A Walking Tour of Calgary Internet Exchange Points

Posted by Andrew Campbell October 05, 2020

A Walking Tour of Calgary Internet Exchange Points

We often talk about our ISPs (Internet Service Providers) with varying degrees of like and contempt. Your ISP is just the downstream from the source though.

Imagine Telus(Canadian telecom company) as a gas station where you go to fill up your phone with data when it runs out. Or maybe that they keep your data fuel running to your house so you can binge Netflix documentaries.

A gas station doesn't make the fuel for the car, it sells it to you. They buy it from the companies that pull the bitumen out of the ground and refine it into something useful.

However there is a part of the internet process that most people are not aware of. Internet Exchange Points. They exist as this hub where ISPs can connect too and provide internet to all their customers. You could if you want, infrastructure depending, connect directly to the IXP and skip the ISP altogether. Most people don't have the start up funds to get this kind of connection set up.

So I wanted to take you on a walking tour of the IXPs located in Calgary. In the picture below you can see the locations of our IXPs. Let's start top left and work our way too the bottom right.

(Full disclosure I am using data gathered from this resource as my primary source)

1. Cybera Suite 2003512 - 33 St NW

Located very close to the UofC and a stones throw from Crowchild trail we have Cybera. It is at this location that we have the IXP -->YEGIX

2. 1313 10th Ave SW

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Peering

Rogers has a peering datacentre here. Rogers DC2.

Across from Community foods on 10ave SW lies our next IXP located in Calgary!

3. 840 7th Avenue SW

Our next IXP is located in a building right beside the Sandman hotel on 7th ave and 8st. For those who have ever taken a train downtown know the corner of 7th and 8th st well. You know the one, Macs used to be there.