The Northern Lights Local Exchange Point (NLLXP) is a free Internet Exchange Point (
IXP
Internet exchange points (IXes or IXPs) are common grounds of IP networking, allowing participant Internet service providers (ISPs) to exchange data destined for their respective networks. IXPs are generally located at places with preexisting ...
) in
Minneapolis,
Minnesota, in the United States. The NLLXP public peering exchange is closely linked with the Northern Lights GigaPoP (NLG), an
Internet2 project of the
University of Minnesota Office of Information and Technology: the NLG is the regional Internet2 access point for research and educational institutions, and the NLLXP is the regional peering exchange between those institutions and commercial networks, and among commercial networks.
As of August 23, 2008 there were 22 members participating in the NLLXP, advertising 439 unique
BGP
Border Gateway Protocol (BGP) is a standardized exterior gateway protocol designed to exchange routing and reachability information among autonomous system (Internet), autonomous systems (AS) on the Internet. BGP is classified as a path-vector ...
routes from 93 originating
autonomous systems
An autonomous robot is a robot that acts without recourse to human control. The first autonomous robots environment were known as Elmer and Elsie, which were constructed in the late 1940s by W. Grey Walter. They were the first robots in history t ...
. NLLXP participants include Internet content creators, Internet service hosting providers, and Internet access providers.
Technology
The core of the Northern Lights Local Exchange Point (NLLXP) is a single
Juniper Networks T640
router, acting as a Layer-3 IXP. Similar to at IXPs using a
route reflector, each member peers with the IXP's
autonomous system Autonomous system may refer to:
* Autonomous system (Internet), a collection of IP networks and routers under the control of one entity
* Autonomous system (mathematics), a system of ordinary differential equations which does not depend on the inde ...
, making member BGP configurations simple to configure and maintain.
The NLLXP core router is located at 90 Church Street, on the campus of the University of Minnesota. Using
Metro Ethernet, the NLLXP has been extended to an Ethernet switch located in the
Minnesota Gateway colocation facility, where many metro-area members connect. Cross-connects from the NLLXP Ethernet switch are available within the Minnesota Gateway colocation facility. Extensions of these cross-connects to other locations using Metro Ethernet or intercity managed wavelength are available from several carriers.
carriers colocated at Minnesota Gateway
/ref>
See also
* List of Internet exchange points
This is a list of Internet exchange points ( IXPs). There are several sources for IXP locations, including Packet Clearing House, who have maintained the earliest list of IXPs, with global coverage since 1994. Also, Telegeography, PeeringDB and t ...
References
{{Reflist, 33em
External links
Official NLLXP contact form
NLLXP member list
Orbis Internet becomes first NLLXP member, May 2000
Internet exchange points in the United States
Network access