IXP developers contest held in Madrid

Ripe Network Coordination Centre (RIPE NCC), an independent, not-for-profit membership organization based in Amsterdam, the Netherlands, hosted another hackathon in Madrid, Spain, last weekend. While the past three hackathons dealt with RIPE Atlas, a global Internet measurement network that offers unique and unprecedented value to a wide user base, the fourth hackathon focused on developing tools related to Internet Exchange Points (IXPs).

The participants presented their ideas for tools that IXPs can use to demonstrate potential performance improvements if operators peer with IXP members; improving the integration of the IXP Manager (an open-source tool) with RIPE Atlas data; and determining the best places for building new IXPs based on exiting measurement data. MSK-IX Technical Director Alexander Ilyin and Network Technology Group Head Alexander Grishin attended the fourth hackathon.

According to them, IXPs use unique technology and designs. Standard solutions are applied only very seldom, which is why such events as the IXP Tools Hackathon are extremely important for the progress of IXPs and the industry as a whole. The MSK-IX delegates said the knowledge they had acquired at the RIPE NCC event would be used to develop new products and services.