What Is IP Transit and Who Needs It?

IP transit is a service that connects an organisation’s network to the wider internet. It is commonly used by internet service providers, hosting businesses, content networks and organisations that operate their own autonomous system and need to exchange traffic with destinations beyond their direct network relationships.

How does IP transit work?

An IP transit provider advertises routes that allow customer traffic to reach networks across the internet. In return, the customer announces its own address space and routing information through the provider. Border Gateway Protocol, usually shortened to BGP, is used to exchange these routes.

The practical result is reachability: the customer can send traffic to, and receive traffic from, networks that are not connected through its own private links or peering relationships.

Who may need IP transit?

• Internet service providers delivering connectivity to their own customers.
• Hosting and data-centre businesses operating public internet services.
• Content or cloud platforms that manage their own network and IP address space.
• Telecoms resellers and wholesale providers that need upstream internet connectivity.
• Enterprises with suitable network expertise and their own autonomous system.

Smaller organisations normally purchase a managed internet-access service rather than IP transit. If you simply need connectivity for an office, factory or branch, start with Exascale’s business connectivity services.

IP transit, internet access and peering

These terms describe related but different services. Business internet access provides an organisation with a managed connection to the internet. IP transit provides broader internet reachability to a network that manages its own routing. Peering is a direct exchange of traffic between participating networks.

Networks frequently use more than one approach. Transit provides broad reachability, while peering can create direct paths to participating networks. Exascale also provides remote peering for access to major European internet exchanges from locations across the UK.

What should you consider?

• Capacity: Estimate normal and peak traffic rather than relying only on an average.
• Ports and handoff: Confirm the interface, location and technical handoff required.
• Routing: Decide which prefixes will be announced and how routing policy will be managed.
• Resilience: Consider whether you need diverse paths, multiple upstreams or alternative locations.
• Support: Establish how faults, routing changes and capacity upgrades will be handled.

Speak to Exascale about IP transit

Exascale works with telecoms resellers, wholesale providers and network operators. Explore our IP transit service or read about connectivity for telecoms resellers.