Packet Clearing House
{{Multiple issues|
{{COI|date=May 2022}}
{{Third-party|date=May 2022}}
}}
{{Use American English|date=January 2019}}
{{Short description|Organization maintaining the Domain Name System and Internet exchange points}}
{{ntbcw|Publishers Clearing House}}
{{Infobox organization
| name = Packet Clearing House (PCH)
| logo = Packet Clearing House logo.svg
| type = International organization
| founded_date = {{start date and age|1994}}
| founder = Chris Alan and Mark Kent
| location = San Francisco, California, United States
| origins = National Information Infrastructure Plan
| key_people = {{plainlist|
- Bill Woodcock
{{small|(Executive Director)}} - Steve Feldman
{{small|(Chairman of the Board)}} - Sylvie LaPerriere
{{small|(Non-Executive Director)}} - Mark Tinka
{{small|(Non-Executive Director)}} - Greg Akers
{{small|(Non-Executive Director)}} - Bob Arasmith
{{small|(Systems Director)}} - Kabindra Shrestha
{{small|(Network Director)}} - Moez Chakchouk
{{small|(Government Affairs)}}{{cite news |title=BREF Moez Chakchouk rejoint l'organisation Packet Clearing House |url=https://thd.tn/moez-chakchouk-rejoint-lorganisation-packet-clearing-house/ |access-date=5 February 2022 |publisher=Tunisie Haut Debit |date=17 January 2022 |quote=The former CEO of the Tunisian Post, Moez Chakchouk, has joined Packet Clearing House (PCH).}}
}}
| product =
| focus = Providing operational support and security to critical Internet infrastructure, including Internet exchange points and the core of the Domain Name System
| method =
| revenue = USD 251,258,067 (2018)
USD 255,790,216 (2017)
USD 209,851,236 (2016){{cite web |url= https://harvester.census.gov/facdissem/SearchA133.aspx |title=Federal Audit Clearinghouse, 2016 Report of Independent Auditor and Financial Statements with OMB Circular A-133 Audit Reports and Supplementary Information}}
USD 292,796,682 (2015){{cite web |url= https://harvester.census.gov/facdissem/SearchA133.aspx |title=Federal Audit Clearinghouse, 2015 Report of Independent Auditor and Financial Statements with OMB Circular A-133 Audit Reports and Supplementary Information}}
USD 244,829,657 (2014){{cite web |url= https://harvester.census.gov/facdissem/SearchA133.aspx |title=Federal Audit Clearinghouse, 2014 Report of Independent Auditor and Financial Statements with OMB Circular A-133 Audit Reports and Supplementary Information}}
| endowment =
| num_employees = 28
| num_volunteers = 50
| num_members =
| subsib =
| owner =
| Non-profit_slogan =
| homepage = {{URL|https://pch.net/|pch.net}}
| dissolved =
| footnotes =
|module={{infobox network service provider|child=yes|asn=3856}}
}}
Packet Clearing House (PCH) is an international organization responsible for providing operational support and security to critical Internet infrastructure, including Internet exchange points and the core of the Domain Name System.{{cite web |title=Actor: Packet Clearing House |url=https://cybilportal.org/actors/packet-clearing-house-pch/ |website=Cybil: Cyber Capacity Knowledge Portal |publisher=Global Forum on Cyber Expertise |access-date=11 January 2022}}{{cite web |last1=Porciuncula |first1=Lorrayne |title=Resources from technical community |url=https://www.oecd.org/digital/broadband/lac-digital-toolkit/Resources/Resourcesfromtechnicalcommunity.htm |website=Digital Economy Toolkit |publisher=OECD |access-date=11 January 2022}}{{cite web |title=Packet Clearing House |url=https://www.guidestar.org/profile/94-3380476| url-access=subscription |website=Guidestar |access-date=11 January 2022}} The organization also works in the areas of cybersecurity coordination, regulatory policy and Internet governance.
Overview
Packet Clearing House (PCH) was formed in 1994 by Chris Alan and Mark Kent to provide efficient regional and local network interconnection alternatives for the West Coast of the United States.{{cite web |last1=Alan |first1=Christopher |title=New multi-lateral peering group |url=https://twitter.com/woodyatpch/status/1408765457146863622/photo/1 |date=22 September 1994 |quote=A group of Internet service providers have proposed the creation of a new multi-lateral, no-settlement IP peering organization. The working name for the group is Packet Clearing House (PCH). The meeting will be moderated by Christopher Alan, president of ElectriCiti Incorporated, and Mark Kent, Ph.D., Director of network operations of Internet Main Street.}} It has grown to become a leading proponent of neutral independent network interconnection and provider of route-servers at major exchange points worldwide.
PCH provides equipment, training, data, and operational support to organizations and individual researchers seeking to improve the quality, robustness, and Internet accessibility.
Major PCH projects include:
- Building and supporting nearly half of the world's approximately 700 Internet exchange points (IXPs), and maintaining the canonical index of Internet exchange points, with data going back to 1994;{{cite web |last1=Hughes |first1=Mike |title=RIPE 46 Internet Exchange Point Working Group Minutes |url=https://www.ripe.net/ripe/mail/archives/eix-wg/2003-November/000014.html |publisher=RIPE NCC |date=13 November 2003}}
- Operating the world's largest anycast Domain Name System (DNS) server platform, including two root nameservers, more than 400 top-level domains (TLDs) including the country-code domains of more than 130 countries, and the Quad9 recursive resolver;{{cite web |title=Packet Clearing House |url=https://peeringdb.com/net/286 |publisher=PeeringDB |access-date=8 July 2021 |quote= AS 3856 handles research traffic for a global network of BGP and DNS looking glasses, and a variety of networking research projects hosted on behalf of academic and industry research labs. AS 42 handles production DNS traffic for several root servers, about 400 TLDs including 130 ccTLDs, and the Quad9 recursive resolver.}}
- Operating the only FIPS 140-2 Level 4 global TLD DNSSEC key management and signing infrastructure, with facilities in Singapore, Zurich, and San Jose,{{cite web |last1=Lamb |first1=Rick |last2=Woodcock |first2=Bill |title=Shared ccTLD DNSSEC Signing Platform |url=https://gnso.icann.org/sites/default/files/filefield_23269/presentation-shared-platform-14mar11-en.pdf |publisher=ICANN |access-date=8 July 2021}}
- Implementing network research data collection initiatives in more than 130 countries;
- Publishing original research and policy guidance in the areas of telecommunications regulation, including the 2011,{{cite web |last1=Woodcock |first1=Bill |last2=Adhikari |first2=Vijay |title=Survey of Characteristics of Internet Carrier Interconnection Agreements |url=https://www.pch.net/resources/Papers/peering-survey/PCH-Peering-Survey-2011.pdf |publisher=Packet Clearing House |access-date=8 July 2021 |date=May 2, 2011 |archive-date=10 June 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150610215735/https://www.pch.net/resources/papers/peering-survey/PCH-Peering-Survey-2011.pdf |url-status=dead }} 2016{{cite web |last1=Woodcock |first1=Bill |last2=Frigino |first2=Marco |title=2016 Survey of Internet Carrier Interconnection Agreements |url=https://www.pch.net/resources/Papers/peering-survey/PCH-Peering-Survey-2016/PCH-Peering-Survey-2016.pdf |publisher=Packet Clearing House |access-date=8 July 2021 |date=November 21, 2016}} and 2021 {{cite web |last1=Woodcock |first1=Bill |last2=Frigino |first2=Marco |title=2021 Survey of Internet Carrier Interconnection Agreements |url=https://www.pch.net/resources/Papers/peering-survey/PCH-Peering-Survey-2021/PCH-Peering-Survey-2021.pdf |publisher=Packet Clearing House |access-date=27 April 2024 |date=December 17, 2021}} Interconnection Surveys, country reports such as those for Canada in 2012{{cite web |last1=Woodcock |first1=Bill |last2=Edelman |first2=Benjamin |title=Toward Efficiencies in Canadian Internet Traffic Exchange |date=September 12, 2012 |url=https://www.pch.net/resources/Papers/CanadianInternet/Efficiencies%20in%20Canadian%20Internet%20Traffic%20Exchange.pdf |publisher=Packet Clearing House |access-date=8 July 2021}} and 2016{{cite web |last1=Woodcock |first1=Bill |title=2016 Study on Canadian Network Interconnection |url=https://www.pch.net/resources/Papers/CanadianInternet/Canadian%20Peering%202016.pdf |publisher=Packet Clearing House |access-date=8 July 2021 |date=8 November 2016}} and Paraguay in 2012,{{cite web |last1=Woodcock |first1=Bill |last2=Hernández |first2=Gäel |title=Peering in Paraguay: Analysis and Recommendations 2012 |url=https://www.pch.net/resources/Papers/Peering-in-Paraguay.2012/Peering-in-Paraguay.2012.pdf |publisher=Packet Clearing House |access-date=8 July 2021 |date=December 2012}} and a survey of critical infrastructure experts for the GCSC;{{cite web |last1=Woodcock |first1=Bill |last2=Rowland |first2=Peter |last3=Kolkman |first3=Olaf |title=Report of the GCSC Critical Infrastructure Assessment Working Group |url=https://www.pch.net/resources/Papers/GCSC/GCSC-CI-WG-Delhi-Nov-2017.pdf |publisher=Global Commission on the Stability of Cyberspace |access-date=8 July 2021 |date=November 20, 2017}} and
- Developing and presenting educational materials to foster a better understanding of Internet architectural principles and their policy implications among policymakers, technologists, and the general public.
Notable past projects include the INOC-DBA critical infrastructure protection hotline communications system, now operated by the Brazilian CERT.
PCH has more than 500 institutional donors, including the Soros Open Society Institute, which funded PCH in developing open source tools which help Internet service providers (ISPs) optimize their traffic routing, reduce costs and increase performance of Internet service delivered to the public;{{cite web |title=ICT Toolsets Announces Winners of 2003 Grant Competition |url=http://www.soros.org/initiatives/information/focus/communication/news/ict2003proposals_20040801 |publisher=Open Society Institute |access-date=8 July 2021 |date=23 August 2004 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080612000151/http://www.soros.org/initiatives/information/focus/communication/news/ict2003proposals_20040801 |archive-date=2008-06-12 |quote=OSI is supporting Packet Clearing House in the development of open-source software tools which assist Internet service providers in optimizing the routing of their traffic, reducing the cost and increasing the performance of Internet service as delivered to the public. The 'PeerMaster' toolset functions as a matchmaking service for ISPs, allowing the individuals within each ISP who are responsible for negotiating network interconnections to find each other quickly and easily, and facilitating the interconnection transaction. The NetFlow analysis portion of the toolset goes one step further, analyzing ISPs' traffic flow and prioritizing the other ISPs, other countries, and other regions with which the ISP has the greatest degree of mutual traffic, allowing them to make better-informed network interconnection choices.}} the United Nations Development Programme; Cisco Systems; NTT/Verio; Level 3; Equinix; the governments of Sweden, Denmark, Canada, Mexico, France, Singapore, Chile, Switzerland, and the United States; and hundreds of Internet service providers and individuals.
PCH works closely with the United States Telecommunications Training Institute (USTTI) to offer courses on telecommunications regulation, Internet infrastructure construction and management, Domain Name System management, and Internet security coordination, three times a year in Washington, D.C. It also teaches in 80 to 100 on-location workshops a year throughout the world.{{cite web |title=USTTI Conducts Webinar with Packet Clearing House and AFRINIC |url=https://ustti.org/ustti-conducts-webinar-with-packet-clearing-house-and-afrinic/ |publisher=USTTI |date=26 June 2020}}
Locations
PCH maintains staffed offices in Paris, Berkeley, Amsterdam, Kathmandu, Budapest, Johannesburg, Abu Dhabi, Portland and Ottawa{{cite web |url= https://www.pch.net/about/locations.php |title=Packet Clearing House Locations |accessdate=2021-07-08}} and operates critical network infrastructure within 303 Internet exchange points.{{cite web |url= https://www.pch.net/about/peering|title=Packet Clearing House Peering |accessdate=2024-04-27}}
Board of directors
PCH's board of directors consists of Steve Feldman (chairman), Bill Woodcock (executive director), Sylvie LaPerriere, Gregory Akers, and Mark Tinka.{{cite web |url=https://www.pch.net/about/people.php |title=Packet Clearing House People |accessdate=2024-04-27}}
See also
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
- [http://www.pch.net/ PCH.net] - official website, including: [https://web.archive.org/web/20080913174825/http://lg.pch.net/ Looking glass servers] - [http://www.pch.net/resources/papers/ White papers] - [http://www.pch.net/resources/tutorials/ Tutorials] - [https://web.archive.org/web/20060413225415/http://www.pch.net/resources/data/ Datasets]
- [https://archive.today/20130115145055/http://reseau.crdi.ca/fr/ev-70640-201-1-DO_TOPIC.html Establishment of Nepal Internet Exchange: Interim Report]
- [https://spectrum.ieee.org/bill-woodcock-on-an-internet-odyssey Bill Woodcock: On an Internet Odyssey]
Category:Telecommunications economics
Category:Organizations established in 1994
Category:Intergovernmental organizations
Category:Non-profit institutes based in the United States
Category:Non-profit organizations based in San Francisco
Category:Non-profit organizations based in California
Category:Internet governance organizations