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I've run into very few enterprises that know they'd even be allowed to join an IX, much less actually interested in doing so.

Subject: Exchange Update - New Participant Date: Fri, 19 Nov 2004 15:49:59 -0800 Equinix would like to introduce the following peers to the GigE Exchange peering fabrics: - ASH: Walmart.com connected to the Ashburn GigE Exchange You may not have met them but they're out there

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They'd rather pay one or two companies to drop big, fat pipes into their datacenter and collect on SLAs when something goes wrong.

We used to do that, we learned.

Very few, even in the Fortune 100, have the staff to handle their own BGP configs and keep things running smoothly. Humans cost more money than they'd probably save on transit, and the money often comes out of different pockets anyways.

Many CCIE(paper) end up in enterprises as they still have money and networks large enough to need engineers. I'm sure plenty of them are looking to keep the ISP section of their CV up to date by running the enterprises BGP. We also have enterprises doing BGP between each other on internal, non internet, networks Assumptions about what people should/will want to do are clouding engineering judgment and making things like IPV6 unworkable brandon