Q1. How can I become a CIX member?

A1. In technical terms, it is necessary to meet the requirements set forth in the Rulebook of the membership and use of the CIX service (Policy). Provided that these requirements are met, the next step is to start the process of signing the Agreement on membership and use of the CIX service with Srce, as the service provider. After signing the contract, the new CIX member, with the approval of Srce, starts operative connecting to CIX. Operative connecting to CIX of a CIX member includes providing of telecommunication capacities by the CIX member (line lease, and agreement on the placement of communication equipment). The CIX member will get appropriate space for its communication equipment, and will have all necessary conditions provided by Srce as the CIX host (LAN access to CIX hub over Ethernet technology at the speed of 10/100/100 Mbps, continuous power supply, air-conditioned facilities, protection of the equipment against unauthorised access).

Q2.What are the CIX member's obligations?

A2. Obligations, or responsibilities, have been listed on the web link http://www.cix.hr/uvjeti.html, as well as in the Rulebook of the membership and use of the CIX service (Policy).

Q3. What does the CIX service provide?

A3. The CIX service primarily provides economical exchange of traffic between Croatian ISPs and private networks, and in this way bypasses expensive international IP links. By using the CIX service, every member can accomplish mutual exchange of traffic with all other members. If two members realise that they have a common interest, they can enter into a bilateral agreement, which has to be in accordance with terms and conditions defined in the Rulebook. (Policy). After the peering has been implemented, Srce as the service provider has to be notified.

Q4. How is peering technically implement?

A4. Technical implementation of peering begins with allocating an IP address from the so-called non-routable space (193.192.15.64/26), which has been allocated to CIX by RIPE. University Computing Centre is responsible for all technical demands in relation to accommodation, maintenance and supervision of the CIX equipment. After that, peering needs to be implemented by using the BGP-4 protocol and over the Ethernet communication infrastructure of the CIX exchange point.

Figure 1: Logical scheme of the principle of a member's connection to the CIX exchange point

An example of the Cisco configuration of the BGP protocol for the implementation of peering:

!
router bgp 2108
neighbor 193.192.15.X remote-as AS_BROJ1
neighbor 193.192.15.X password lozinka
neighbor 193.192.15.X version 4
address-family ipv4
neighbor 193.192.15.X activate
neighbor 193.192.15.X distribute-list 1 out
neighbor 193.192.15.X filter-list X in
!
access-list 1 - defines members' own prefixes they want to publish
!
ip as-path access-list X permit ^ AS_BROJ1$ - only allows for networks exclusively belonging to the peering partner
!

Q5. Where can I find support in relation the CIX exchange point operation?

A5. All support in relation to the CIX exchange point operation is provided by the CIX host-Srce. - Srce. Contact information can be found on the link Contacts.