Moscow Internet Exchange Improves Performance on Transcontinental Scales

The Moscow Internet Exchange has made significant strides in improving performance on transcontinental scales. This is largely due to its strategic location and high-speed connectivity.

With over 400 networks connected, the Moscow Internet Exchange has become a major hub for internet traffic in Eastern Europe and Central Asia. Its proximity to major fiber-optic cables has also contributed to its success.

The exchange's high-speed connectivity allows for faster data transfer and reduced latency, making it an attractive option for businesses and organizations looking to expand their online presence.

In 1995, MSK-IX was founded as the first point of traffic exchange between Internet providers in Russia. This marked a significant milestone in the development of the Russian Internet segment.

Six Russian ISPs signed a treaty to reduce IP-traffic latency and international backhaul costs, leading to the creation of MSK-IX. The Russian Institute for Public Networks (RIPN) was assigned as the administrator of the forthcoming IP-traffic exchange.

The first MSK-IX PoP was established by RIPN at M9 facility on Butlerova st., 7. This was a key step in making MSK-IX a reality.

MSK-IX has been the largest point of concentration of telecommunications resources in the Russian Internet segment since its foundation in 1995.

The Moscow Internet Exchange is a key hub for internet traffic in Russia. It's located at the Moscow Data Center, a major colocation facility.

The exchange is operated by a non-profit organization, MSK-IX, which was founded in 2007. MSK-IX has a membership model, where participants pay a fee to connect to the exchange.

The exchange has a total of 22 network participants, with a combined capacity of 1.4 Tbps.

MSK-IX operates a distributed Ethernet-based switching platform spanning 38 PoPs in 10 cities. This platform is a key part of their technical infrastructure.

The total capacity of MSK-IX reached 8 Tbps after the introduction of the "Dual Core" topology in Moscow in 2015. This significant increase in capacity has likely improved the performance of the platform.

MSK-IX maintains a dedicated public peering VLAN at each of 9 metro areas, providing a reliable connection point for internet service providers. This allows for efficient exchange of internet traffic.

Inter-city connections are provided on-net by MSK-IX and via partner ISPs, ensuring a robust and redundant network. Common interface speeds are 1, 10 and 100G, catering to different network requirements.

The route-servers provided at each of MSK-IX public peering VLANs allow for routing policy control and DDoS blackholing by use of BGP communities. This feature helps protect the network from malicious traffic.

MSK-IX operates the MSK-IX DNS Cloud, a distributed anycast DNS platform located in 7 federal districts of Russia, in Europe and in the Americas. This platform provides authoritative name servers for several country-code top-level domains.

In October 2017, MSK-IX placed a communication node at the DataSpace data center.

This strategic move enabled DataSpace customers to gain direct access to MSK-IX and reduce their traffic transit costs.

As a result, DataSpace customers can now use MSK-IX to access additional network capacity.

The use of MSK-IX also provides DataSpace customers with direct and secure access to other Internet networks.

DataSpace customers can also expect an increase in the speed of access to cloud services and content.

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The Moscow Internet Exchange, or MSK-IX, has a fascinating history that dates back to 1995. It was the largest point of concentration of telecommunications resources in the Russian Internet segment.

In 2001, the Center for Computer Network Interaction MCK-IX was established by the Russian Research Institute for the Development of Public Networks (RosNIIROS) to develop the MSK-IX project. This marked a significant milestone in the project's history.

MSK-IX has been a member of the European Internet Exchange Association (Euro-IX) since its membership was not specified. The organization has continued to grow and evolve over the years.

The number of participating companies has exceeded 370, with a goal to increase this figure to 400 in 2013. This growth reflects the increasing demand for internet services in Russia.

For another approach, see: History of the Internet in Russia

MSK-IX, the Russian traffic exchange point, has received ICANN accreditation.

This accreditation allows MSK-IX to backup the data of domain registrars, a service known as Data Escrow.

MSK-IX is the only such point accredited by ICANN in Russia.

With this accreditation, Russian top-level domain registrars can now avoid cross-border transfer of personal data.

This means they can store their domain registers in a digital depository in Russia, ensuring their security and control.

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MSK-IX has a strong record of supporting the professional community. They held their first Technical seminar in 2005, marking a milestone in their 10th anniversary.

The event was later reincarnated as the "MSK-IX Peering Forum" and became a regular gathering of over 500 telecom professionals in Moscow. The agenda focused on network operations, security, and peering.

MSK-IX has also partnered with RIPE NCC to launch the ENOG conferences, with 6 events sponsored as of October 2017.

In 2014, MSK-IX, the largest Internet exchange point in Russia, had 300 participants.

These participants included national and regional operators, hosting companies, content providers, corporate, scientific, and educational networks.

MSK-IX provided a neutral infrastructure for its participants to host equipment, establish communications, and exchange traffic based on direct bilateral arrangements.

The Moscow MSK-IX network had 12 access nodes connected by a high-speed backbone.

This allowed for high-quality and available services at points of concentration of telecommunication resources, including M9, M10, KIAEHOUSE, and other technological sites in Moscow.

Russia's geographical breadth spans halfway around the northern hemisphere, crossing Europe and Asia and sharing borders with 15 countries. This results in an Internet request traveling from one end of the country to the other taking over 120ms.

The previous method of delivering nearly four million Internet applications on CloudFlare to over 100 million Internet users in Russia mainly originated from Stockholm and Frankfurt data centers. This led to a significant delay in service.

By localizing the delivery, we can help reduce latency by over 20ms for a majority of Russian users. This improvement is substantial, considering the vast distances involved in transcontinental communication.

MSK-IX, a network infrastructure, offers a solution by connecting operators and providing access to a range of network services, including a Route Server for traffic management and a BlackHole service for protection against DDOS attacks. Many participants place network equipment at MSK-IX sites designed to connect to MSK-IX.

The MSK-IX infrastructure is actively used by over 300 participants, including national and regional operators, hosting companies, content providers, corporate, scientific, and educational networks. This network cooperates with various players, including DNS operators, to ensure the growth of traffic quality and stability for other exchange participants.

MSK-IX has a long history of supporting the professional community, dating back to its 10th anniversary in 2005.

The organization held its first Technical seminar that year, which was later reincarnated as the "MSK-IX Peering Forum". This event has since become a regular gathering of 500+ telecom professionals in Moscow.

Its agenda is focused on network operations, security, and peering, making it a valuable resource for those in the industry.

In 2011, MSK-IX supported RIPE NCC in launching the ENOG conferences.

As of October 2017, MSK-IX had sponsored 6 ENOG events, and was serving as local host for 5.

Dmitry Vladimirovich Shumkov, through the Center for Network Interaction Technologies (CTVS), owns a blocking package in MSK-IX.

MSK-IX has a specific ownership structure, with Dmitry Vladimirovich Shumkov's CTVS holding a significant stake.

In August 2014, it was reported that Dmitry Vladimirovich Shumkov's CTVS owns a blocking package in MSK-IX. This highlights the importance of understanding the ownership dynamics of the exchange.

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The Moscow Internet Exchange has over 300 participants, including national and regional operators, hosting companies, content providers, corporate, scientific, and educational networks.

These participants benefit from connecting to the MSK-IX network, gaining new opportunities for online management of connectivity and improving the availability of their own information resources.

By hosting equipment at MSK-IX sites, participants can connect to the network and access a range of services, including a Route Server for traffic management and a BlackHole service for protection against DDOS attacks.

MSK-IX cooperates with a variety of organizations, including DNS operators, to improve traffic quality and stability for other exchange participants.

The MSK-IX infrastructure is used by participants to receive and provide communication services and IT services, making it a hub for online activity.

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