NAPAfrica IXP

An Internet Exchange point or IXP is a set of physical infrastructure (routing and switching equipment, etc.) where enterprises, network operators, CDN’s and cloud services providers interconnect in order for Internet traffic to be exchanged between themselves and others who are connected to the exchange. The primary role is to keep local Internet traffic within local infrastructure. Benefits include lower network costs, reduced latency and better bandwidth by avoiding data routing through upstream Internet service providers.

Peering is a process by which two Internet networks agree to connect and exchange traffic. It allows them to directly hand off traffic with one another, without having to pay a third party to carry that traffic across the Internet for them. Peering is distinct from transit, the more usual way of connecting to the Internet, in which an end user or network operator pays another, usually larger, network operator to carry all their traffic for them.