the.com/peering
the internet's version of neighbors agreeing to share a fence instead of building two.
means an arrangement where networks connect directly to exchange traffic, skipping the toll roads of the public internet.
from emerged in the 1990s as separate commercial internet backbones realized routing every packet through a third party was slow and expensive, so they started plugging into each other directly at exchange points.
settlement-freemost peering deals involve no money changing hands
ixpsphysical hubs where hundreds of networks interconnect at once
netflix effectstreaming giants often peer directly with isps to cut latency
peering warsdisputes can throttle traffic between rival networks for months