The 2014 Internet Peering Playbook: Connecting to the Core of the Internet

by William B. Norton

Networks of Scale Connect to the Core of the Internet

One can understand the protocols, the technologies, and the routing algorithms, but that doesn't tell the story. The Internet is a global ecosystem of cooperating and competing networks strategically interconnected to maximize performance and minimize costs. If you are operating a growing Internet service, it is essential to understand how the Internet Peering Ecosystem works at the core.

You will learn how the largest content and Internet service companies:
* Determine when and how to connect to the Core of the Internet
* Select the right peers and Internet Exchange Points (IXPs)
* Choose between public and private peering
* Make a provable business case for peering
* Apply the "Tricks-of-the-Trade" to obtain peering with the key players
* Establish and grow critical mass at their IXP

This is the book you need to understand strategies and tactics for Internet Peering, Transit and Exchange Points, collected from some of the smartest peering coordinators and IXP operators in the world.

Genres: Technology

533 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 2014

Reviews

[Vasil Kolev · Rating 5 out of 5]

The author has collected basically everything related to the Internet peering/interconnection topics in a normal readable way. There's no technical part, but it's still a must for any network operator to know these things, and reading this book is faster than reading all the archives of NANOG and similar groups.

[Matt Bowen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good overview of the business that is "the core internet" and the players involved in how data gets shoveled around between providers/consumers.

[Samuel Miller · Rating 4 out of 5]

Solid high-level introduction to things like peering vs transit, the IXP business model, and the social engineering that goes into network engineering. I liked the business / social elements, but it felt incomplete without technical details. For example the concept of sharing routes is referred to throughout, but I don’t recall if BGP itself is ever even mentioned. I wouldn’t expect RFC-level detail, but as an engineer I was left unsatisfied in that regard. Perhaps I’m not the target audience of this book, though.

[Greg Stearns · Rating 4 out of 5]

If I asked "Do you know how the internet works?", what do you say?

If it's "I don't care as long as Facebook works", skip this book.

If it's "Sure, the TCP/IP protocol carries packets over the 7 layers of the OSI stack", you might be interested in this book.

If it's "Sure, BGP tables are shared between autonomous networks and packets are routed between them all around the world!" then read this book.

If it's "Sure, ISPs either buy transit from a higher tier network or establish a peering relationship (paid or mutual) with others in a cutthroat game" then you might still be able to get something out of this book.

While over 5 years old at this point (and 2014-2015 was a very important year for peering) this book covers how the internet works at a level I never before understood. If you want to know how exactly Verizon flipped the internet upside down, read this book. If you want to know why data caps are just a gimmick (at least in the US) to extract money out of households, read this book. If you have more than a passing interest in how the most important technology of our age works behind the scenes at a human level, read this book.

[Andraz · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wishing I had this book when I was in ISP business :)

[Jonathan Schuster · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good explanation of peering and transit for someone like me who's curious about the details of those issues for the sake of net neutrality. I'm not associated with an ISP, though, so I didn't read much of the "playbook" part.

[Ben Chase · Rating 5 out of 5]

An excellent resource to get to know the strategic, cultural, and financial forces at play in the peering world.