Its like two animals meeting in the jungle at night:
If you are of equal "size" you'll quite happily sit about, exchange
pleasantries, and even peer IP packets with zero dollar settlement.
But if either creature is bigger than the other then you can expect a
somewhat different outcome, normally involving a forced exchange of
protein.
But the problem is that you have to work out who is bigger, or work
out if you are both of the same size, and all you can see is these two
little yellow dots for eyes right in front of you in the gloom....
Zero dollar peering is not a panacea for Internet connectivity: If
party A invests a few squillion dollars in infrastructure it is
unlikely that they will peer with party B who has purchased a PC and a
couple of modems. Normally Party A would say to B - "tough luck sport,
it s a client relationship we are talking about here", simply as the
issue here is that if A offers 0 dollar peering to B, A writes off a
small part of their investment. This is not an economically stable
relationbship. Stability comes when A and B percieve that the
exchange of traffic is of equal benefit to both parties, and in
general this happens when A and B are of equal "size".
Thanks,
Geoff
