Amateur Radio Internet Exchange (ARIX)

Overview

ARIX is an amateur radio–focused internet exchange that lets licensed operators and research groups interconnect for experimentation, education, and real‑world network operations. It serves as a practical example of how shared peering infrastructure can incorporate 44Net, RF links, and Internet transit following modern operational hygiene (IRR/RPKI filtering, route servers, and clear participation policy).

Connectivity

ARIX offers multiple access methods, including colocated fiber, regional wireless links, and virtual connectivity, to lower the barrier for participation. This mix lets projects join from different geographies and technical constraints while still peering through a shared exchange.

Policy

ARIX follows standard IX practice: members should only announce space they control, keep traffic to permitted ethertypes, and avoid behavior that disrupts other participants. Operational safeguards include the ability to temporarily disable a port if it causes network issues.

Route Servers

ARIX operates route servers under AS47192 using BIRD and Pathvector with standard safety checks (IRR/RPKI validation, max‑prefix limits, and Tier‑1 ASN filtering). Participants keep their PeeringDB records current to support automatic configuration, and peers should configure BGP active sessions.

Remotely Triggered Blackhole (RTBH)

ARIX supports RTBH for rapid mitigation. Members can mark /32 or /128 routes with the standard blackhole community to drop unwanted traffic.

BGP Communities

ARIX passes standard communities and supports action communities for selective announcement control and blackholing.

Members

ARIX hosts a mix of individual operators, research networks, and service experiments. Member lists, ports, and IP assignments are maintained on the project’s official site and PeeringDB.

Media

File:ARIX-Exchange-Rack.jpg

External Links