Recipient Institution:
Computer Association of Nepal
235/39 Dhobidhara Marg, Kumari Galli
Kathmandu
Nepal

Tel: (9771) 432700 / 434836
Fax: (9771) 424043

Project Leader:
Mr. Gaurab Raj Upadhaya, Chairman
gaurab@lahai.com

Amount and Duration: USD $ 9,000 / 9 months

Situation Analysis and background

The development problem to be addressed by the project is the unavailability of local internet traffic routing facility in Nepal. At present, there are 16 companies providing Internet services in Kathmandu. Of these, 9 have their own international gateways. Some of these service providers also have point of presence outside Kathmandu valley. In addition to the commercial service providers, few organizations like Institute of Engineering, UN House, Kathmandu University, RONAST have their own international connectivity through satellite links.

Since the very beginning, the ISPs have operated independent links to their upstream providers. For example, Mercantile Communications (MOS) connects to Singapore Telecom's Internet Exchange Point (IX) in Singapore, Worldlink Communications connects to their upstream in Hongkong, and NTC connects to Teleglobe in Canada. While CCNEP and Infocom both use the satellite services of Loral Onion. And other ISPs too have their own satellite links. Some of the smaller ISPs use larger local ISPs as their upstream providers, who aggregate traffic only between their clients. (Refer annex for detailed list)

Yet, most of the traffic from one ISP traverses through the Internet backbone before reaching the ISP in the next tole (block). In recent years (less then two years), bi-lateral peering between MOS -WLINK and WLINK-NTC has helped the three ISPs to route local traffic through this link. Wlink had been providing transit service between MOS and NTC, but the link is down due to problems.

According to informal information provided by MOS, traffic from other local ISPs account to almost 20% of their international bandwidth usage. In this case, much traffic is generated by Nepalnews.com. Similarly, Infocom executives disclose that 40% of their total traffic is for other local ISPs.

Also, most of the ISPs (with one notable exception) are using static routes to their upstream providers. They are not using "Autonomous System Numbers" (ASN) to identify themselves on the Internet. This not only limits the reach of the ISPs, but they are also excluded from Internet research being done elsewhere, which have historically depended upon the size of the Internet routing database, which in turn is based on ASN. ISPs are also not talking to each other at technical level to share experiences and rollout new services like IPSec, collectively between their clients.

Conclusion
The project will address the problems associated with local traffic routing within the country. The formation of the local Internet Exchange will facilitate this exchange of local traffic. This will benefit the ISPs directly through preservation of bandwidth, and will benefit users with faster downloads. The exchange will also be able to provide "looking glass" facility for research to ascertain the size of internet infrastructure in Nepal. The research importance of NPIX will continue to incresase as the size of the internet in Nepal continues to grow.

The establishment of an exchange will also promote dialogue at technical level between service providers, which will increasingly be important in maintaining the data infrastructure of the country against increasing threats in the form of cyber attacks. The IX will be an ideal location for hosting of local content servers.

The first Internet exchanges established in the US East Coast (Los Angles) were catalytic for wider spread of the Internet. Experiences in Taiwan, Korea, and Singapore has already pointed out the benefits of Internet Exchanges. Establishment of an Internet Exchange Point inside Nepal could have similar effect.

Strategy / Objectives

The establishment of an Internet Exchange Point means that initial dialogue should be started at informal level. This has already been done and all ISPs have already agreed in principle. Tentatively, it has been given the name of NPIX (Nepal Internet Exchange). A joint NPIX working group (WG-NPIX) has been formed by ISP Association of Nepal (ISPAN) and Computer Association of Nepal (CAN)). This working group will execute the project. The WG has meet many times since May and the MoU for the NPIX has been approved. The operational modality for the NPIX has also been worked out. The contributions to be made by members, as well as governing policies of the Exchange has already been decided. The exchange has already been switched on in a trial basis, with the equipment donated from PCH.

The working group has decided on the location of the IX after long deliberations. The working group also has set membership fees to self sustain the IX.

Funding is required for the establishment as well as post establishment research activities, which includes training at management as well as technical levels, setting up of backup infrastructure, and participations at different regional meetings on IXes. The funds will cover some operational costs of the IX for the initial one year.

The project will also document the procedures and process of the establishment and operation of an Internet Exchange, which can subsequently be used in other countries and situations.

Project Methodology

The project will follow the standards set up in establishment of Internet Exchanges all over the world. The working group has based many of the decisions on the established process of the London Internet Exchange. The project will establish a Layer 2 switching exchange in Ekantakuna, in Kathmandu Valley. The project will provide training opportunities for local ISPs in routing technologies and also support the operations of the IX for the initial one year.

The project will collect pre and post data from ISPs and peering partners to evaluate the significance of the IX. This data will be collected every three months. The research will also document the exchange facility and the growth in the data traffic. The project will research on the use of Internet patterns and the direction of data flow through data collected at the IX and in co-operation with the ISPs. Questionnaires, statistical analysis as well as interviews will be used to reach results.

To gather the data, the ISPs will have to fill up the simple form (draft in Annex), before joining the IX facility. Then onwards, it will have to fill out the form every third month of the English Calendar (i.e, in January, April, July and October). The IX will also collect data from the IX switch using the SNMP (Simple Network Management Protocol) protocol and tools like Multi Router Traffic Grapher (MRTG). The aggregated data on the total traffic flowing through the IXP will always be made available on the website.

The MRTG data, when looked at historically will indicate the increase or decrease in local Internet traffic pattern. This data will be corroborated with the information provided by ISPs, to reason the increase or decrease in the total traffic of the IXP. This data collected through the use of SNMP protocols will be published on the Internet permanently, and at the same time, a detailed analysis (based on information provided by the ISPs), will be published every three months.

The training workshops, which are planned every three months, will basically provide ISPs with the necessary skills to be able to peer at the exchange. This would mean trainings on BGP peering technology. This could also mean an exercise to evaluate the progress at the IXP. Foreign experts will conduct the training when possible. When there is no such possibility, by the IX co-ordinator. The project will undertake two levels of training for local ISPs and other possible partners- one at basic level and one at advanced level.

Partnerships Strategy

Bill Woodcock, Research Director at Packet Clearing House (PCH - www.pch.net), a US based non profit active in establishment of IXPs, has already provided equipments required for the IX. He has done tutorials on the topic and will help in establishment of policies and framework for IXP. PCH is one of the pioneers in IXP building in the US. PCH has donated a switch, a router and a host for the IX. Bill Woodcock came to Kathmandu, in the end of August to facilitate the opening of the IX. Bill Woodcock has been a part of the working group and has helped in formulating policies.

Dr. Philip Smith of Cisco Systems and, Chair, Asia Pacific Operators Forum (APOPS), has shown interest in helping with initial training both at management and technical level. The international internet community will be very much interested to assist in this endeavor as it will enlarge the reach of the Internet. Philip Smith is also a member of the NPIX working group.

Partnerships with APNIC is also required for enlisting the NPIX in it's database, and for participation in its various activities. Local partnership with ISPAN (ISP Association of Nepal), CAN (Computer Association of Nepal) will be required at management level for dispute resolution and problem solving.

The NPIX will partner with any other organization in developing countries and elsewhere to share its experience and expertise on building the Internet Exchange.

Sustainability

The IX thus established would be sustainable through fees charged on the ISPs and peering partners. ISPs save a substantial amount of money spent on the International bandwidth, when they peer locally and sustainability of the IX should never be a problem. The member would be charged on a cost recovery basis. The cost recovery model has been presented at the end along with project budget.

The operations costs supported by the project in the first year of operation will be meet by IX fees in subsequent years. In the first year, most of the fees will be used in setting up the infrastructure and minimal facilities.

Duration /Timeline
The project duration would be for nine months. The projected timeline is for one year.

Structure of the NPIX

The working group has recommended the following structure for the NPIX board. The NPIX will be operationally independent from ISPAN, but legally incorporated under ISPAN until independent organization is registered. The technical aspects of the IX will be discussed in the working group, and the board will give broad policy directions to the NPIX.

The NPIX board will constitute of the following

1. General Secretary of the ISP Association of Nepal (chairperson of the board)
2. Representative of Computer Association of Nepal (Vice-Chairman)
3. CEO/ co-ordinator of NPIX (ex-officio)
4. Representatives from among the members of the NPIX
5. Representatives from Ministry of Science and Technology, His Majesty's Government Alternative Members
6. House Owner – The Shah Family Representative

The NPIX working group will be chaired by the CEO/ co-ordinator of the IX. Additional board members will be elected for each 9 peering partners.

The NPIX maintains its separate bank account that is jointly operated by the Chairman of the board and the CEO of NPIX. The president of ISPAN is an alternate signatory.

Any entity can become a member of NPIX, if it meets the membership requirements, whether they are an ISP or not. Membership can be denied only on the basis of technical policy.

All the documents and research results relating to the NPIX are and will be made publicly available on its website at www.npix.net.np.

Proposal Prepared by

Gaurab Raj Upadhaya <gaurab@lahai.com>, Interim Co-ordinator of NPIX, Secretary, Computer Association of Nepal

Read the Abstract of Project
Read the Interim Technical Report