Seattle Internet Exchange

Seattle Internet Exchange
Full nameSeattle Internet Exchange
AbbreviationSIX
Founded1997, June
LocationSeattle, Washington, US
Websitewww.seattleix.net
Members367[1]
Peak3.14 Tbit/s[2]
Daily (avg.)1.93 Tbit/s[2]
Westin Building, the primary home of the Seattle Internet Exchange

The Seattle Internet Exchange (SIX) is an Internet exchange point in Seattle, USA. Its switch fabric is centered at the Westin Building and extended to KOMO Plaza, Sabey Intergate, and other locations.[3] The SIX is one of the most successful examples of neutral and independent peering points, created as a free exchange point originally sponsored only by donations. The SIX is the most frequently cited model upon which other neutral Internet exchanges are based, and its financial and governance models are often cited as inspiration for other exchanges. It continues to run without any recurring charges to the participants and current major funding comes from one-time 10, 100, and 400 Gbit/s port fees, as well as from voluntary contributions from stakeholders. The SIX is a 501(c)(6) tax-exempt non-profit corporation.

As of April 21, 2024, there are 370 networks (443 routers) connected to the SIX advertising at least 195,000 (140,000 IPv4, 55,000 IPv6) unique Border Gateway Protocol (BGP) routes. There are two route servers running the Bird Internet routing daemon (BIRD).

  1. ^ "SIX Participants". Seattle Internet Exchange. Retrieved 2024-04-21.
  2. ^ a b "SIX Traffic Graphs". Seattle Internet Exchange. Retrieved 2024-04-21.
  3. ^ "SIX Topology". Seattle Internet Exchange. Retrieved 2022-04-22.