# Peering Platform

**PeerLab** is the nxthdr peering platform that enables researchers, students, and network operators to conduct real-world BGP and routing experiments using production Internet infrastructure.

## Platform Status

PeerLab is currently in **alpha**. Core functionality is operational, and documentation covers all features and workflows from the lease process to advanced routing configurations and BGP data feedback usage.

**Alpha Exit Criteria**

Before PeerLab exits alpha, we want every BGP session to be a safe, well-behaved IXP participant:

- **BGP discipline** — enforce max-prefix / import limits, announcement rate-limiting (MRAI, aligned with the common norm of <= 10 announcements per hour), and route-flap damping on all sessions.
- **RPKI enforcement** — inline ROV (`roa_check`) on routes imported from the IXP.
- **Reload safety** — validate generated BIRD configuration before applying it.

Origin-ASN and leased-prefix ownership filtering, and per-lease RPKI ROA management, are already in place.

If you are interested in being an early adopter of PeerLab, please [sign up](https://nxthdr.dev) and access the [peering dashboard](https://nxthdr.dev/peering) to get started. Don't forget to give us your feedback and suggestions (see [contact](/docs/reference/contact/)).

## Applications

**BGP & Routing Experiments**

Conduct hands-on experiments with BGP policies, traffic engineering, and routing dynamics in production networks. Test routing policies, validate BGP security mechanisms, study AS path manipulation, and analyze community propagation.

**Education & Learning**

Teach networking courses with real Internet resources. Students can announce real prefixes and observe routing behavior on production networks, not simulations.

**Joint Peering & Probing Studies**

Combine [Saimiris](/docs/probing/) with PeerLab to conduct unique experiments. Study how routing changes affect reachability, latency, and path selection in real-time.

**Reproducible Research**

Validate and reproduce prior studies with access to consistent infrastructure and open datasets. All routing data is made freely available through our public [datasets](/docs/datasets/).

## Features

**Lease Public IPv6 Prefixes**

Request IPv6 prefixes from our allocation and announce them to the real Internet through our network. Control your announcements and withdrawals to study routing dynamics and path selection in production networks.

**Announce from Multiple IXPs**

Announce your leased prefixes from multiple Internet Exchange Points across Europe. Observe how your routing decisions propagate globally and affect traffic patterns.

**Monitor Your Announcements**

All routing data from AS215011 is passively collected and made freely available. Monitor your own announcements, analyze routing behavior, and study BGP dynamics using our public [datasets](/docs/datasets/).