The rules of the road are based on a fundamental principle: "Road users are obliged to know and strictly comply with the requirements of these Rules. Every road user has the right to expect that other users also comply with these Rules."
Since the actions of one participant in a traffic exchange point can affect the service performance for others, this traffic rule principle is also quite relevant for an IX: participants must know and follow the technical connection regulations, and they have the right to expect other participants to follow them as well.
However, as with road traffic, participants may sometimes unintentionally violate regulations, creating a loop on their port and resulting in a broadcast storm that harms all other participants. The "traffic controller" in such a situation must, of course, be the exchange point operator. To perform this job effectively, in addition to technical regulations, an IX operator needs efficient tools to detect and prevent negative impacts of some participants on others (e.g., MAC limits, MAC filters, storm control). Yet, not all switches are capable of performing such tasks even partially. Furthermore, different participants have various equipment connected to the exchange, and its software may be incompatible with the exchange's core equipment software, creating additional service complexities. The long-term experience of the DTEL-IX engineering team shows that the most unexpected software interaction conflicts can arise when connecting diverse types of equipment to the core platform.
Since the goal of connecting to an IX is to exchange traffic between as many networks as possible, a Route Server must be added to a switch that can only establish pairwise interactions to exchange routing information. To ensure fault tolerance, there should be at least two of them. It is also worth noting that as the complexity of participant networks and the services they provide grows, new needs arise for additional functions that a traffic exchange point can provide, such as DDoS protection tools, monitoring traffic distribution between different autonomous systems connected to the IX, modern types of virtual connections, etc. Providing such services is only possible with modern hardware and software.
And of course, even the best equipment will not function properly if installed in a facility where appropriate climate control and uninterruptible power supply are considered an "optional extra" rather than a "base requirement." Therefore, leading global IXs even have their own evaluation systems for data centers where their equipment can be located, checking for compliance with the housing conditions needed for IXP hardware.
By the way, the principle of following established rules applies fully to the traffic exchange point operator as well. When connecting to an IX, a participant expects to receive a high-quality and efficient service provided under clear and transparent rules, and the operator must ensure such service guided by the principles of neutrality and non-interference in participants' traffic routing policies.
So why is a traffic exchange point more than just a switch? Because a modern IX is a complex system combining high-quality equipment capable of performing specifically at an exchange point, a high-quality facility to house this equipment, modern software, and a transparent approach to platform administration and management based on mutual trust among all process participants.