DE-CIX Istanbul Celebrates 10 Years of Digital Excellence

DE-CIX Istanbul is a major player in the world of digital connectivity, and it's hard to believe it's been 10 years since it first opened its doors.

In 2012, DE-CIX Istanbul was launched to meet the growing demand for internet exchange services in the region.

The exchange quickly gained popularity, with a significant increase in traffic and a growing number of connected networks.

Today, DE-CIX Istanbul is one of the largest internet exchanges in the region, providing high-speed connectivity to a vast number of networks and data centers.

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DE-CIX Istanbul is celebrating a decade of operations in the city, bringing world-class interconnection services closer to where businesses and networks need them most.

This digital exchange is a key enabler of digital transformation in the region, serving as the heart of Türkiye's digital ecosystem.

Bülent Sen, Regional Director Türkiye at DE-CIX, notes that the exchange enables seamless digital services across all sectors, powering data-driven business models and providing smooth gaming and streaming experiences.

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In 2024, the number of connected networks at the exchange grew by 18.5%, underscoring its importance as a digital bridge between Europe and the Middle East.

Data traffic also saw significant growth, with 726 petabytes exchanged – an 11% increase over the previous year.

Peak throughput on the IX reached a new record of over 500 Gbit/s in 2025, more than tripling the volume seen in 2020.

To establish a BGP session with the route servers at DE-CIX Istanbul, you'll need to connect to the route servers using the following parameters: {{RS1_FQDN_UPPER}}, {{RS1_IPV4}}{{RS1_IPV6}}, and {{RS2_FQDN_UPPER}}, {{RS2_IPV4}}{{RS2_IPV6}}.

You'll also need to specify your Autonomous System Number (ASN) as {{RS_ASN}}. Additionally, you'll need to consider the AS-SET, which is IPv4: {{RIR_MACRO_IPV4}} and IPv6: {{RIR_MACRO_IPV6}}.

Here's a brief overview of the BGP session parameters to connect to the route servers:

If you have a peering policy that prevents you from establishing a BGP session, you can consider setting up a collector session, which doesn't require advertising or receiving routes, and is only visible in the Looking Glass.

BGP Session Parameters are crucial for establishing a connection to the route servers. To connect, you'll need to know the FQDN and IP addresses of the route servers.

The FQDN (Fully Qualified Domain Name) for the route servers can be found in the BGP Session Parameters table, which lists the uppercased FQDN for each server. For example, you might see {{RS1_FQDN_UPPER}} or {{RS2_FQDN_UPPER}}.

You'll also need to know the IP addresses of the route servers, which are listed in the same table. This includes both IPv4 and IPv6 addresses, such as {{RS1_IPV4}}{{RS1_IPV6}}.

Another important parameter is the ASN (Autonomous System Number), which is also listed in the table as {{RS_ASN}}.

If you're working with AS-SETs, you'll need to know the IPv4 and IPv6 addresses, which are listed as {{RIR_MACRO_IPV4}}IPv6: {{RIR_MACRO_IPV6}}.

To avoid overwhelming the route servers, there are receive limits in place. The receive limit on the route server's side is listed as IPv4: {{RECEIVE_LIMIT_RS_IPV4}}IPv6: {{RECEIVE_LIMIT_RS_IPV6}}.

On your side, it's recommended to set a route limit to prevent overloading the route servers. This limit is listed as IPv4: {{RECEIVE_LIMIT_CUSTOMER_IPV4}}IPv6: {{RECEIVE_LIMIT_CUSTOMER_IPV6}}.

Here's a summary of the BGP session parameters in a table format:

BGP Announcement Filtering is a crucial aspect of BGP configuration and management. You can safely accept any BGP announcements received via all route servers as the filtering mechanism is described in the section "IXP Side".

To filter on your side based on AS-SETs, you can use one or more of the following AS-SETs: AS-SETs of all IXP customers (IPv4), AS-SETs of all IXP customers (IPv6), and ASNs of all IXP customers.

The route servers filter all routes based on RPKI and IRRDB data, as well as various other route hygiene criteria. Configurations are updated every 6 hours with a reconfiguration delay of two hours between rs1 and rs2.

Bogon and Martian filtering is also important. Please make sure not to announce routes that are > /24 (IPv4) and > /48 (IPv6), have a different BGP next-hop than the IP of your own router, are bogons/martians, are a peering LAN or a peering LAN of any of IXP's operated IXPs, contain bogon ASNs in the BGP AS path, or have an AS path length > 32.

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Here are some specific examples of routes you should not announce:

Any routes you announce will also be RPKI validated and checked against Internet Routing Registry data. The AS-SET you provide will be recursively resolved, and filtering will be executed based on the following criteria: Origin ASN needs to be in customer AS cone, and the route cannot be a blackhole.

To establish a BGP session with the route servers at DE-CIX Istanbul, you'll need to connect to the route servers using the provided FQDN and IP addresses. The FQDN for the first route server is {{RS1_FQDN_UPPER}} and its IP addresses are {{RS1_IPV4}} and {{RS1_IPV6}}.

The ASN for the route servers is {{RS_ASN}}. You can also use the AS-SET, which is IPv4: {{RIR_MACRO_IPV4}} and IPv6: {{RIR_MACRO_IPV6}}.

Here's a brief overview of the BGP session parameters to connect to the route servers:

Route Server Control is a powerful feature that allows you to manage your route server with BGP Communities.

You can control the route server with BGP Communities, which provides a flexible and efficient way to manage your routes.

BGP Communities are used to tag additional information, such as the route ingress, or where it was injected into the switching platform.

This feature is particularly useful for network administrators who need to manage large-scale networks with complex routing requirements.

For more information on how to use BGP Communities to control your route server, see the Route Server Action BGP Communities documentation.

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Setting up BGP sessions with route servers is a crucial step in managing your route server and sessions. It's recommended to set up sessions to both route servers, even if you don't want to peer with them.

This helps IXP staff quickly monitor the availability of each peer. We offer two session types to choose from.

Here are the key differences between them:

As you can see, the main difference between the two is that Public sessions allow for route redistribution and receiving routes, while Collector sessions do not.

The AWS Cloud On-Ramp in Istanbul offers significantly lower latency compared to routes via distant hubs like Frankfurt. This local cloud access enhances application performance.

Customers connected to DE-CIX Istanbul experience data transfer costs that are lower compared to routes via distant hubs. This is a more efficient and cost-effective cloud connectivity solution.

The AWS Cloud On-Ramp provides the shortest path to access your AWS resources by transferring data over AWS's global network. This reduces latency and enhances processing performance.

It also lowers the cost of building and operating networks, and secures your data with a variety of encryption options. This is a major benefit for AWS users in Türkiye.

The AWS Cloud On-Ramp in Istanbul supports AI workloads and ensures compliance by avoiding public Internet routes. This makes it ideal for regulated industries and data-intensive applications.

It accelerates cloud migration and offers seamless hybrid cloud integration. This means you can easily move your data and applications between cloud and on-premises environments.

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DE-CIX Istanbul has established itself as a key player in the region's interconnection landscape, with a neutral and open approach that allows for the exchange of internet traffic between multiple networks.

The exchange point is located in the Istanbul data center, which is equipped with high-speed connections to major European networks.

DE-CIX Istanbul offers a range of services, including IP transit, peering, and colocation, to meet the diverse needs of its customers.

The exchange point has seen significant growth since its launch, with a current peak traffic of over 100 Gbps.

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