AMS-IX, DE-CIX, LINX, and Netnod have joined forces to establish the Route Server Support Foundation (RSSF) with a mission to tackle the lack of open-source software suitable for high-end mission-critical route server deployments.
The Internet Exchanges (IXs) are seeking to improve BGP software diversity and strengthen open source BGP implementations.
Job Snijders, technical lead and director at RSSF, says, “In OpenBGPD we have a strong and secure foundation to develop a robust route server. We are proud to have received the financial commitments which allow us to hire talented developers to work on open-source software for public benefit!”
Niels Raijer, chairman of RSSF, adds, “Under today’s circumstances, Internet Exchanges have become critical infrastructure. With RSSF, we offer not just a technical, but also a financial and management structure. That makes it possible for our developers to focus on what they love, which is improving open-source software, while we make sure the software is delivered according to the requirements and on schedule.”
Dr. Thomas King, CTO at DE-CIX, says: “Route Servers are invaluable for Internet Exchange customers, as they allow you to get all IP routes from other peers at the IXP with only one peering session. Today, almost all route servers are based on a single recognized open-source software. Our goal with the RSSF is to create a second, comparable powerful route server implementation based on OpenBGPD. This allows more redundancy and thus stability for route server installations worldwide. DE-CIX would like to make a significant contribution to the community and is therefore one of the founding sponsors of the RSSF.”
