What Does Federal Internet Exchange Mean?
A Federal Internet exchange (FIX) refers to two physical locations in the United States that serve as a policy-based peering connection points between U.S. federal government agency networks, such as those used by NASA, the the Department of Energy and the military. There are two FIX points, one on each coast of the United States:
- FIX East (FIX-E) in College Park, Maryland, at the University of Maryland
- FIX West (FIX-W) in Mountain View, California, at the NASA Ames Research Center
Techopedia Explains Federal Internet Exchange
FIX-E and FIX-W are two U.S. based Internet exchanges established in June 1989 by the Federal Engineering Planning Group. U.S. federal agency networks, such as the National Science Foundation Network (NSFNET), NASA Science Network (NSN), Energy Sciences Network (ESnet) and Military Network (MILNET) are interconnected through these FIX points. The existence of these FIX points allowed the ARPANET – a predecessor to today’s Internet – to be phased out in the mid-1990s. They are among the hundreds of commercial and community-based Internet exchange points (IXP) established in the U.S. and around the world.
