Packet Clearing House

Last updated

Packet Clearing House (PCH)
Founded1994;30 years ago (1994)
FounderChris Alan and Mark Kent
Type International organization
Legal statusActive [1]
FocusProviding operational support and security to critical Internet infrastructure, including Internet exchange points and the core of the Domain Name System
Location
Origins National Information Infrastructure Plan
Key people
  • Bill Woodcock
    (Executive Director)
  • Steve Feldman
    (Chairman of the Board)
  • Sylvie LaPerriere
    (Non-Executive Director)
  • Mark Tinka
    (Non-Executive Director)
  • Greg Akers
    (Non-Executive Director)
  • Bob Arasmith
    (Systems Director)
  • Kabindra Shrestha
    (Network Director)
  • Moez Chakchouk
    (Government Affairs) [2]
Revenue
USD 251,258,067 (2018)
USD 255,790,216 (2017)
USD 209,851,236 (2016) [3]
USD 292,796,682 (2015) [4]
USD 244,829,657 (2014) [5]
Employees
28
Volunteers
50
Website pch.net
ASN
  • 3856

Packet Clearing House (PCH) is the international organization responsible for providing operational support and security to critical Internet infrastructure, including Internet exchange points and the core of the Domain Name System. [6] [7] [8] The organization also works in the areas of cybersecurity coordination, regulatory policy and Internet governance.

Contents

Overview

Packet Clearing House (PCH) was formed in 1994 by Chris Alan and Mark Kent to provide efficient regional and local network interconnection alternatives for the West Coast of the United States. [9] It has grown to become a leading proponent of neutral independent network interconnection and provider of route-servers at major exchange points worldwide.

PCH provides equipment, training, data, and operational support to organizations and individual researchers seeking to improve the quality, robustness, and Internet accessibility.

Major PCH projects include:

Notable past projects include the INOC-DBA critical infrastructure protection hotline communications system, now operated by the Brazilian CERT.

PCH has more than 500 institutional donors, including the Soros Open Society Institute, which funded PCH in developing open source tools which help Internet service providers (ISPs) optimize their traffic routing, reduce costs and increase performance of Internet service delivered to the public; [20] the United Nations Development Programme; Cisco Systems; NTT/Verio; Level 3; Equinix; the governments of Sweden, Denmark, Canada, Mexico, France, Singapore, Chile, Switzerland, and the United States; and hundreds of Internet service providers and individuals.

PCH works closely with the United States Telecommunications Training Institute (USTTI) to offer courses on telecommunications regulation, Internet infrastructure construction and management, Domain Name System management, and Internet security coordination, three times a year in Washington, D.C. It also teaches in 80 to 100 on-location workshops a year throughout the world. [21]

Locations

PCH maintains staffed offices in Paris, Berkeley, Amsterdam, Kathmandu, Budapest, Johannesburg, Abu Dhabi, Portland and Ottawa [22] and operates critical network infrastructure within 303 Internet exchange points. [23]

Board of directors

PCH's board of directors consists of Steve Feldman (chairman), Bill Woodcock (executive director), Sylvie LaPerriere, Gregory Akers, and Mark Tinka. [24]

See also

Related Research Articles

In computer networking, peering is a voluntary interconnection of administratively separate Internet networks for the purpose of exchanging traffic between the "down-stream" users of each network. Peering is settlement-free, also known as "bill-and-keep" or "sender keeps all", meaning that neither party pays the other in association with the exchange of traffic; instead, each derives and retains revenue from its own customers.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">London Internet Exchange</span> Internet exchange point in London

The London Internet Exchange ("LINX") is a mutually governed Internet exchange point (IXP) that provides peering services and public policy representation to network operators. It was founded in 1994 in London. LINX operates IXPs in London, Manchester, Scotland and Wales in the United Kingdom and Northern Virginia in the United States.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Internet backbone</span> Vital infrastructure of the networks of the Internet

The Internet backbone may be defined by the principal data routes between large, strategically interconnected computer networks and core routers of the Internet. These data routes are hosted by commercial, government, academic and other high-capacity network centers, as well as the Internet exchange points and network access points, that exchange Internet traffic between the countries, continents, and across the oceans. Internet service providers, often Tier 1 networks, participate in Internet backbone traffic by privately negotiated interconnection agreements, primarily governed by the principle of settlement-free peering.

Internet exchange points are common grounds of IP networking, allowing participant Internet service providers (ISPs) to exchange data destined for their respective networks. IXPs are generally located at places with preexisting connections to multiple distinct networks, i.e., datacenters, and operate physical infrastructure (switches) to connect their participants. Organizationally, most IXPs are each independent not-for-profit associations of their constituent participating networks. The primary alternative to IXPs is private peering, where ISPs directly connect their networks to each other.

The MAE was the first Internet Exchange Point (IXP). It began in 1992 with four locations in Washington, D.C., quickly extended to Vienna, Reston, and Ashburn, Virginia; and then subsequently to New York and Miami. Its name stood for "Metropolitan Area Ethernet," and was subsequently backronymed to "Metropolitan Area Exchange, East" upon the establishment of MAE-West in 1994. The MAE predated the National Information Infrastructure plan, which called for the establishment of IXPs throughout the United States. Although it initially had no single central nexus, one eventually formed in the underground parking garage of an office building in Vienna, VA.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Netnod</span> Internet exchange point in Sweden

Netnod AB is a private limited company based in Stockholm, Sweden, that operates Internet exchange points and manages one of the thirteen root name servers for the Domain Name System (DNS). It also distributes the official Swedish time through the Network Time Protocol (NTP). It is fully owned by the nonprofit foundation TU-stiftelsen / TU-foundation.

Average Per-Bit Delivery Cost, or APBDC, is the cost accounting method by which Internet Service Providers (ISPs) calculate their cost of goods sold.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">INOC-DBA</span> Infrastructure-protection hotline communications system

The INOC-DBA hotline phone system is a global voice telephony network that connects the network operations centers and security incident response teams of critical Internet infrastructure providers such as backbone carriers, Internet service providers, and Internet exchanges as well as critical individuals within the policy, regulatory, Internet governance, security and vendor communities. It was built by Packet Clearing House in 2001, was publicly announced at NANOG in October 2002, and the secretariat function was transferred from PCH to the Brazilian CERT in 2015.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bill Woodcock</span> Internet infrastructure pioneer (born 1971)

Bill Woodcock is the executive director of Packet Clearing House, the international organization responsible for providing operational support and security to critical Internet infrastructure, including Internet exchange points and the core of the domain name system; the chairman of the Foundation Council of Quad9; the president of WoodyNet; and the CEO of EcoTruc and EcoRace, companies developing electric vehicle technology for work and motorsport. Bill founded one of the earliest Internet service providers, and is best known for his 1989 development of the anycast routing technique that is now ubiquitous in Internet content distribution networks and the domain name system.

Nepal Internet Exchange is Nepal's only Internet exchange point, established to keep local traffic local and improve local web surfing with local content while saving international bandwidth. It was established in 2002 with the help of Packet Clearing House.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">DE-CIX</span> Internet exchange point in Germany

DE-CIX is an operator of carrier- and data-center-neutral Internet Exchanges, with operations in Europe, North America, Africa, the Middle East, India and Southeast Asia. All DE-CIX activities and companies are brought together under the umbrella of the DE-CIX Group AG.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">IP exchange</span> Telecommunications interconnection model

IP exchange or (IPX) is a telecommunications interconnection model for the exchange of IP based traffic between customers of separate mobile and fixed operators as well as other types of service provider, via IP based Network-to-Network Interface. IPX is developed by the GSM Association.

Internet infrastructure refers to the physical systems that provide internet communication. It include networking cables, cellular towers, servers, internet exchange points, data centers, and individual computers.

Net bias is the counter-principle to net neutrality, which indicates differentiation or discrimination of price and the quality of content or applications on the Internet by ISPs. Similar terms include data discrimination, digital redlining, and network management.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dmitry Burkov</span>

Dmitry Burkov is one of the Internet industry pioneers in Russia, Chairman of the Board of the Foundation for Assistance for Internet Technologies and Infrastructure Development, one of the originators of the Eurasia Network Operators’ Group (ENOG).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Moez Chakchouk</span>

Moez Chakchouk, born in Sousse on 12 July 1975, is the Director of Government Affairs and Regulatory Policy at Packet Clearing House, the international organization responsible for providing operational support and security to critical internet infrastructure, including Internet exchange points and the core of the domain name system. Chakchouk was previously the Transport Minister of Tunisia (2020-2021), Assistant Director-General for Communication and Information at UNESCO (2018-2020), Chairman and CEO of the Tunisian Post (2015-2018), and chairman and CEO of Agence Tunisienne d'Internet.

The Manitoba Internet Exchange Inc (MBIX) is an Internet exchange point situated in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. It allows traffic between members to stay within the Canadian jurisdiction, optimizing the performance and economy of traffic flows, while limiting the potential for extra-legal surveillance. MBIX is incorporated as a Manitoban tax-exempt non-profit corporation.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Quad9</span> Global public recursive DNS resolver based in Switzerland

Quad9 is a global public recursive DNS resolver that aims to protect users from malware and phishing. Quad9 is operated by the Quad9 Foundation, a Swiss public-benefit, not-for-profit foundation with the purpose of improving the privacy and cybersecurity of Internet users, headquartered in Zürich. Quad9 is entirely subject to Swiss privacy law, and the Swiss government extends that protection of the law to Quad9's users throughout the world, regardless of citizenship or country of residence.

The Internet Exchange Point Of Nigeria (IXPN) is a neutral and not-for-profit Internet exchange point (IXP) founded in 2006 by the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) in partnership with the Internet Service Providers Association Of Nigeria (ISPAN). Among other things, IXPN was created to reduce connectivity costs in millions of dollars in offshore internet bandwidth payments, reduce latency from 900 milliseconds to 30 milliseconds for local content, serve as the central point for connecting Higher Educational Institutions (HEIs) towards the development of National Research and Educational Network (NREN). As at April 2022, IXPN is the 5th largest IXP in Africa by number of peers, and 3rd in Africa by traffic according to Packet Clearing House’s IXP directory

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Global Commission on the Stability of Cyberspace</span> Commission developing diplomatic norms limiting cyber-offense

The Global Commission on the Stability of Cyberspace was a multistakeholder Internet governance organization, dedicated to the creation of diplomatic norms of governmental non-aggression in cyberspace. It operated for three years, from 2017 through 2019, and produced the diplomatic norm for which it was chartered and seven others.

References

  1. Kish, Rob. "Corporation Statement of Information". California Secretary of State. Retrieved 11 January 2022.
  2. "BREF Moez Chakchouk rejoint l'organisation Packet Clearing House". Tunisie Haut Debit. 17 January 2022. Retrieved 5 February 2022. The former CEO of the Tunisian Post, Moez Chakchouk, has joined Packet Clearing House (PCH).
  3. "Federal Audit Clearinghouse, 2016 Report of Independent Auditor and Financial Statements with OMB Circular A-133 Audit Reports and Supplementary Information".
  4. "Federal Audit Clearinghouse, 2015 Report of Independent Auditor and Financial Statements with OMB Circular A-133 Audit Reports and Supplementary Information".
  5. "Federal Audit Clearinghouse, 2014 Report of Independent Auditor and Financial Statements with OMB Circular A-133 Audit Reports and Supplementary Information".
  6. "Actor: Packet Clearing House". Cybil: Cyber Capacity Knowledge Portal. Global Forum on Cyber Expertise. Retrieved 11 January 2022.
  7. Porciuncula, Lorrayne. "Resources from technical community". Digital Economy Toolkit. OECD. Retrieved 11 January 2022.
  8. "Packet Clearing House". Guidestar. Retrieved 11 January 2022.
  9. Alan, Christopher (22 September 1994). "New multi-lateral peering group". A group of Internet service providers have proposed the creation of a new multi-lateral, no-settlement IP peering organization. The working name for the group is Packet Clearing House (PCH). The meeting will be moderated by Christopher Alan, president of ElectriCiti Incorporated, and Mark Kent, Ph.D., Director of network operations of Internet Main Street.
  10. Hughes, Mike (13 November 2003). "RIPE 46 Internet Exchange Point Working Group Minutes". RIPE NCC.
  11. "Packet Clearing House". PeeringDB. Retrieved 8 July 2021. AS 3856 handles research traffic for a global network of BGP and DNS looking glasses, and a variety of networking research projects hosted on behalf of academic and industry research labs. AS 42 handles production DNS traffic for several root servers, about 400 TLDs including 130 ccTLDs, and the Quad9 recursive resolver.
  12. Lamb, Rick; Woodcock, Bill. "Shared ccTLD DNSSEC Signing Platform" (PDF). ICANN. Retrieved 8 July 2021.
  13. Woodcock, Bill; Adhikari, Vijay (May 2, 2011). "Survey of Characteristics of Internet Carrier Interconnection Agreements" (PDF). Packet Clearing House. Retrieved 8 July 2021.
  14. Woodcock, Bill; Frigino, Marco (November 21, 2016). "2016 Survey of Internet Carrier Interconnection Agreements" (PDF). Packet Clearing House. Retrieved 8 July 2021.
  15. Woodcock, Bill; Frigino, Marco (December 17, 2021). "2021 Survey of Internet Carrier Interconnection Agreements" (PDF). Packet Clearing House. Retrieved 27 April 2024.
  16. Woodcock, Bill; Edelman, Benjamin (September 12, 2012). "Toward Efficiencies in Canadian Internet Traffic Exchange" (PDF). Packet Clearing House. Retrieved 8 July 2021.
  17. Woodcock, Bill (8 November 2016). "2016 Study on Canadian Network Interconnection" (PDF). Packet Clearing House. Retrieved 8 July 2021.
  18. Woodcock, Bill; Hernández, Gäel (December 2012). "Peering in Paraguay: Analysis and Recommendations 2012" (PDF). Packet Clearing House. Retrieved 8 July 2021.
  19. Woodcock, Bill; Rowland, Peter; Kolkman, Olaf (November 20, 2017). "Report of the GCSC Critical Infrastructure Assessment Working Group" (PDF). Global Commission on the Stability of Cyberspace. Retrieved 8 July 2021.
  20. "ICT Toolsets Announces Winners of 2003 Grant Competition". Open Society Institute. 23 August 2004. Archived from the original on 2008-06-12. Retrieved 8 July 2021. OSI is supporting Packet Clearing House in the development of open-source software tools which assist Internet service providers in optimizing the routing of their traffic, reducing the cost and increasing the performance of Internet service as delivered to the public. The 'PeerMaster' toolset functions as a matchmaking service for ISPs, allowing the individuals within each ISP who are responsible for negotiating network interconnections to find each other quickly and easily, and facilitating the interconnection transaction. The NetFlow analysis portion of the toolset goes one step further, analyzing ISPs' traffic flow and prioritizing the other ISPs, other countries, and other regions with which the ISP has the greatest degree of mutual traffic, allowing them to make better-informed network interconnection choices.
  21. "USTTI Conducts Webinar with Packet Clearing House and AFRINIC". USTTI. 26 June 2020.
  22. "Packet Clearing House Locations" . Retrieved 2021-07-08.
  23. "Packet Clearing House Peering" . Retrieved 2024-04-27.
  24. "Packet Clearing House People" . Retrieved 2024-04-27.