Experiences from Development and Operation of the UK6x Internet Exchange

The theme of this paper centres on the experiences that have been gained from developing and operating an IPv6 Internet Exchange (IX). The UK6x has been in operation since 2001 and has become a well-respected connection point into the emerging IPv6 Internet. As will be illustrated, architecturally and operationally an IPv6 IX may be very different from a traditional IPv4 IX. Since 2002, the UK6x has been a key entity within the pan-European Euro6IX IPv6 network.