Internet Exchange Points IXPs: The Backbone of Efficient 5G Data Routing

The accelerated deployment of 5G networks is bringing about a new age of high-speed connectivity, low-latency services, and large-scale device interconnectivity. The Internet Exchange Point (IXP) is at the forefront of this transformation and is essential to facilitate smooth data exchange among net...

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Main Authors: Osman Diriye Hussein, Adam Muhudin
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: IEEE 2025-01-01
Series:IEEE Access
Subjects:
Online Access:https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/11082114/
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author Osman Diriye Hussein
Adam Muhudin
author_facet Osman Diriye Hussein
Adam Muhudin
author_sort Osman Diriye Hussein
collection DOAJ
description The accelerated deployment of 5G networks is bringing about a new age of high-speed connectivity, low-latency services, and large-scale device interconnectivity. The Internet Exchange Point (IXP) is at the forefront of this transformation and is essential to facilitate smooth data exchange among network operators, content providers, and end-users. IXPs are vital in lowering latency, optimizing bandwidth utilization, and enabling best possible data routing, all of which are essential to address the performance requirements of the 5G technology. Current IXP architectures, however, must be modified to support the explosive growth in data traffic, complex routing demands, and ultra-low latency needs of 5G applications such as autonomous vehicles, IoT, and virtual reality. This article proposes a next-generation IXP architecture optimized for 5G data routing. The architecture dramatically improves scalability, performance, security, and cost-efficiency by bringing together Software-Defined Networking (SDN), Network Function Virtualization (NFV), and edge computing to enable dynamic and localized traffic management. In addition, sophisticated security mechanisms, such as DDoS mitigation and Zero Trust models, are embedded in this architecture. The main findings are that the performance is improved and latency decreased with direct peering and optimized resource allocation. Despite implementation challenges, such as significant upfront investment and integration with existing systems, the architecture offers a future-proof and scalable solution. With Internet Exchange Points (IXPs) becoming ever more critical to the 5G ecosystem, their modernization is key to unlocking the future of global connectivity.
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spelling doaj-art-5e2a6833abab4778a220c5b2f277e25f2025-08-20T03:32:55ZengIEEEIEEE Access2169-35362025-01-011312832512833610.1109/ACCESS.2025.358965311082114Internet Exchange Points IXPs: The Backbone of Efficient 5G Data RoutingOsman Diriye Hussein0https://orcid.org/0009-0005-4590-6345Adam Muhudin1https://orcid.org/0009-0000-1001-4359Telecommunication Engineering Department, Faculty of Engineering, SIMAD University, Mogadishu, SomaliaComputer Science Department, Faculty of Computing, SIMAD University, Mogadishu, SomaliaThe accelerated deployment of 5G networks is bringing about a new age of high-speed connectivity, low-latency services, and large-scale device interconnectivity. The Internet Exchange Point (IXP) is at the forefront of this transformation and is essential to facilitate smooth data exchange among network operators, content providers, and end-users. IXPs are vital in lowering latency, optimizing bandwidth utilization, and enabling best possible data routing, all of which are essential to address the performance requirements of the 5G technology. Current IXP architectures, however, must be modified to support the explosive growth in data traffic, complex routing demands, and ultra-low latency needs of 5G applications such as autonomous vehicles, IoT, and virtual reality. This article proposes a next-generation IXP architecture optimized for 5G data routing. The architecture dramatically improves scalability, performance, security, and cost-efficiency by bringing together Software-Defined Networking (SDN), Network Function Virtualization (NFV), and edge computing to enable dynamic and localized traffic management. In addition, sophisticated security mechanisms, such as DDoS mitigation and Zero Trust models, are embedded in this architecture. The main findings are that the performance is improved and latency decreased with direct peering and optimized resource allocation. Despite implementation challenges, such as significant upfront investment and integration with existing systems, the architecture offers a future-proof and scalable solution. With Internet Exchange Points (IXPs) becoming ever more critical to the 5G ecosystem, their modernization is key to unlocking the future of global connectivity.https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/11082114/Internet exchange points (IXPs)5G networkslow-latency routingsoftware-defined networking (SDN)edge computingdata routing
spellingShingle Osman Diriye Hussein
Adam Muhudin
Internet Exchange Points IXPs: The Backbone of Efficient 5G Data Routing
IEEE Access
Internet exchange points (IXPs)
5G networks
low-latency routing
software-defined networking (SDN)
edge computing
data routing
title Internet Exchange Points IXPs: The Backbone of Efficient 5G Data Routing
title_full Internet Exchange Points IXPs: The Backbone of Efficient 5G Data Routing
title_fullStr Internet Exchange Points IXPs: The Backbone of Efficient 5G Data Routing
title_full_unstemmed Internet Exchange Points IXPs: The Backbone of Efficient 5G Data Routing
title_short Internet Exchange Points IXPs: The Backbone of Efficient 5G Data Routing
title_sort internet exchange points ixps the backbone of efficient 5g data routing
topic Internet exchange points (IXPs)
5G networks
low-latency routing
software-defined networking (SDN)
edge computing
data routing
url https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/11082114/
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AT adammuhudin internetexchangepointsixpsthebackboneofefficient5gdatarouting