IX.NET IX.NET

Six exchanges. Five extensions. One neutral platform.

Connect in Kansas City. Reach 11 exchanges.

IX.NET operates six exchanges across Missouri, Kansas, Iowa and Texas, and provides local access to five additional exchange fabrics in Seattle, Minneapolis, Denver, Dallas and New York.

Connect your network See the exchanges

New to peering? See how an exchange works.

The IX.NET mark in the middle. On the left, blue traces to IX.NET's six exchanges: KCIX, STLIX, HOUIX, SpringIX, DesMoinesIX and SIOUIX. On the right, red traces to five extensions: SIX, MICE, IX-Denver, DE-CIX Dallas and DE-CIX New York. OUR EXCHANGES EXTENSIONS SIOUIXSioux City, IA DesMoinesIXDes Moines, IA KCIXKansas City, MO and KS STLIXSt. Louis, MO SpringIXSpringfield, MO HOUIXHouston, TX SIXSeattle, WA MICEMinneapolis, MN IX-DenverDenver, CO DE-CIX DallasDallas, TX DE-CIX New YorkNew York, NY
  • KCIXKansas City
  • STLIXSt. Louis
  • HOUIXHouston
  • SpringIXSpringfield
  • DesMoinesIXDes Moines
  • SIOUIXSioux City
  • SIXSeattle
  • MICEMinneapolis
  • IX-DenverDenver
  • DE-CIXDallas
  • DE-CIXNew York

Blue: exchanges IX.NET operates. Red: other exchanges IX.NET extends to Kansas City.

Why IX.NET

One relationship for peering across the middle of the country

IX.NET is one platform for eleven exchanges: six it operates and five it extends to Kansas City. You work with one team, one application process and one set of policies, whether you need a single exchange or all of them. The people running IX.NET have run KCIX since 2006.

  • Six markets

    Kansas City, St. Louis, Houston, Springfield, Des Moines and Sioux City. KCIX also reaches Minneapolis and Southfield, MI.

  • Free local ports

    No monthly port fee on any IX.NET exchange, at any speed. You pay the data center for the cross-connect.

  • Five remote exchanges

    SIX, MICE, IX-Denver, DE-CIX Dallas and DE-CIX New York, handed off locally in Kansas City.

  • Neutral

    IX.NET doesn't sell transit or colocation, so it never competes with the networks that peer on it. Every member gets the same route servers and policies.

Our exchanges

Six exchanges, free to join

Each exchange has its own peering LAN, route servers and member list, and none of them charge a monthly port fee. Connect to one or to all six.

  • KCIX

    $0 port
    Kansas City, MO and KS
    kcix.netPeeringDB

    Six buildings across the Kansas City metro, including Netrality KC2 in Shawnee, the first exchange in Kansas. Also reaches St. Louis, Houston, Des Moines, Minneapolis and Southfield, MI.

  • STLIX

    $0 port
    St. Louis, MO
    stlix.netPeeringDB

    St. Louis, Peoria and Kansas City.

  • HOUIX

    $0 port
    Houston, TX
    houix.netPeeringDB

    Three Houston buildings, plus Kansas City.

  • SpringIX

    $0 port
    Springfield, MO
    springix.netPeeringDB

    Springfield, plus Kansas City.

  • DesMoinesIX

    $0 port
    Des Moines, IA
    desmoinesix.netPeeringDB

    Des Moines, plus Kansas City.

  • SIOUIX

    $0 port
    Sioux City, IA
    siouix.netPeeringDB

    Sioux City, plus Kansas City.

Participant counts come from each exchange's own site. The unique total counts each ASN once, however many of our exchanges it joins. Search every network in the directory.

Extensions

Five remote exchanges, one local handoff

IX.NET runs extension switches in Kansas City for five exchanges in other cities. You get a port on the remote exchange's peering LAN, handed off in Kansas City, for a port fee.

Extension ports compared with IX.NET exchange ports
ExchangeNetworksPort speedsHandoffPort fee
IX.NET exchangesKCIX, STLIX, HOUIX, SpringIX, DesMoinesIX and SIOUIX, for comparison.
 264 1G, 10G, 40G, 100G, 400G Every IX.NET location $0
SIXSeattle. The largest US exchange by networks, with content, cloud, Asia and western Canada.
 370 1G, 10G Kansas City Contact us
MICEMinneapolis. The Midwest Internet Cooperative Exchange, with Upper Midwest ISPs and research networks.
 147 1G, 10G Kansas City Same as a direct MICE port
IX-DenverDenver. A member-governed exchange for the Rocky Mountain region.
 92 1G, 10G Kansas City Same as a direct IX-Denver port
DE-CIX DallasDallas. Where networks from Mexico and Latin America meet US networks.
 162 1G, 10G, 40G, 100G Kansas City Contact us
DE-CIX New YorkNew York. Networks from Europe and the East Coast.
 264 1G, 10G, 40G, 100G Kansas City Contact us

Extension network counts are from PeeringDB, September 2026. Extension fees vary by exchange because each extension has its own transport to the remote city. MICE and IX-Denver ports cost the same as connecting to those exchanges directly, and MICE ports are billed yearly. Email peering@ix.net for current pricing.

How it works

What an internet exchange does

An exchange is a shared switch in a data center. Networks connect to it once and then trade traffic directly with each other.

Direct paths

Traffic between two networks on the exchange goes straight across it, instead of through a third-party transit provider in another city.

Lower latency and cost

Shorter paths mean faster connections, and traffic you exchange here no longer counts against your transit bill.

Who can join

Any network with its own ASN: ISPs, hosting and content providers, cloud platforms, universities and enterprises.

What it costs

Ports on IX.NET's six exchanges are free; you pay the data center for the cross-connect. Extension ports carry a port fee.

Locations

Where to connect

Connect wherever your network already is. Every location gets the same ports and route servers. Buildings are listed alphabetically within each metro.

Kansas City

  • 1102 Grand KCIX
  • 1530 Swift All eleven
  • LightEdge Subtropolis KCIX
  • Netrality KC2, Shawnee, KS KCIX
  • NOCIX Clay KCIX
  • Patmos KC1 KCIX

St. Louis

  • Netrality 210 N Tucker STLIX, KCIX
  • Netrality 900 Walnut STLIX, KCIX

Houston

  • Digital Realty, 12001 N Freeway HOUIX
  • FiberTown Houston HOUIX
  • Netrality 1301 Fannin HOUIX, KCIX

Springfield

  • Bluebird Underground SpringIX

Des Moines

More cities

  • Minneapolis, Cologix MIN1 KCIX
  • Peoria, IL, SFN STLIX
  • Sioux City siouix.net
  • Southfield, MI, 123.NET DC1 KCIX

Extension ports for SIX, MICE, IX-Denver and DE-CIX are handed off in Kansas City. Ask about reaching them from your location.

Connect

How to join

The process is the same at every exchange. Ask for several at once and we'll set them up together.

  1. Update PeeringDB

    Make sure your network's PeeringDB record is current and lists your IRR AS-SET. The route servers filter on it.

  2. Apply

    Request your port at portal.ix.net/order: choose the exchange, then the building and port speed. For an extension port, email peering@ix.net.

  3. Get your LOA

    We send a letter of authorization. Order the cross-connect from the building; the facility may charge for it.

  4. Turn up BGP

    Bring up sessions with the route servers, peer bilaterally with anyone you like, and join the members' mailing list.

Technical

Peering LANs and route servers

All fabrics use a 1500-byte MTU. Max-prefix recommendations are in each exchange's PeeringDB notes.

ExchangeIPv4 peering LANIPv6 peering LANRoute serversNOC
KCIX206.51.7.0/242001:504:1b:1::/64AS40542noc@kcix.net
STLIX206.83.12.0/242001:504:98::/64AS46389noc@stlix.net
HOUIX206.83.136.0/242001:504:9e::/64AS35920noc@houix.net
SpringIX149.112.4.0/242001:504:100::/64AS63203info@springix.net
DesMoinesIX149.112.17.0/242001:504:110::/64See siteinfo@desmoinesix.net
SIOUIX149.112.41.0/24See siteSee sitenoc@siouix.net

Route server communities: 0:peer-as keeps your routes from one peer, rs-as:peer-as sends them only to that peer, and 0:rs-as keeps them from everyone.