UA-IX Checker: Quick Tool to Verify UA-IX Connectivity### Introduction
UA-IX (Ukrainian Internet Exchange) is a critical piece of infrastructure that helps Ukrainian networks exchange traffic locally, reducing latency and international transit costs. For network engineers, ISPs, content providers, and anyone operating services in Ukraine, ensuring reliable peering with UA-IX is essential. The UA-IX Checker is a straightforward utility designed to verify UA-IX connectivity quickly and reliably. This article explains what the tool does, why it matters, how it works, practical usage examples, common troubleshooting steps, and best practices for maintaining healthy peering.
What UA-IX Checker Does
UA-IX Checker is a diagnostic tool that verifies whether a given network (identified by an IP address, ASN, or hostname) can reach UA-IX peers and exchange traffic through the exchange fabric. Key checks typically include:
- Basic reachability (ICMP ping) to UA-IX route servers or peer IPs.
- BGP session status checks with UA-IX route servers (where accessible).
- Verification of advertised prefixes and whether a network is visible in UA-IX route collectors.
- Latency and packet loss measurements between the target and UA-IX endpoints.
- Reverse DNS and WHOIS lookups to confirm ownership and ASN mapping.
Why this matters: UA-IX peering reduces latency and transit expenses and improves resilience. A connectivity issue can lead to suboptimal routing (traffic going through international transit), higher costs, and slower user experience for regional traffic.
How UA-IX Checker Works (Technical Overview)
UA-IX Checker can be implemented as a web-based interface, command-line tool, or API. Typical components:
- Probe Agents: Distributed servers (ideally inside UA-IX or close to it) that run active checks (ping, traceroute, BGP queries) to target IPs or ASNs.
- Route Collector Integration: Access to route-collector data (MRIB, BGPStream or local collectors) to verify which prefixes are visible on UA-IX.
- Data Aggregation & Reporting: Backend that aggregates probe results, runs pattern checks (e.g., AS path analysis), and formats human-readable reports.
- Alerting: Optional notifications when peering is lost or metrics cross thresholds.
Common protocols and tools used:
- ICMP (ping) and UDP/TCP traceroute for path/latency checks.
- BGP looking-glass APIs or MRT/BGPStream for prefix visibility.
- WHOIS/RDAP and RIR databases for ASN and organization data.
Practical Usage Examples
- Quick health check for an IP
- Input: target IP or hostname.
- Output: ping latency & packet loss to UA-IX route server, traceroute, and whether the IP’s ASN is present on UA-IX.
- ASN-wide visibility
- Input: ASN (e.g., ASXXXXX).
- Output: list of prefixes the ASN advertises, which are seen on UA-IX, and any hijack/suspicious announcements.
- Scheduled monitoring
- Configure periodic checks (every 5–60 minutes).
- Alerting via email/Slack when UA-IX reachability drops or latency increases beyond thresholds.
Example command-line usage (illustrative):
ua-ix-checker --target 193.105.95.1 --probe ua-ix-ru-route-server --bgp-lookup Interpreting Results
- Successful ping with low latency (<10–30 ms within-country) and no packet loss: healthy connectivity.
- High latency or consistent packet loss: suggests congestion or suboptimal routing — check local peering and uplink status.
- BGP presence missing for your prefixes on UA-IX collectors: may indicate you’re not peering correctly or announcements are filtered/misconfigured.
- Traceroute showing exits to international hops before reaching UA-IX: likely not peering locally; traffic goes via transit providers.
Common Causes of UA-IX Connectivity Problems
- BGP misconfiguration: incorrect neighbor IP, ASN mismatch, missing route-announce statements, prefix-lists/filters blocking advertisements.
- Peering policy or authorization issues: some IXes require coordination or LOAs for certain peering.
- Physical or VLAN issues on the IX port (SFP, VLAN tagging).
- Filtering at the IX or upstream ISP (unintentional route filters).
- Route propagation delays or inconsistent route collector visibility.
Troubleshooting Steps (Checklist)
- Verify physical and link-level status on your IX port (link lights, SFPs).
- Confirm VLAN tagging and subnet settings match UA-IX configuration.
- Check local router BGP session status: neighbor states, uptime, prefixes sent/received.
- Use UA-IX Checker traceroute from probes inside the exchange to see path.
- Query BGP collectors or looking-glasses to confirm prefix propagation.
- Review prefix filters/route-maps and AS-PATH/communities that might affect advertisement.
- If needed, contact UA-IX NOC with BGP neighbor details and traceroute outputs.
Best Practices for Reliable Peering
- Maintain clear prefix-lists and avoid overly broad announcements.
- Use route filtering to protect against accidental hijacks.
- Monitor peering sessions and set alerts for neighbor down or sudden prefix withdrawals.
- Document peering configs and keep a checklist for changes during maintenance windows.
- Participate in IX community channels to stay aware of maintenance or policy changes.
Example Report (sample output fields)
- Target identifier (IP/ASN/hostname)
- Probe timestamp and probe locations
- Ping: min/avg/max/stddev, packet loss
- Traceroute: hops and ASN per hop
- BGP: prefixes announced, prefixes visible on UA-IX collectors
- WHOIS/RDAP: ASN owner, contacts
- Conclusion: Pass/Warning/Fail and suggested actions
Limitations and Considerations
- Route collectors may not show every peer immediately; short-term discrepancies can occur.
- ICMP may be deprioritized; lack of ping doesn’t always mean lack of forwarding. Use multiple checks (TCP/UDP) when in doubt.
- Privacy and security: avoid exposing full router configs in public reports; sanitize sensitive data.
Conclusion
UA-IX Checker is a focused diagnostic tool that gives network operators fast, actionable insight into UA-IX peering health. By combining active probes, BGP data, and clear reporting, it helps detect misconfigurations, routing issues, and performance problems so networks can keep traffic local, fast, and cost-efficient.
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