordinator• Internet Service Provider C

– Peering Coordinator • Internet Service Provider D

– Peering Coordinator

3 Helpers

• Transit Provider X: • Transit Provider Y: • Exchange Point Operator:

A

C

B

D

Transit Provider X

Transit Provider Y

IXW IXE

IXN

IXS

Y Y

XX

The Peering Game

3 Rules 1. Goal: Maximize bank holdings. Make money by

acquiring customers and reduce transit costs by peering2. Play: Roll the dice and expand your network by

selecting that many adjacent “squares” of customersGain transit revenue of $2000 for each customer square

you ownPay transit fees of $1000 for each square of traffic that

other ISPs own3. If at Exchange Point, two ISPs can negotiate peering:

– $2000 recurring cost and loss of 2 turns, ISPs negotiates who covers the costs of peering

– Peering ISPs do not have to pay transit for each others squares starting the next turn

Quick round…

A

C

B

D

Transit Provider X

Transit Provider Y

IXW IXE

IXN

IXS

Y Y

XX

A A A A

A

A rolls 5, Wants to peer w/B – moves to IXNReceives revenue on 6 squares (6*$2000)Pays Transit on others squares (3*$1000)

$12,000 - $3,000 = $9,000

A

C

B

D

Transit Provider X

Transit Provider Y

IXW IXE

IXN

IXS

Y Y

XX

A A A A

A

A rolls 5, Pays Transit on others squares (3*$1000) Receives revenue on 6 squares (6*$2000)

$12,000 - $3,000 = $9,000

B rolls 3,Going to IXE

Receives revenue on 4 squares (4*$2000)Pays Transit on others squares (8*$1000)

$8,000 - $8,000 = $0

BBB

A

C

B

D

Transit Provider X

Transit Provider Y

IXW IXE

IXN

IXS

Y Y

XX

A A A A

A


$12,000 - $3,000 = $9,000

B rolls 3,Can get to IXE

Pays Transit on others squares (8*$1000) Receives revenue on 4 squares (4*$2000)

$8,000 - $8,000 = $0

BBB

C rolls 6,Can get to IXW, likes IXS


$14,000 - $11,000 = $3,000

CC

C

C C

C

A

C

B

D

Transit Provider X

Transit Provider Y

IXW IXE

IXN

IXS

Y Y

XX

A A A A

A


$12,000 - $3,000 = $9,000



$8,000 - $8,000 = $0

BBB

C rolls 6,Can get to IXW, IXS


$14,000 - $11,000 = $3,000

CC

C

C C

C

D rolls 1,Late entrant heading to IXE


$4,000 - $17,000 = -$13,000

D

Scoreboard after Round 1

• ISP A: $9,000• ISP B: $0• ISPC: $3,000• ISPD: -$13,000

• On to Round 2

A

C

B

D

Transit Provider X

Transit Provider Y

IXW IXE

IXN

IXS

Y Y

XX

A A A A

A


$12,000 - $3,000 = $9,000



$8,000 - $8,000 = $0

BBB



$14,000 - $11,000 = $3,000

CC

C

C C C



$2,000 - $17,000 = -$15,000

D

A rolls 3,Attaches to IXW


$18,000 - $13,000 = $5,000

Wants to peer with C – split costs?YES: -$1,000 + both lose a turn

Neither has to pay transit to each other!

A

AA

C

A

C

B

D

Transit Provider X

Transit Provider Y

IXW IXE

IXN

IXS

YC Y

XBXA

A A A A

A


$12,000 - $3,000 = $9,000



$8,000 - $8,000 = $0

BBB



$14,000 - $11,000 = $3,000

CC

C

C C C



$2,000 - $17,000 = -$15,000

D

A rolls 2,Attaches to IXW


$16,000 - $13,000 = $3,000Wants to peer with C – split costs?

YES: -$1,000 both lose a turnNeither has to pay transit to each other

A

AB rolls 6,

Attaches to IXE*IXNReceives revenue on 10 squares (10*$2000)Pays Transit on others squares (21*$1000)

$20,000 - $21,000 = -$1,000

Wants to peer with A – split costs?NO: You pissed me off,

Yes: if $0 & B lose both turnsBoth walk away

BBBBBA Position

9 Revenue squares1 lost turn

Peering w/C reduced cost $8000/turn

Let’s play!WELCOME TO BILLAND

4 ISPs that have never played before

Open Board$35,000 VC FundingWe want to hear your thought process and peering

negotiationsWinner - prize

$25,000 VC Funding 1¥ = $1000

WINNER: At 5:25?PM we will stop andassume that every roll was a “3”from that point on out to 12 rounds..

Play the Peering Simulation Game…

Top 5 Reasons NOT to Peer

Top 5 Reasons not to Peer

1) Already get Traffic for “free” (through existing peering relationships)

Transit$$$

Yahoo!

Transit ISPEXODUS

Peering $

AOL

Top 5 Reasons not to Peer

2) Not True Peers• Traffic inequity

• Scale inequity• Not even investments in infrastructure• Form: “I don’t want to haul your traffic

around the globe”

Large Global Network Provider

SmallRegional

Player

Huge investment in Int’s circuits,100’s of routers and colo sites,Staff installs, peering negotiations, Millions of customers, etc.

Top 5 Reasons Not to Peer

3) Lack of Technical Competence

Troubleshooting network problems takes longer when the other ISP NOC and engineers lack the technical expertise during an outage…

Top 5 Reasons Not to Peer

4) Transit Sales Preferred• We rather sell you transit…“Let me

introduce you to our sales guys”

Top 5 Reasons Not to Peer5) BGP is Tough“BGP? No ExpertiseNo measurements No

Justification to hire expertsBGP?”

TransitService

ISP A




Upstream Transit

Providers

INTERNET

NETWORKS

TransitService

ISP A




Upstream Transit

Providers

INTERNET

NETWORKS

TransitService

ISP A




Upstream Transit

Providers

INTERNET

NETWORKS

TransitService

ISP A




Upstream Transit

Providers

INTERNET

NETWORKS

Primary

BackupTransit

Seek transportInterconnection

$

x

Transit$$$

ISP B

Transit$$$

ISP A

Transit ISP

Transit$$$

ISP B

Transit$$$

ISP A

Transit ISP

Transit$$$

ISP BTransit$$$

ISP B

Transit$$$

ISP A

Transit$$$

ISP A

Transit ISP

PrimaryBackupTransit

Conceptual Hurdle Conceptual Hurdle ComplexSimple

6: personality

Top 5 Reasons Not To Peer

5+ Personality Clashes:

They don’t understand each other

and they didn’t like the interaction

So Peering sounds easy?

Documents

The Peering Simulation Game