Disclosure up front: I run IPYE, a company that leases IP space. Most of this article is practical how-to; IPYE appears where a free /48, LOA, or ROA helps you try the work, with a short call to action at the end.

Peering is a direct BGP session with another network in which each side sends only its own routes and its customers' routes, usually without payment. It shortens paths and keeps traffic off transit links. A small network with a single free IPv6 /48 from IPYE can peer too, and the first session is a good way to learn the habits that keep peering safe. Examples use your ASN 64496, the peer AS64500, and exchange addresses from 2001:db8:7::/64.

Peering versus transit

A transit provider sends you the whole Internet and carries your routes to everyone. A peer sends only its own and customer routes, and expects the same from you. If you leak transit routes to a peer, you are offering them free transit through your network, which can overload your links and cause a route leak visible across the Internet. Your export filter is the most important part of any peering session.

Where to peer

  • At an internet exchange (IX): you connect a port to the exchange fabric and can peer with many networks, either bilaterally or through the route servers.
  • Over a private interconnect: a direct cross-connect or VLAN to one network.

Exchanges usually publish rules: one MAC address per port, no proxy ARP, no IPv6 router advertisements onto the fabric, and a fixed MTU, commonly 1500. Read them before you connect.

Find the peer's details

Check the peer's PeeringDB record for its policy, its exchange addresses and its expected prefix count. Also publish your own record first, as peers will look you up.

Session configuration in FRR 

router bgp 64496 neighbor 2001:db8:7::500 remote-as 64500 neighbor 2001:db8:7::500 description peer-AS64500-IX neighbor 2001:db8:7::500 ttl-security hops 1 ! address-family ipv6 unicast neighbor 2001:db8:7::500 activate neighbor 2001:db8:7::500 prefix-list OUR-PREFIXES out neighbor 2001:db8:7::500 prefix-list PEER-500-IN in neighbor 2001:db8:7::500 maximum-prefix 20 80 exit-address-family ! ipv6 prefix-list OUR-PREFIXES seq 10 permit 2001:db8:100::/48

ttl-security hops 1 (GTSM, RFC 5082) accepts BGP packets only from a directly connected neighbour, which blocks spoofed session attacks from further away. Both sides must enable it. Set maximum-prefix slightly above the count in the peer's PeeringDB record.

Build the inbound filter from IRR

Accept only what the peer is entitled to announce:

bgpq4 -6 -l PEER-500-IN AS-PEER500EXAMPLE > peer500.txt

Use the as-set listed in the peer's PeeringDB record, load the output into FRR, and regenerate it regularly. Add rules to reject bogons, your own prefix, and anything longer than /48. Also drop routes that are RPKI-invalid if your router uses RPKI.

The request email

Keep it short:

Subject: IPv6 peering request AS64496 / AS64500 at <exchange name> We would like to peer with you at <exchange name>. Our ASN: 64496 Our IPv6 address on the exchange: 2001:db8:7::496 Prefixes: 1 (2001:db8:100::/48), as-set AS64496:AS-ALL PeeringDB: <link to your record> NOC: <your NOC address>

Bring the session up

Once both sides configure the session:

vtysh -c 'show bgp ipv6 unicast summary' vtysh -c 'show bgp ipv6 unicast neighbors 2001:db8:7::500 advertised-routes' vtysh -c 'show bgp ipv6 unicast neighbors 2001:db8:7::500 routes'

Confirm you send exactly one prefix and receive about the number the peer published. Then run mtr -6 to an address in the peer's space and check that traffic now takes the exchange path.

Keep it healthy

  • Regenerate the inbound filter from IRR on a schedule.
  • Watch session state and prefix count, and alert on big changes.
  • Update your PeeringDB record when anything changes.
  • Answer the peer's NOC promptly. Peering is a relationship as well as a session.

Paperwork

Peers rarely ask for an LOA, but some do. Keep the one from the IPYE portal handy, along with your validator output.

Do this next

Claim a free /48 from IPYE, publish your PeeringDB record, and send your first peering request to a network that lists an open policy. Questions: ipye@turnel.com.

About IPYE

IPYE (https://ipye.com) leases IPv4, IPv6 and ASN space with instant setup. Your first IPv6 /48 is free for the first year, a real allocation you can announce on your own ASN, with a LOA from the portal and the ROA created automatically. ASN and region changes apply automatically. IPv4 /24 to /22 leases include LOA, ROA and per-/24 rDNS; WHOIS is editable on IPv6 /44 and larger. Locations: Los Angeles, New York, Ashburn, Salt Lake City, London, Amsterdam, Frankfurt. Claim your free /48: https://my.ipye.com/products/ipv6-rental. Questions: ipye@turnel.com.

Disclosure: I run IPYE