Route Server

A Route Server is shared BGP infrastructure deployed at Internet Exchange Points that simplifies multilateral peering by allowing participating networks to establish a single BGP session with the server rather than maintaining separate bilateral sessions with every other IXP participant. Route servers announce routes received from all participants to all other participants, dramatically reducing the operational complexity of IXP participation and making exchange point membership accessible to smaller regional networks.

The SUCCESS for BEAD Act's definition of carrier-neutral IXPs explicitly includes access to shared switching fabric "that enables participating networks to establish Border Gateway Protocol sessions, whether directly between participants or through a shared route server." This language recognizes route servers as essential infrastructure for achieving the competitive, open-access interconnection that justifies public investment in IXP facilities.

For regional micro-IXPs funded through BEAD remaining amounts, route server infrastructure is particularly valuable because it lowers the technical barrier to participation for smaller ISPs, rural cooperatives, and municipal networks that lack dedicated peering engineers. A route server also enables new participants to immediately exchange traffic with all existing members without negotiating individual peering agreements, accelerating the network effects that make IXPs valuable to their communities.