Adding Value to Internet Exchange Points
Shorter Distance, Better Service
Internet exchange points (IXPs) are essential to the overall health and proper functioning of the Internet. IXPs may reduce latency since they shorten the distance that packets — carrying emails, texts, videos, and voice messages — must travel between their source and intended destinations. IXPs may also reduce risk associated with service disruption. Generally speaking, the greater the distance a packet must travel, the greater the risk of interference by unintended (storms, natural disasters, power, misconfigurations, etc.) and intended (nefarious threats, cyberattacks) events.
IXPs shorten the packet transmission path by enabling Internet connected services to exchange traffic closer to where customers of those services are concentrated. This reduces latency and risks associated with network communications.
The importance of IXPs, particularly in the Caribbean, cannot be overstated. In this region, without an IXP, packets often travel off-island — typically to the United States — for exchange (aka backhaul) before being transmitted to their destination, which is often on the same island as the source. An IXP deployed with key peering relationships will eliminate the need for this distant packet travel, reducing both latency and risk. This further leads to an island’s digital independence as a key step in its digital transformation strategy.
The Value Proposition
IXPs provide the greatest benefit, and value, to their region when a greater number of Internet service providers (ISPs) such as businesses, governments, educational institutions, content delivery networks, medical services, and others peer to exchange Internet traffic. In support of adding value to IXPs, and thus increasing the benefit to the regions they serve, ARIN currently peers at exchanges at five different locations — including two in the Caribbean.
In December 2024 ARIN added local services to the Saint Kitts and Nevis IXP (SKNIX), which was deployed into production in September 2023. ARIN is now providing secondary Domain Name Services (DNS) for the IPv4 and IPv6 address blocks that are managed in the in-addr.arpa and ip6.arpa zones for which it is responsible. This service assists in faster DNS resolution for those ISPs who participate on the Saint Kitts and Nevis exchange.
Steven Bambling and other engineers of ARIN’s Operations team under Director Reggie Forster worked with Brent Mc Intosh, Stephen Lee, and Steve Spence of the Caribbean Internet exchange team to add this service to further leverage the value of the IXP to the Saint Kitts and Nevis community. ARIN plans to deploy secondary DNS services to other Caribbean IXPs in the future.
ARIN has IPv4 address space available for IXP deployment under its 4.4 Micro-allocation policy for those who qualify. If you’re interested in setting up an IXP in your country, view ARIN’s Number Resource Policy Manual to learn more.
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