# What is an internet exchange?

Source: https://www.colosolutions.com/answers/what-is-an-internet-exchange/
Updated: 2026-09-24
Reviewed by: James San Filippo

An internet exchange (IX or IXP) is a shared physical location where many networks connect to each other directly and swap traffic, instead of paying a transit provider to carry it. That shortens paths, cuts latency and reduces transit cost. Colo Solutions in Orlando hosts a point of presence for DACS-IX South, an internet exchange with 1G, 10G and 40G ports, so a customer can peer in the building by cross connect rather than routing traffic out of the metro.

## Key figures

- **What it is:** A shared fabric where networks interconnect and exchange traffic directly
- **Also called:** IX, IXP, peering point
- **Versus transit:** Peering swaps traffic between two networks; transit buys reach to the whole internet
- **Main benefits:** Lower latency, fewer hops, reduced transit cost
- **Exchange at Colo Solutions:** DACS-IX South, with a point of presence at 100 W. Lucerne Circle, Orlando
- **Port speeds:** 1G, 10G and 40G
- **Protocols:** IPv4 and IPv6
- **Other DACS-IX South site:** DataBank Atlanta, 760 W Peachtree Street NW

## The short version

An internet exchange is a place where networks meet.

Without one, traffic between two networks generally travels through a third — a
transit provider paid to carry it. That is more hops, more distance, and a bill.
At an exchange, the two networks connect directly and hand traffic straight to
each other.

## Peering versus transit

The distinction is the whole point, and it is frequently muddled.

**Transit** is buying reach: you pay a provider to carry your traffic to
everywhere on the internet. **Peering** is an agreement between two networks to
exchange traffic *between themselves* directly, usually without money changing
hands.

Peering does not replace transit — it only covers destinations on the networks you
peer with. What it does is take the busiest, closest traffic off the transit bill
and shorten its path.

## Why it makes things faster

Three effects, all from the same cause:

- **Fewer hops.** Direct handoff instead of traversing an intermediate network.
- **Shorter distance.** Local traffic stays local, rather than travelling to a
  larger metro and back — the classic case being traffic between two Orlando
  networks that would otherwise route via Atlanta or Miami.
- **Fewer parties.** Every network in the path is one more place congestion or a
  routing change can affect you.

## How this relates to a colocation facility

An internet exchange needs a neutral, carrier-dense building to sit in, which is
why exchanges live in facilities like this one rather than in carrier-owned
buildings.

Colo Solutions hosts a point of presence for **DACS-IX South**, the Southeast
region of the DACS-IX peering fabric. Its other site is DataBank in Atlanta, so a
port here reaches networks peering in both cities. Ports are offered at 1G, 10G
and 40G, over IPv4 and IPv6, and Colo Solutions peers on the exchange itself as
AS16557. The exchange is listed on
[PeeringDB](https://www.peeringdb.com/ix/4610), which is the record to check
for current members.

Joining is a cross connect from your cabinet to the exchange's equipment in the
meet-me room, and a port order with DACS-IX.

## Exchange or cross connect?

They solve different problems, and a carrier-dense building gives you both.

- **Peer on the exchange** when you want to reach many networks at once over one
  port, for traffic you would otherwise pay transit to carry.
- **Cross connect directly** when one network carries enough of your traffic to
  justify a dedicated link, or when you are buying transit or a private circuit
  from a carrier. Nine carriers have equipment in the building — the list is on
  the [connectivity page](/facility/connectivity/).

Most networks end up using both: a direct link to the one or two networks that
matter most, and the exchange for everything else it can reach.