Q1 2026 Technical Update
Dear peers,
We are happy to share with you some technical news for the first quarter of 2026!
France-IX continuously listens to its customers, and one recurring requirement has been the ability to build redundancy across distinct peering LANs, while benefiting from a more cost-effective approach.
In response to this feedback, we are pleased to introduce Peering Essentiel, a new peering LAN designed to address this need. The service will officially launch on June 15th, 2026.
To ensure operational independence, this new platform will be based on a different hardware stack, featuring a different silicon platform and OS version.
Peering Essentiel will initially be available in Paris, at the Telehouse 2 PoP, with support for 10G, 100G, and 400G ports.
For existing customers, both ordering and service delivery will be automated through the France-IX Portal, and will be available a few weeks ahead of the official launch.
With Peering Essentiel, France-IX aims to provide greater flexibility in peering architectures, enabling customers to design resilient and cost-efficient strategies.
Launch offers will be available for early adopters via the France-IX Portal. More information will be shared soon, stay tuned.
As part of France-IX's backbone optimisation strategy, we have now successfully completed a major infrastructure transformation project.
Segment Routing (SR): This initiative began last year with the deployment of Segment Routing (SR) across the entire backbone, laying the foundation for a more flexible and programmable network. We recently published a technical article diving into Segment Routing, introducing the basis and more advanced features: https://www.franceix.net/en/infrastructure/techhub/behind-the-scenes-of-tech-segment-routing-or-the-art-of-simplifying-to-achieve-greater-robustness/.
Route Reflectors: We then implemented a new Route Reflector architecture, based on a hybrid design combining bird and IOS-XR, providing the scalability and control plane resilience required for the next stages.
These two key building blocks were essential to enable the final step: the deployment of EVPN across the platform:
EVPN: With this architecture fully in place, we have successfully migrated our peering infrastructure to EVPN. During this last quarter, we migrated our 2 major peering LANs: Marseille and Paris. This marks the completion of an evolution of the France-IX network, transitioning from legacy VPLS to a modern, scalable and more efficient design.
All these migrations were carefully planned and executed with a strong focus on minimising customer impact. Extensive preparation and validation allowed us to implement migration scenarios that made the transition almost transparent for the more than 500 customers connected to the platform, with a minimal service impact.
This new foundation has already delivered tangible improvements, including faster convergence times. It also unlocks the ability to introduce additional features and optimisations over time, which will be progressively rolled out.
As traffic growth in Marseille continues, a new Nokia 7750 SR-1x-48D platform, supporting interfaces up to 800G, has been deployed at the DRT MRS2 PoP.
This investment represents a key step in the modernisation and harmonisation of our edge infrastructure, ensuring consistent interface capabilities (400G) across the network while addressing the increasing capacity demands of our customers. The first 400G customer has already been successfully connected on this platform.
Peak traffic in Marseille has reached 686 Gbps, highlighting the strong and sustained growth in the region.
All Marseille PoPs now support 400G interfaces, providing a robust and scalable foundation for future expansion.
Growth continues also in Paris, a new Nokia 7750 SR-1x-48D platform, supporting interfaces up to 800G, has been activated at the DRT PAR5 PoP.
The first 400G customer has been successfully connected on this platform, with peak traffic on the PoP observed immediately after service activation (534 Gbps).
A new 400G wavelength has been deployed to replace the existing 2x100G capacity on the Paris - Marseille link via Clermont-Ferrand. This marks the first 400G deployment between the two main cities, significantly increasing available bandwidth while providing a scalable foundation to accommodate future traffic growth.
In March, France-IX actively participated in and contributed to the Route Server (RS) Working Group meeting organised by EURO-IX. This engagement provided an opportunity to share our own progress and expertise, while also staying aligned with the latest developments and best practices adopted by leading IXPs in this area.
A few figures about Q1-2026:
Back in Lyon for the France-IX Tour: registration is now open! Join us on Thursday 25 June, from 6.30 pm, at Ninkasi Gorge de Loup – 26 Rue du Sergent Michel Berthet, 69009 Lyon: Registration here
Happy peering with us,
France-IX technical team