RE: Simplified BGP peering solution

[Adam Thompson <athompson () merlin mb ca>]

4 upstream ISP connections (2 commercial, 1 NREN, 1 partial feed from HE)
1 local IX (MBIX), so 5 more ASNs there (including HE, above) plus all the open-peering ASes accessible through the IX 
route servers
3 downstream customers with their own ASNs

The two commercial ISPs are because end-user internet access here is the usual telco/cableco near-total-duopoly, and 
those two %$#@!!s only peer ~30ms away from me.  (Interestingly, I have one ILEC but two cablecos, geographically 
separated, within my service area.)
The NREN should be self-evident… that’s usually over 1/3 of my bandwidth, in fact, thanks to CANARIE’s CDN network.
MBIX is to cover all the non-duopoly ISPs in the province.  (Guess who doesn’t show up at the IX… first infinity 
guesses don’t count.)

So… I actually am an end-user trying to load balance.  But I’m also looking for the best paths.  And I have three POPs 
now where I meet other carriers delivering L2 circuits.  Finally, I’m an ISP but not for the general public.

I don’t think you can categorize the customer type effectively based on either the peering counts OR the number of 
“ISPs” they deal with.  (Not to mention, you need to define “ISP” in order for this question to make sense in the first 
place.)

Adam Thompson
Consultant, Infrastructure Services
[MERLIN]
100 - 135 Innovation Drive
Winnipeg, MB, R3T 6A8
(204) 977-6824 or 1-800-430-6404 (MB only)
athompson () merlin mb ca<mailto:athompson () merlin mb ca>
www.merlin.mb.ca<http://www.merlin.mb.ca/>

From: NANOG <nanog-bounces+athompson=merlin.mb.ca () nanog org> On Behalf Of Josh Saul
Sent: Friday, February 4, 2022 8:02 PM
To: nanog () nanog org
Subject: Simplified BGP peering solution

How many active ISPs are most of the people on this list dealing with?

1-2 - I'm an end user just trying to load balance
3-5 - I'm aggressively looking for the best paths for my "customer" traffic
6-20 - I have a meet-me POP room or a specific business need for so many connections
21+  - I'm an ISP

Thank you!