Version 1.0 Draft Effective date: 2026-04-01 Last updated: 2026-03-19

RegPEX Technical Requirements

This document defines the technical requirements for connecting to and operating on the RegPEX peering fabric.

1. Supported Ports

Speed Optics Standard Medium
1GE SFP 1000BASE-LX Single-Mode Fiber (SMF)
10GE SFP+ 10GBASE-LR Single-Mode Fiber (SMF)
100GE QSFP28 100GBASE-LR4 Single-Mode Fiber (SMF)

All ports require Single-Mode Fiber. Member-provided optics must be compatible with RegPEX switch equipment.

2. Physical Connection

Requirement Details
Cross-Connect Arranged via the POP operator; Member responsible for ordering and payment
Fiber Type Single-Mode Fiber (SMF)
Connectors LC (1GE/10GE), MPO (100GE)
Redundancy Dual-homing to separate switches recommended for critical services

3. Ethernet Requirements

Parameter Requirement
MTU 1500 bytes standard; 9000 bytes (jumbo) available on request
Mode Untagged / access mode
MAC per Port 1 MAC address per port
EtherTypes 0x0800 (IPv4), 0x86DD (IPv6), 0x0806 (ARP) only

4. BGP Requirements

Requirement Detail
ASN Public ASN required
Protocol BGP-4 for IPv4; MP-BGP for IPv6
Dual-Stack Separate BGP sessions for IPv4 and IPv6

5. Route Server Connection Details

Parameter IPv4 IPv6
Route Server 1 TBD TBD
Route Server 2 TBD TBD
ASN TBD TBD
Community Policy See Route Server Policy See Route Server Policy

Replace placeholder values before publication.

6. Security Requirements

Requirement Status Description
RPKI ROA Mandatory Valid ROAs required for advertised prefixes
IRRDB Registration Mandatory Routes must be registered in IRR databases
MD5 Mandatory BGP session authentication
GTSM Recommended TTL 255 for BGP sessions
max-prefix Required Prefix limits as specified in connection agreement
Bogon Filtering Expected No advertisement of bogon or reserved space

7. Best Practices

  • Graceful Restart — Enable BGP graceful restart where supported
  • BFD — Use BFD for fast failure detection
  • Bogon Filtering — Filter invalid prefixes at the edge

8. IP Address Allocation

Address Family Allocation Use
IPv4 /32 Assigned by RegPEX; peering only
IPv6 /128 Assigned by RegPEX; peering only

Addresses are for peering interface configuration only and must not be used for transit or other purposes.

9. IP Configuration Rules

Rule Requirement
Proxy ARP/NDP Not permitted
Directed Broadcast Disabled
IP Redirects Disabled
ICMP Rate-limited; permitted for connectivity testing

10. Supported Platforms

The following platforms have been successfully used on RegPEX. Support is best-effort; Members are responsible for correct configuration.

Vendor Notes
Cisco IOS-XE, NX-OS
Juniper Junos
Arista EOS
Nokia SR OS
Huawei VRP
MikroTik 1GE ports only
BIRD / OpenBGPD / FRR Software routing

11. Monitoring Tools

Tool Description
Looking Glass BGP and traceroute visibility
Traffic Graphs Per-port traffic statistics
Peering Matrix Current peering relationships
PeeringDB IX and Member information

12. Onboarding Checklist

Before requesting activation, confirm the following:

  • Cross-connect ordered and provisioned
  • Public ASN obtained
  • IPv4 /32 and IPv6 /128 requested from RegPEX
  • RPKI ROAs created for all advertised prefixes
  • IRRDB objects created and up to date
  • BGP session configured with MD5 authentication
  • max-prefix configured as specified
  • GTSM enabled (TTL 255)
  • PeeringDB record updated with RegPEX participation
  • Acceptable Use Policy and SLA reviewed and accepted

Technical requirements may be updated. Members will be notified of changes affecting their connectivity.

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