We have run into multiple scenarios with Cisco devices that require the command no bgp enforce-first-as added to the configuration in order to turn up peering to the route servers

The device(s) connected to the exchange are not allowed to be visible as layer-2 bridges - therefore absolutely no spanning tree or other layer-2 specific protocol

The only allowed routing protocol on the exchange is BGP (Border Gateway Protocol). There is no reason to attempt to use any other protocols over the exchange as none will be allowed

By default Cisco routers and switches periodically test their (Fast) Ethernet links by sending out Loopback frames (ethertype 0x9000) addressed to themselves. Call it a "L2 self-ping" if you will. In a switched environment it can be used to test the functionality of the switch and/or keep the router's MAC address in the switch's address table. In the exchange environment, this is not useful since we use MAC timeouts that are larger than the typical BGP and/or ARP timeouts. In fact, the keepalives may actually cause port security violations if they are being sent by an intermediate switch.

Since traffic over Omaha IX is exchanged based on BGP routes, there is no reason to answer ARP queries for any other IP address(es) than those that are configured on your exchange interface. Unfortunately, some vendors (e.g. Cisco) ship their products with proxy ARP enabled by default. Proxy ARP is not only sloppy, it can lead to unwanted traffic on your network. Consider that if you have it enabled at the AMS-IX, it'll likely be enabled at other peering points, allowing parties on both sides to use you as a transit. Proxy ARP is not allowed.

We only allow a maximum of 3 mac-addresses per port on the off chance you are connecting via a layer-2 device. Ideally we will only see one.

We plan to purse the OmenIX certification when the certification window is open for Omaha. Below is the current status of our progress: OpenIX Requirement Omaha IX Compliance Public Exchange Vlan Compliant Private VLAN Compliant Port Speeds: 1G/10G/40G/100G Compliant ethertype 0×0800 Compliant ethertype 0x86dd Compliant ipv4 multicast filtering Compliant ipv6 multicast filtering Compliant Open Connection Policy Compliant Public website containing connection types Compliant Demarc Compliant, Demarcation at Omaha IX switch port Switch Back plane Capacity Compliant, switching fabrics are line rate Interswitch links Compliant Redundant Power Compliant, dual fed power for all devices Switch Back plane Capacity Compliant, switching fabrics are line rate RIR Address Space Compliant Switch Back plane Capacity Compliant, switching fabrics are line rate Route Server IPv4/IPv6 support Compliant, using BIRD Route Server config posted on web Compliant NOC 24×7 Compliant NOC Member Access Procedure Compliant, members have 24×7 email and phone noc access Monitoring 24×7 Compliant Outage Notification Compliant Public Member List Compliant, List to be updated as members join Total sum of Incoming/Outgoing traffic Compliant Website Compliant Peering Contact Compliant, PeeringDB

The Omaha IX exchange point was started in January of 2014 at the Nebraska Colocation Center in Omaha, NE. This was a great location due to the connectivity that was already there and the dark fiber expansion by Neutral Path Communications. Modeled off what we learned with the Midwest Internet Cooperative Exchange - we knew there would be a great value for participents in the Omaha area.

FAQs Archive - OmahaIX

Q: IGMP, DHCP, TFTP (Non-unicast protocols)

The only non-unicast protocol we allow is ARP. Please make sure you have disabled all other mulicast protocols. We do limit broadcast and multicast traffic accross the IX to 100M.

Q: Equipment at the exchange

At the core of the exchange are two Arista 7550 switches that provides amble throughput using 1G/10G/40G/100G connections. Our backplane can support up to 400Gbps of traffic. The other key piece of equipment are the route servers. Our route servers are running BIRD - an internet routing daemon which has become the standard for internet exchanges.

Cisco BGP Routers

Spanning Tree (STP)

Routing Protocols

Cisco Keepalives

IGMP, DHCP, TFTP (Non-unicast protocols)

Proxy ARP

MAC address limits

OpenIX Certification

Equipment at the exchange

Brief History