Hong Kong Internet Exchange

Hong Kong Internet eXchange (HKIX; Chinese: 香港互聯網交換中心) is an internet exchange point in Hong Kong. The cooperative project is initiated by the Information Technology Services Centre (ITSC) of the Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK) providing the service free of charge.[3] It is now operated by HKIX Limited, a wholly owned subsidiary of the CUHK Foundation.[4]

Hong Kong Internet eXchange
Full nameHong Kong Internet eXchange
AbbreviationHKIX
Founded1995
LocationHong Kong
Websitewww.hkix.net
Members313[1] (see Members)
Peak in1.386 Tbit/s[2]
Peak out1.376 Tbit/s[2]
Daily in (avg.)710.251 Gbit/s[2]
Daily out (avg.)706.389 Gbit/s[2]
Hong Kong Internet Exchange
Traditional Chinese香港互聯網交換中心
Simplified Chinese香港互联网交换中心

The aim of the HKIX is to connect Internet service providers (ISPs) in Hong Kong so that intra-Hong Kong traffic can be exchanged locally without routing through the US or other countries.[5] 99% internet interaction in Hong Kong goes through the centre, and HKIX acts as Hong Kong's network backbone.[6] According to Cloudflare, HKIX is the largest internet exchange point in Asia.[7]

History

It was founded in April 1995 by Chinese University of Hong Kong. It reduced Hong Kong's reliance on US web servers and therefore made internet performance in Hong Kong faster.[5]

In 2004, the HKIX2 back-up mirror site was created, which is located at CITIC Telecom Tower.[8] CITIC's major shareholders and directors are appointed by the PRC Government.

In 2009, HKIX announced their collaboration with Cisco Systems to deploy the Nexus 7000 series switch technology, marking HKIX the first among the world's leading internet exchanges.[9][10]

As of 2013 the exchange handles 280 gigabits of information per second during its peak times every day. Chinese University stated that the amount of information is equivalent to 17,000 five megapixel photographs. In 2013, Edward Snowden said that the National Security Agency gained access to the backbone and took data from it. Chinese University said that it did not find evidence of hacking.[5][11]

In February 2017, it was announced that 3 more sites were launched in data centres located in Fo Tan and Tseung Kwan O.[12][13]

June 2020, HKIX supporting of RPKI in order to enhance the security of HKIX routing.


Background
Further information: Internet exchange point

The concept of an "Internet Exchange" is very important after the NSFNet Backbone faded away because IAPs had to be interconnected to maintain full connectivity to the entire Internet.

In Hong Kong, the situation is a little bit different. Many of the IAPs in Hong Kong have their own links to the US. They have to connect to each other locally only to have faster and less expensive access to local sites. In addition, there are some commercial Internet Exchanges in Hong Kong for routing traffic within the city.[4]

Facilities

Core sites

The HKIX1 is located on the Sha Tin campus of Chinese University. The door of the building that houses it has no sign. Danny Lee of the South China Morning Post said that the building that houses it is a "grey, bunker-like structure could easily pass for any other building" at the university.[5]

HKIX1b is an extension to HKIX1, and is interconnected with HKIX1 by multiple 100 Gbit/s links. The data center is close to University Station, and is less than 2 km from HKIX1 (fiber distance). The main purpose of establishing HKIX1b is to offer dual-core for high availability and for supporting more port connections.[14]

Satellite sites
Name Date of launch Location Owner District Ref.
HKIX2 24 August 2004 CITIC Telecom Tower CITIC Telecom Kwai Chung [15][16][17][18]
HKIX3 28 February 2017 SUNeVision iAdvantage Data Center SUNeVision Fo Tan
HKIX4 19 June 2017 NTT Com Asia Data Centre NTT Communications Tseung Kwan O Industrial Estate
HKIX5 24 March 2017 Telehouse Hong Kong CCC Data Centre KDDI

HKIX2 is located inside the CITIC Telecom Tower, and is connected to HKIX1 via two 10Gbit/s links.[19]

Members

As of June 2018, there are 283 connected ASN to the HKIX. The following are some of the major participants with 100G speed: [20][1]

gollark: In this screenshot, I "show" how my "DNS provider" allows me to configure A/AAAA records for my domain and subdomains.
gollark: You do NOT need your own DNS server for this.
gollark: Or CNAME to forward to another domain.
gollark: And AAAA, IPv6 lives matter.
gollark: Your DNS provider has some way to do it.

See also

References
  1. "HKIX – List of Participants". hkix.net. Retrieved 13 June 2018.
  2. "HKIX – Statistics". hkix.net. Retrieved 13 June 2018.
  3. "Further Development of HKIX for the Future of Hong Kong" (PDF). The Chinese University of Hong Kong. Retrieved 18 June 2018.
  4. "What is HKIX". hkix.net. Retrieved 18 June 2018.
  5. "Hong Kong's internet exchange offers snoopers rich pickings". South China Morning Post. Retrieved 18 June 2018.
  6. "HKIX Updates & Bilateral Peering over HKIX" (PDF). The Chinese University of Hong Kong & HKIX. Retrieved 18 June 2018.
  7. "CloudFlare is Now Part of the Hong Kong Internet Exchange (HKIX)". Cloudflare Blog. 28 March 2012. Retrieved 18 June 2018.
  8. HKIX – Contact Us
  9. "HKIX taps Cisco for infrastructure revamp". South China Morning Post. Retrieved 18 June 2018.
  10. "Hong Kong Internet eXchange Deploys Cisco Nexus 7000 Series to Solidify Hong Kong's Position as a Regional Internet Hub". Cisco Systems. Retrieved 18 June 2018.
  11. "Internet exchange at Chinese University seen as target for hackers". South China Morning Post. Retrieved 12 June 2018.
  12. "Hong Kong Internet eXchange". cuhk.edu.hk. Retrieved 12 June 2018.
  13. "HKIX Updates at APIX Meeting #15" (PDF). HKIX. Retrieved 18 June 2018.
  14. "HKIX Announcement – APRICOT 2014" (PDF). HKIX. Retrieved 18 June 2018.
  15. Network9 (10 February 2017). "Hong Kong Internet Exchange opens in Telehouse Hong Kong CCC Data Center | Telehouse". Telehouse. Retrieved 18 June 2018.
  16. "HKIX Establishes New Satellite Site at NTT Communications Hong Kong Financial Data Center | NTT Com Asia". www.hk.ntt.com. Retrieved 18 June 2018.
  17. "HKIX Updates at APIX & APRICOT 2018" (PDF). HKIX. Retrieved 18 June 2018.
  18. "Satellite Sites – HKIX". hkix.net. Retrieved 18 June 2018.
  19. Further Development of HKIX for the Future of Hong Kong
  20. "Hong Kong Internet Exchange – PeeringDB". peeringdb.com. Retrieved 18 June 2018.
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