27 May
1998
27 May
'98
4:53 a.m.
On the topic of exchange traffic. Is it necessary for both parties who will be exchanging traffic to have an as number?
Technically speaking, no.
From what I understand in order to have the routes announced to the internet this will be needed.
Today's "Internet" is a superset of internet providers interconnected using a common EGP routing protocol -- BGP4. To participate in a 'NAP' and exchange routes with volumous amounts of peers, BGP4 is pretty much a necessity. In most all cases, BGP4 requires that the person announcing routes use a unique ASN. If you want your upstream to provide the routing announcements for you, they can anounce your networks with their ASN.