Today, Internet communication and information technology are synonymous with business outcomes. From communications service providers, news, media, and entertainment channels, and financial services, we rely on the Internet to share information and communicate.

The worldwide web is the hosting platform that enables us to view and share information over the Internet. The information that we share online is typically a message that contains a file, text, a file, audio, image, or video.

The organizing relationship between ASN systems is what is known as, Peering, BGP Peering, or a Peering Partner”.

What is a Data Packet?

A data packet contains or encloses the message of actual information that is traveling to another computer. How data packets are routed between point A and point B, from the information that we share, is the process that makes internet communication possible to operate efficiently.

Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol (TCP/IP) is the suite of communication protocols that divide your message into small digital packets and send them out onto the Internet. When your packetized message arrives at its intended destination (such as a Website), TCP/IP on the receiving end reassembles the packets into your original message.

How does Data Packet routing work?

 (The Internet is defined by the Internet Society as a network of networks, or, ‘Interconnected networks’ as characterized by the IETF) The Internet is defined by the IETF as a network of networks, or, ‘Interconnected networks’ as defined by the IETF.

The operators within these networks are called Autonomous System Numbers. Autonomous system numbers or ASN are independent networks such as an ISP, university, government agency, or scientific institute that route data packets.

ASNs create rules and policies for how data packets travel within the network, to and from other networks. The networking relationship between ASN networks is what is known as, Peering, Internet Peering, or Peering Partner.

What is a BGP Announcement?

ASN or, peering partners, arrange peering agreements between themselves that govern the traffic that travels between their networks. BGP routers that are at the edge of ASN networks advertise to their peers the prefixes of IP addresses that they can deliver traffic to.

These advertisements are made regularly through network prefix announcements and updates on the peering partner platform, to update each router’s routing table.

In BGP, a router receives prefix announcements via eBGP. eBGP is the exchange of network prefixes between autonomous systems. Announcements can be received from multiple autonomous system numbers and the decision is based upon the attributes on the BGP announcement.

BGP, or Border Gateway Protocol, is used to direct traffic across the Internet. Much like a GPS application on a mobile phone, if you were driving from New York to Chicago, the GPS app navigates the best possible route. Any network that is connected to the Internet eventually interacts with BGP to connect with other networks” – peering partner.

Autonomous System Peering Agreements

BGP routers use decision-making algorithms and policies established in AS-peering agreements to analyze the data they gather via the prefix announcements and choose which peer is best to send each packet stream to at any given time.

For the most part, the path with the fewest number of network hops is selected, but due to congestion and delay,, the longer route may actually be faster. Once the traffic moves across an AS and reaches another BGP router connected to a different AS, the process repeats itself until the data reaches the AS where the destination site is located.

What is a BGP Route Map?

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