Indianapolis FD-IX Connection Guide

Indianapolis FD-IX Connection Guide

Table of Contents

  1. 1. Overview
  2. 2. Prerequisites
    1. 3.1 Order Cross-Connect
    2. 3.2 IP Assignment
    3. 3.3 Interface Configuration
    1. 4.1 Route Server Details
    2. 4.2 Cisco Configuration
    3. 4.3 Juniper Configuration
    4. 4.4 Arista Configuration
    1. 5.1 Prefix Filtering
    2. 5.2 BGP Communities
  6. 6. Verification and Testing
  7. 7. Troubleshooting
  8. 8. Appendix

1. Overview

This document provides comprehensive technical instructions for connecting to FD-IX internet exchange points. FD-IX operates carrier-neutral exchange facilities across multiple locations with standardized connection procedures.

Purpose

FD-IX enables direct peering between networks, reducing latency, improving reliability, and lowering transit costs. This guide covers the complete connection process from physical cross-connect to BGP configuration.

1.1 Key Benefits

  • Direct Peering: Exchange traffic directly with hundreds of networks
  • Reduced Latency: Eliminate unnecessary network hops
  • Cost Savings: Reduce transit bandwidth requirements
  • Improved Reliability: Multiple peering paths for redundancy
  • 24/7 Support: Round-the-clock NOC monitoring and support

1.2 Network Architecture

┌─────────────┐                    ┌──────────────┐                    ┌─────────────┐
│  Member A   │────────────────────│   FD-IX      │────────────────────│  Member B   │
│  AS64512    │    BGP Session     │ Route Server │    BGP Session     │  AS64513    │
└─────────────┘                    └──────────────┘                    └─────────────┘
       │                                   │                                   │
       │                                   │                                   │
       └───────────────────────────────────┴───────────────────────────────────┘
                              Direct Peering via Exchange Fabric

2. Prerequisites

Before connecting to FD-IX, ensure you meet the following requirements:

2.1 Technical Requirements

RequirementSpecificationNotes
ASNValid public ASNRegistered with appropriate RIR
IP SpacePublicly routable prefixesMinimum /24 for IPv4, /48 for IPv6
RouterBGP-capable deviceMust support BGP4 and communities
Port Speed100M, 1G, 10G, or 100GBased on traffic requirements

2.2 Policy Requirements

PolicyRequirementEnforcement
MAC Limit1 MAC address per portAutomatic port shutdown on violation
Traffic TypeUnicast onlyNo broadcast/multicast allowed
ProtocolsBGP onlyNo STP, CDP, or other protocols
ARPProxy ARP disabledRequired on all interfaces

Important

Violation of connection policies may result in automatic port shutdown. Ensure your configuration complies with all requirements before connecting to the exchange.

3. Connection Process

Follow these steps to establish your connection to FD-IX:

3.1 Order Cross-Connect

  1. Contact your data center provider to order a cross-connect to FD-IX
  2. Specify the FD-IX meet-me room (MMR) location for your facility
  3. Choose your port speed: 100Mbps, 1Gbps, 10Gbps, or 100Gbps
  4. Request single-mode fiber (SMF) with LC or SC connectors

Cross-Connect Specifications

Fiber Type: Single-mode (9/125μm)
Connectors: LC (preferred) or SC
Distance: Typically < 100 meters within facility

3.2 IP Assignment

Upon approval, FD-IX will assign IP addresses from the peering LAN:

LocationIPv4 SubnetIPv6 Subnet
Indianapolis206.53.139.0/242001:504:41:200::/64
Chicago206.53.140.0/242001:504:41:201::/64
Cleveland206.53.141.0/242001:504:41:202::/64

3.3 Interface Configuration

Configure your router interface with the assigned IP addresses:

# Cisco IOS Example
interface GigabitEthernet0/0
 description FD-IX Indianapolis
 ip address 206.53.139.10 255.255.255.0
 ipv6 address 2001:504:41:200::10/64
 no ip redirects
 no ip proxy-arp
 no ip directed-broadcast
 no cdp enable
 no lldp transmit
 no lldp receive
 mtu 9000
 no shutdown
              
# Juniper JunOS Example
set interfaces ge-0/0/0 description "FD-IX Indianapolis"
set interfaces ge-0/0/0 unit 0 family inet address 206.53.139.10/24
set interfaces ge-0/0/0 unit 0 family inet6 address 2001:504:41:200::10/64
set interfaces ge-0/0/0 mtu 9000

4. BGP Configuration

Configure BGP sessions with FD-IX route servers for multilateral peering.

4.1 Route Server Details

Route ServerIPv4 AddressIPv6 AddressASN
RS1 (Primary)206.53.139.12001:504:41:200::133495
RS2 (Secondary)206.53.139.22001:504:41:200::233495

4.2 Cisco Configuration

router bgp 64512
 bgp router-id 192.0.2.1
 bgp log-neighbor-changes
 no bgp default ipv4-unicast
 !
 neighbor FD-IX-RS peer-group
 neighbor FD-IX-RS remote-as 33495
 neighbor FD-IX-RS ebgp-multihop 2
 neighbor FD-IX-RS password 7 YOUR_MD5_PASSWORD
 !
 neighbor 206.53.139.1 peer-group FD-IX-RS
 neighbor 206.53.139.1 description FD-IX-RS1
 neighbor 206.53.139.2 peer-group FD-IX-RS
 neighbor 206.53.139.2 description FD-IX-RS2
 !
 address-family ipv4
  neighbor FD-IX-RS send-community
  neighbor FD-IX-RS soft-reconfiguration inbound
  neighbor FD-IX-RS route-map IX-IN in
  neighbor FD-IX-RS route-map IX-OUT out
  neighbor FD-IX-RS maximum-prefix 50000 90
  neighbor 206.53.139.1 activate
  neighbor 206.53.139.2 activate
 exit-address-family
 !
 address-family ipv6
  neighbor FD-IX-RS send-community
  neighbor FD-IX-RS soft-reconfiguration inbound
  neighbor FD-IX-RS route-map IX-IN-V6 in
  neighbor FD-IX-RS route-map IX-OUT-V6 out
  neighbor FD-IX-RS maximum-prefix 10000 90
  neighbor 2001:504:41:200::1 activate
  neighbor 2001:504:41:200::2 activate
 exit-address-family

4.3 Juniper Configuration

protocols {
    bgp {
        group FD-IX-RS {
            type external;
            multihop ttl 2;
            local-address 206.53.139.10;
            family inet {
                unicast {
                    prefix-limit {
                        maximum 50000;
                        teardown 90;
                    }
                }
            }
            family inet6 {
                unicast {
                    prefix-limit {
                        maximum 10000;
                        teardown 90;
                    }
                }
            }
            authentication-key "YOUR_MD5_PASSWORD";
            export IX-OUT;
            import IX-IN;
            peer-as 33495;
            neighbor 206.53.139.1 {
                description "FD-IX-RS1";
            }
            neighbor 206.53.139.2 {
                description "FD-IX-RS2";
            }
        }
    }
}

4.3 Arista Configuration

router bgp 64512
   router-id 192.0.2.1
   maximum-paths 32
   neighbor FD-IX-RS peer group
   neighbor FD-IX-RS remote-as 33495
   neighbor FD-IX-RS ebgp-multihop 2
   neighbor FD-IX-RS password 7 YOUR_MD5_PASSWORD
   neighbor FD-IX-RS send-community
   neighbor FD-IX-RS maximum-routes 50000 warning-limit 45000
   neighbor FD-IX-RS route-map IX-IN in
   neighbor FD-IX-RS route-map IX-OUT out
   neighbor 206.53.139.1 peer group FD-IX-RS
   neighbor 206.53.139.1 description FD-IX-RS1
   neighbor 206.53.139.2 peer group FD-IX-RS
   neighbor 206.53.139.2 description FD-IX-RS2
   !
   address-family ipv4
      neighbor FD-IX-RS activate
   !
   address-family ipv6
      neighbor FD-IX-RS activate
      neighbor 2001:504:41:200::1 peer group FD-IX-RS
      neighbor 2001:504:41:200::2 peer group FD-IX-RS

5. Routing Policies

Implement proper routing policies to ensure secure and efficient peering.

5.1 Prefix Filtering

Inbound Filtering (Bogon List)

! IPv4 Bogon Filter
ip prefix-list BOGONS deny 0.0.0.0/8 le 32
ip prefix-list BOGONS deny 10.0.0.0/8 le 32
ip prefix-list BOGONS deny 100.64.0.0/10 le 32
ip prefix-list BOGONS deny 127.0.0.0/8 le 32
ip prefix-list BOGONS deny 169.254.0.0/16 le 32
ip prefix-list BOGONS deny 172.16.0.0/12 le 32
ip prefix-list BOGONS deny 192.0.0.0/24 le 32
ip prefix-list BOGONS deny 192.0.2.0/24 le 32
ip prefix-list BOGONS deny 192.168.0.0/16 le 32
ip prefix-list BOGONS deny 198.18.0.0/15 le 32
ip prefix-list BOGONS deny 198.51.100.0/24 le 32
ip prefix-list BOGONS deny 203.0.113.0/24 le 32
ip prefix-list BOGONS deny 224.0.0.0/3 le 32
!
! Accept legitimate prefixes
ip prefix-list IX-IN permit 0.0.0.0/0 ge 8 le 24

Outbound Filtering

! Define your prefixes
ip prefix-list MY-PREFIXES permit 192.0.2.0/24
ip prefix-list MY-PREFIXES permit 198.51.100.0/24
!
! Route map for outbound announcements
route-map IX-OUT permit 10
 match ip address prefix-list MY-PREFIXES
 set community 64512:100
!
route-map IX-OUT deny 999

5.2 BGP Communities

FD-IX supports standard BGP communities for traffic engineering:

CommunityActionDescription
0:peer-asDo not announcePrevent announcement to specific peer
0:33495Do not announcePrevent announcement to any peer
33495:peer-asAnnounce onlyAnnounce only to specific peer
65535:666BlackholeBlackhole traffic (DDoS mitigation)

Community Usage Example

To prevent announcement to AS64999:
set community 0:64999

To announce only to AS64999:
set community 33495:64999

6. Verification and Testing

After configuration, verify your connection is working properly:

6.1 BGP Session Status

# Cisco
show ip bgp summary
show bgp ipv6 unicast summary

# Juniper
show bgp summary

# Arista
show ip bgp summary
show ipv6 bgp summary

Expected output should show established sessions with both route servers:

Neighbor        V    AS MsgRcvd MsgSent   TblVer  InQ OutQ Up/Down  State/PfxRcd
206.53.139.1    4 33495  123456   12345  1234567    0    0 1w2d        45678
206.53.139.2    4 33495  123457   12346  1234567    0    0 1w2d        45679

6.2 Route Verification

  1. Check routes received from route servers:
    show ip bgp neighbors 206.53.139.1 routes
  2. Verify your announcements:
    show ip bgp neighbors 206.53.139.1 advertised-routes
  3. Test connectivity to route servers:
    ping 206.53.139.1 source 206.53.139.10
  4. Verify MTU path:
    ping 206.53.139.1 size 8972 df-bit

6.3 Traffic Monitoring

Monitor your IX traffic using standard tools:

  • Interface statistics: show interface GigabitEthernet0/0
  • BGP statistics: show ip bgp neighbors 206.53.139.1 | include statistics
  • NetFlow/sFlow: Configure flow export for detailed traffic analysis
  • SNMP: Monitor via standard IF-MIB counters

7. Troubleshooting

7.1 Common Issues

IssuePossible CauseResolution
BGP session not establishingIP configuration mismatchVerify IP addresses and subnet masks
Session flappingMTU mismatchSet MTU to 1500 consistently
No routes receivedInbound policy blockingCheck route-map and prefix-list configuration
Routes not announcedMissing network statementEnsure prefixes are in BGP table
Port disabledPolicy violationCheck for multiple MACs or broadcast traffic

7.2 Debug Commands

Caution

Debug commands can impact router performance. Use with caution in production environments.

# Cisco BGP debugging
debug ip bgp 206.53.139.1 updates
debug ip bgp 206.53.139.1 events

# Juniper BGP tracing
set protocols bgp group FD-IX-RS traceoptions file bgp-trace
set protocols bgp group FD-IX-RS traceoptions flag update

# Arista BGP debugging
trace bgp neighbor 206.53.139.1

7.3 Escalation Process

If you cannot resolve the issue:

  1. Collect diagnostic information:
    • BGP configuration
    • Interface statistics
    • Error messages
    • Packet captures if applicable
  2. Check FD-IX member portal for service status
  3. Contact FD-IX with collected information

FD-IX Contact

Email: support@fd-ix.com

Phone: +1 (463) 209-7100 (24/7)

Portal: https://portal.fd-ix.com

8. Appendix

8.2 Glossary

ASN
Autonomous System Number - A unique identifier for networks on the Internet
BGP
Border Gateway Protocol - The routing protocol used between autonomous systems
IX
Internet Exchange - A physical infrastructure for networks to exchange traffic
MMR
Meet-Me Room - The physical location where cross-connects are terminated
MTU
Maximum Transmission Unit - The largest packet size that can be transmitted
RIR
Regional Internet Registry - Organizations that manage IP address allocation
Route Server
A BGP speaker that facilitates multilateral peering at an IX

    • Related Articles

    • What BGP communities do the FD-IX route servers support?

      Announcement control via BGP communities Routes tagged with the NO_EXPORT or NO_ADVERTISE communities received by the route server are propagated to other clients with those communities unaltered. Function Standard Extended Large Do not announce to ...

    • What a LOA Is in a Data Center

      If you order a cross-connect in a data center, you will hear one term fast: LOA. LOA stands for Letter of Authorization. It is the data center’s written proof that you approve a physical connection between two parties. Think of it as the bouncer at ...