An Internet Exchange Point (IXP) gives gaming networks a place to connect with the networks its players sit behind, such as ISPs, mobile operators and content platforms.
An IXP is a physical location where networks connect and exchange traffic directly with one another, known as peering. That results in fewer hops, keeping traffic local, and for gaming networks means lower latency between servers and players, steadier performance during live gameplay and interconnection capacity that can be scaled up when a major update or launch drives demand.
What is Latency and Why is it Important in Gaming?
Latency is the time it takes for data to travel between two points on a network, usually measured in milliseconds. In gaming it is the delay between pressing a button and the game server registering that action, then sending the result back.
Gaming has very little margin for delay. In competitive play the gap between two players is often smaller than the gap between their connections, so latency decides whether a shot lands and whether the match feels fair. For everyone else, it makes the game feel sluggish or unresponsive, which is one of the quickest ways to lose a player’s interest.
What Types of Traffic Do Gaming Networks Carry?
Not all traffic is affected by latency in the same way. Matchmaking and live gameplay are the parts players feel directly, but they are only part of the volume and the traffic behind them behaves differently.
Updates and patches move a high volume of data in a short window, often to millions within hours of release. Cloud gaming places a different demand on the network, with the game running on remote servers and every frame streamed to the player, making it highly sensitive to delay.
Each of these benefits from an exchange in a different way. Live gameplay needs the shortest path available, whilst updates and launches need capacity before the surge arrives, not after it, and demand can arrive unscheduled when a popular stream or tournament sends viewers to download and play.
Why Would a Gaming Network Need to Peer?
Without peering, traffic reaches players by crossing one or more networks. Every network that traffic passes through on its way to a player adds delay. It can travel the long way round, sometimes leaving the region entirely before returning to reach someone a short distance from the game server.
For a gaming network, peering at an IXP can bring several benefits:
- Shorter paths: fewer networks between the game server and the player, which lowers latency.
- Steadier performance: traffic crossing fewer networks varies less from one moment to the next, and players notice inconsistency more than a connection that is slightly slower but stable.
- Control and visibility: the network can see how its traffic reaches players and influence the path it takes, rather than leaving that to routing decisions made elsewhere.
How Can LINX Help Gaming Networks?
LINX connects hundreds of networks across our global interconnection hubs in the UK, U.S. and Africa. For a gaming network, that means reaching its audience through a single connection, rather than arranging connections network by network.
Members also benefit from:
- Capacity that scales with demand: ports and bandwidth can be added after joining, so a network can scale and plan for demand.
- Presence in the regions you serve: connect close to your players across our interconnection hubs, rather than reaching them from a distance.
- Redundancy for critical moments: members can connect through more than one port or site, so a fault does not take traffic offline during a key window.
Our team are on hand to talk through how connecting to an internet exchange could improve performance for your network, reach out today.
Frequently Asked Questions
How much latency can peering save a gaming network?
It depends on the route traffic takes today. The saving comes from removing networks and geographic detours from the path, so networks whose traffic currently leaves the region before returning to it tend to see the largest improvement.
Do game hosting providers benefit as well as publishers?
Yes. Hosting providers, content delivery networks and esports platforms all carry latency-sensitive or high-volume gaming traffic, and all benefit from connecting directly to the networks players sit behind.
What DDoS protection do LINX members get?
Members peering via the route servers have access to LINX Protect, our DDoS mitigation service, which is included with membership and uses Remote Triggered Black Hole filtering to drop malicious traffic before it reaches member infrastructure.
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