Discover Peers |
Purpose: | Identify remote networks to target for direct interconnection and understand the potential impact on existing connectivity. |
Benefits: | - Find opportunities to optimize costs or improve performance via new connectivity. - Evaluate potential peering partners and build data-driven business cases for interconnection. - Measure traffic ratios and enforce peering agreements. |
Use Cases: | New deployment BizDev, Interconnection, Network Utilization, Network Automation |
Relevant Roles: | Network Strategist, Network Architect, Network Engineer |
The Discover Peers workflow is covered in the following topics:
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About Discover Peers |
The following topics explain peering and the benefits of Kentik’s Discover Peers workflow:
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Peering Overview |
“Peering” refers to connecting one network with another in order to exchange data. The arrangements governing this interconnection typically fall into one of the following models:
Regardless of the peering model, the costs associated with interconnection are an important consideration in choosing peering arrangements. Another critical factor that can be influenced by peering is Internet performance. Every intermediate device or network transited by data between its source and destination introduces latency and potential points of failure. Thus, direct peering between content providers and consumers is considered to be the gold standard for network performance at Internet scale.
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Discover Peers Use Cases |
Discover Peers is intended to enable fast discovery of peering opportunities for two main classes of networks:
Operators at both of the above classes of networks will be able to use Discover Peers for the following:
The following table shows how Discover Peers use cases apply to various roles within a network organization.
Role | Scenarios |
Network Strategist | - Find opportunities to save money on transit costs and/or facilitate better performance for customers and applications. - See the physical locations of potential peers to aid estimation of feasibility and cost. - See the potential impact of peering on existing transit and peering links. - See the effective overall cost of peering. - Use baselines of destination or source ASNs to assess the value of interconnection based on historical traffic patterns. |
Network Architect | - See current and historical utilization trends on peering and transit interfaces, enabling informed decisions on augmenting existing services or building new ones. |
Network Engineer | - Use information on peers when automating the provisioning of new peering configurations on routers. |
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Discover Peers Page |
The Discover Peers page is covered in the following topics:
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Discover Peers Layout |
The Discover Peers page includes the following main UI elements:
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Filter Paths Pane |
The Filter Paths pane contains a set of controls that enable you to limit the paths that are included in the analysis whose results are displayed in the Peering Chart and the Potential Peers table. The following table shows the filters in the Filter Paths pane and how their effect varies depending on the Direction setting (see Peering Chart Pane):
Inbound | Outbound | |
Sites | Show only paths that enter your network at the specified site(s). | Show only paths that exit your network at the specified site(s). |
Countries | Show only paths that originate in the specified country(ies). | Show only paths that terminate in the specified country(ies). |
Site Countries | Show only paths that enter your network at sites within the specified country. | Show only paths that exit your network from sites within the specified country. |
Peering Policy | Show only paths that originate from ASNs that conform to the selected PeeringDB peering polic(ies). | Show only paths that terminate or pass through ASNs that conform to the selected PeeringDB peering polic(ies). |
Peering Traffic Ratio | Show only paths that originate from ASNs that conform to the selected PeeringDB Peering Traffic Ratio(s). | Show only paths that terminate or pass through ASNs that conform to the selected PeeringDB Peering Traffic Ratio(s). |
Show Traffic Through | N.A. | Determines the columns shown in the Peering Chart and the attribution of traffic to ASes in the Potential Peers table (see Show Traffic Through). |
Show Traffic Through |
If the Direction selector is set to Outbound then the Show Traffic Through setting affects both the Peering Chart and the Potential Peers table. The table below shows how the setting determines which dimensions are represented as Sankey columns in the chart.
Show Traffic Through | Site | Dest Connectivity Type | Dest Next Hop ASN | Dest 2nd Hop ASN | Dest 3rd Hop ASN | Dest ASN |
Destination ASN | Y | Y | Y | N | N | Y |
2nd Hop ASN | Y | Y | Y | Y | N | Y |
3rd Hop ASN | Y | Y | Y | N | Y | Y |
2nd Hop ASN and 3rd Hop ASN | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y |
In the Potential Peers table, if the Direction selector is set to Outbound then the traffic attributed to a given AS varies depending on the Show Traffic Through setting:
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Peering Chart Pane |
The Peering Chart pane displays a Sankey chart showing the paths that haven’t been filtered out by the settings in the Filter Paths Pane. The pane includes the following controls:
Peering Sankey Chart |
The Peering Sankey chart shows the paths taken by the traffic within the scope of the peering analysis:
The columns of the Sankey vary depending on the Direction setting (see Peering Chart Pane):
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Potential Peers Pane |
The Potential Peers pane displays a list of Autonomous Systems (ASes) with which it may be advantageous for you to peer as determined by Kentik’s potential peers analysis based on your filter and direction settings. The pane includes the following UI elements:
Potential Peers Table |
The Potential Peers table contains the following columns:
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Configure Discover Peers |
The Configure Discover Peers page, which affects how results are displayed on the Discover Peers page, is opened with the Configure button on that page. The Configure Discover Peers page is covered in the following topics:
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Defaults Pane |
The Defaults Pane determines various settings applied during the peering analysis to shape the results displayed on the Discover Peers Page. This pane includes the following controls:
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Excluded ASes List |
The Excluded ASes list shows any ASes that have been excluded from the chart and table on the Discover Peers page using the Exclude button (red X) in the corresponding row of the Potential Peers Table. To undo the exclusion of a given AS, restoring it to the chart and table, click the X at the right of the row to remove that AS from the Excluded ASes list.
Note: This list is only visible when one or more ASes have been excluded.
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Potential Peer Page |
The Potential Peer page, which provides information about an individual potential peer, is covered in the following topics:
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Potential Peer Page Layout |
The Potential Peer page includes the following main elements:
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Filter Traffic Pane |
The Filter Traffic pane contains a set of drop-downs that enable you to limit the traffic that is included in the Peer Traffic Chart, the Unique IPs and Unique Prefixes panes, and the traffic tables (by country and by sites). The pane contains the following filters:
The following table shows the filters in the Filter Paths pane and how their effect varies depending on the Direction setting (see Potential Peer Traffic Tables):
Inbound | Outbound | |
Sites | Show only traffic that enters your network at the specified site(s). | Show only traffic that exits your network at the specified site(s). |
Countries | Show only traffic that originates in the specified country(ies). | Show only traffic that terminates in the specified country(ies). |
Regions | Show only traffic that originates in the specified region(s). | Show only traffic that terminates in the specified region(s). |
Cities | Show only traffic that originates in the specified city(ies). | Show only traffic that terminates in the specified city(ies). |
BGP Communities | Show only traffic that is tagged with the specified BGP Community value. | Show only traffic that is tagged with the specified BGP Community value. |
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Information Pane |
This pane provides information that is sourced from the potential peer’s listing in PeeringDB. The following table shows the categories of PeeringDB information that appear on each of the Information pane’s tabs.
General Info Tab | Policy Info Tab | Notes |
- Protocols Supported - IRR as-set/route-set - IPv4 Prefixes - IPv6 Prefixes - Network Type - Geographic Scope - Traffic Ratios - Out - In - Traffic Levels |
- View Company Website: link - General Policy - Multiple Locations - Ratio Requirement - Contract Requirement |
- Notes |
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Peer Traffic Chart |
Peer Traffic is a line chart showing traffic between your network and the potential peer over the currently specified time range:
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Unique IPs Pane |
This pane shows the number of unique IPs, source (top) and destination (bottom), per aggregation period (which is stated at the bottom of the Peer Traffic chart and varies depending on the specified time range) in the traffic between your network and the potential peer during the currently specified time range. The results are calculated using average, 95th percentile, and maximum aggregation methods.
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Unique Prefixes Pane |
This pane shows the number of unique prefixes, source (top) and destination (bottom), per aggregation period (which is stated at the bottom of the Peer Traffic chart and varies depending on the specified time range) in the traffic between your network and the potential peer during the currently specified time range. The results are calculated using average, 95th percentile, and maximum aggregation methods.
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Potential Peer Traffic Tables |
The traffic tables on the Potential Peer Page detail traffic between your network and the potential peer. This section of the page contains the following main UI elements:
Traffic by Country Heatmap |
The Traffic by Country heatmap shows traffic volume by country, either from (if Direction is Inbound) or to (if Direction is Outbound) the potential peer. Hover over a country to see the volume of traffic attributed to that country.
External Traffic Table |
This table provides information about traffic between your network and the potential peer, broken down by individual devices, which are grouped in the table by the site in which they exist. Depending on the Direction setting, each row represents a device where the traffic enters your network (Inbound) or exits your network (Outbound). The table includes the following columns:
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Using Discover Peers |
As described in the following brief walk-throughs, using Discover Peers involves both the overall Discover Peers page and the individual Potential Peer pages.
Using the Discover Peers Page |
To build a list of ASes with which it might be beneficial to peer:
Using the Potential Peer Page |
To explore a specific potential peer in detail:
In this article: