1. APRICOT 2003, Taipei, 26 February, 2003 Nepal Internet Exchange (NPIX) Gaurab Raj Upadhaya CEO/Tech Chair gaurab@lahai.com wg@npix.net.np

2. APRICOT 2003, Taipei, 26 February, 2003 Nepal Internet Exchange Initiated after APRICOT, on 22 April, 2002 First Meeting of the Working group on 1 March, 2002 Very active participation from WG members IX powered ‘ON’ on 30 August, 2002 3 ISPs currently terminating circuits, peering ON and off.. 5 Part timers (non paid) (3 Technical, 2 Admin) npIX is now more involved in Layer 9.. training and helping ISPs to migrate their networks and be able to peer.

3. APRICOT 2003, Taipei, 26 February, 2003 Major Points Joint ownership of Peers. Legally under the ISP Association of Nepal Location decided unanimously by the Working group after long discussions. Switch and Route Server provided by PCH (www.pch.net)www.pch.net First round of IX training done by PCH. SANOG I meeting initiated by npIX

4. APRICOT 2003, Taipei, 26 February, 2003 Management / Financials Independent Board constituting of the following –General Secretary of ISPAN –Representative of Computer Association of Nepal –CEO/Technical Chair (ex officio) –Representative from the participant –Representative from the Government –Representative of House Owner (non voting) Financially independent from ISPAN. Peering participant pay on a cost recovery basis, reviewed every year. Space donated by the building owner, power backup donated by one of the participating ISP.

5. APRICOT 2003, Taipei, 26 February, 2003 Technical Switch Cisco 3548XL Route Server Cisco 1760 BGP Peering sessions amongst the peering partners Connectivity is currently through radio links and leased lines, which is not without problems –Radio option has been ruled out, due to interference of multiple ISPs trying to use modems at the same location. Only 3 ISPs have been able to connect with copper, but the connection is not stable.

6. APRICOT 2003, Taipei, 26 February, 2003 Problems AS Numbers –Of the 9 ISPs, only 2 had AS Numbers and 2 others had applications with APNIC, now 4 have AS numbers, with two more in process, 3 ISPs will get ASes through their upstream. –Many ISPs are yet to become members of APNIC and were not aware of AS Number issues as they do not multi-home. –Currently, all ISPs who have APNIC memberships have applied for AS Numbers, and others are in contact with their upstream provider –ISPs are still migrating to BGP within their own networks, which is complex, not because of scaling but because of unpredictability and technologies used. (bridging over WAN radio Links??)

7. APRICOT 2003, Taipei, 26 February, 2003 Problems.. Connectivity –Radio connections are disrupted due to interference, specially when all are trying to connect to the same location –Radio are backup and temporary solution –A omni antenna at the IX location to which all ISPs can connect is being sought as an alternative –The talks are ongoing with the Telco to provide circuits at the IX facility.

8. APRICOT 2003, Taipei, 26 February, 2003 Problems Regulatory –The regulator has supported the establishment of the IX, but there aren’t any legal provisions concerning IX. This legal vacuum could means problems in future Telco –The monopoly telco, as with everything related to the ISPs, views this skeptically. Though they also run an ISP business, their active co- operation is not forthcoming.

9. APRICOT 2003, Taipei, 26 February, 2003 Now.. Plan B We are moving to Plan B.. –Layer 2 switch will be co-located at the Telephone exchange, where ISPs have circuits terminating for E1 dialup connections. –The switch at the npIX will be bridged with the new switch. We are looking at technologies.. –The efforts to terminate circuits at the npIX will continue, now with more emphasis on Fiber

10. APRICOT 2003, Taipei, 26 February, 2003 Some observation On the private peering between two largest ISPs.. traffic is > 324 GB / mo Traffic coming to the two large ISPs from other local ISPs are 20% for them (about 80 GB/mo) For small ISPs, the traffic going out is almost 60% of their traffic. npIX tests showed that we'll immediately have traffic levels at 200 GB, when the private peering is kept intact.

11. APRICOT 2003, Taipei, 26 February, 2003 Ongoing work Management / Financials –Management modality has been finalized and is being worked on currently –Financial plan for the year is also being worked on –We got some money, so that I can be paid for soon… Technical –Technical trainings are being requested to IX community as well as APNIC.

12. APRICOT 2003, Taipei, 26 February, 2003 Questions ????? www.nepalchildren.org $30 can put a child through one year of school in Nepal, visit to donate

13. APRICOT 2003, Taipei, 26 February, 2003 Thank You