Glossary

This glossary focuses on terms that are specific to PeeringDB. Other organizations provide glossaries of a wide range of Internet infrastructure terminology. These include:

The first set of definitions describes object types and the second set defines the different kinds of contacts.

PeeringDB specific terms

Object Name Definition
fac The name of the database object representing interconnection facilities.
Facility A place where networks can connect with other networks. Some interconnection facilities are data centers or suites within data centers. Others are significantly smaller.
facix The name of an object derived from the intersection of a fac and an ix object. This happens when an IXP has a presence at an interconnection facility.
ix The name of the database object representing IXPs.
ix-f The Internet Exchange Federation is a group of four regional IXP Associations. In the context of PeeringDB, their name is applied to the import of JSON structured data that complies with the IX-F Member Export Schema.
IXP An infrastructure for interconnecting three or more Autonomous Systems.
net The name of the database object representing networks.
netix The name of an object derived from the intersection of a net and an ix object. This happens when a network is connected to an IXP.
Network An Autonomous System, as defined in RFC 1930.
PeeringDB PeeringDB is a freely available, user-maintained, database of networks, and the go-to location for interconnection data. The database facilitates the global interconnection of networks at Internet Exchange Points (IXPs), data centers, and other interconnection facilities, and is the first stop in making interconnection decisions.
poc A Point of Contact for a specific functional role at an organization (see below).

Contact role types

Not all organizations will have all contact types. For example, an academic institution might not need a sales contact.

Role Description
Abuse A contact address where reports of abuse can be submitted.
Maintenance A contact address for the receipt of maintenance notifications, such as the scheduling of maintenance windows from peers.
NOC A contact address for a Network Operations Center. This is the address to use when discussing network anomalies.
Policy A contact address for peering and interconnection requests and questions.
Public Relations A contact address for an organization’s PR or marketing team.
Sales A contact address for an organization’s sales team.
Technical A contact address for non-routine technical questions that aren't handled by the NOC.