At 21:42 06/18/2000 -0700, Steve Feldman wrote:

The closest to a real distinction that I've been able to come up with is whether or not a third party is involved *and* whether packets (or cells) are switched.

smarcus@genuity.com (Scott Marcus) writes:

What most people mean by "private peering" is a direct interconnection between two providers. That's most often implemented over a circuit between the two, without either deploying equipment to the other's premises; again, however, that's simply a matter of engineering convenience. These connections are conceptually point-to-point.

I like Steve's distinction better. When folks peer at PAIX, they do so with a "direct interconnection between two providers". The fact that both providers have extended their networks to PAIX, or are using PAIX as a POP, doesn't make the "peering" less "private". -- Paul Vixie <vixie@mibh.net> SVP for Internet Services, MFNX M.I.B.H. Inc. is a subsidiary of Metromedia Fiber Network, Inc.