Beyond Palo Alto

AboveNet's plan to purchase the Palo Alto Internet Exchange would put one of the largest Internet peering points into the hands of a company that already has built a business around overcoming the congestion caused by existing peering practices.

AboveNet currently operates several Internet service exchanges (ISXs), where it offers co-location and connectivity to Internet backbone networks and Internet service provider data centers. AboveNet's virtual peering service lets an ISP co-locate in one AboveNet ISX peer with another ISP that has co-located in a different ISX via a high-speed Ethernet interconnection over dark fiber.

That strategy provides a hint at what AboveNet may be planning for Palo Alto. Compaq, current owner of the PAIX, already was planning to upgrade peering connections from fiber distributed data interface (FDDI) to high-speed Ethernet, said Dave Rand, AboveNet's chief technology officer. AboveNet has a fiber ring between Palo Alto and MAE West and 16 dark fibers running into MAE West. Could AboveNet be planning to siphon off traffic from MAE West?

Although declining to discuss specific plans, Rand did not conceal his dissatisfaction with MAE West operator MCI WorldCom. New backbone providers have been prevented from peering at MAE West since 1996 because of a port shortage on the FDDI switch, he said. Although MCI WorldCom has added an asynchronous transfer mode switch, it doesn't connect to the FDDI switch.

"It's very difficult now to get to Tier 1 status and we want to stop that," said Rand. "We want to improve the Internet infrastructure itself, which will have a secondary benefit to us."

Most public peering points are controlled by specific telcos, and ISPs are required to purchase connectivity into the peering point from that telco, said Rand. AboveNet will continue the PAIX tradition of allowing multiple carriers to provide connectivity, which should keep pricing competitive, Rand said.

AboveNet also owns dark fiber in New York and Washington and is negotiating to buy a coast-to-coast link, Rand added.