FAQ

What is MAE?
MAE^® is a registered Trademark of Verizon^® for Internet exchange services. MAE is not an acronym. We provide public peering services for Internet Service Providers.

How to contact MAE?
Please send an email to info@mae.net. A Verizon representative will contact you shortly.

What is public peering?
Public peering allows customers to exchange Internet traffic inexpensively through a public Internet Exchange (IX) facility on a settlement-free basis. By connecting to the IX facility, a customer can peer with any other customer that is connected to the IX facility, provided the peers reach a bilateral agreement. Connectivity for a MAE customer extends beyond the region where the customer access the MAE. Further details can be found here.

Where are the MAE facilities?
MAE facilities are located in major metropolitan areas of the United States (Washington D.C., New York, Miami, Dallas, Chicago, San Jose, and Los Angeles areas) and in Europe (Paris and Frankfurt). More information is available here.

What types of service are available?
The MAE facilities in the United States provide Frame Relay Encapsulation (FE), Asynchronous Transfer Mode (ATM), and Gigabit Ethernet (GigE). The European facilities provide 10/100 Ethernet and Gigabit Ethernet (GigE). Look here for more detail.

What port speeds are available?
For ATM service the available port speeds are DS3, OC3 and OC12. For FE service the available port speeds are OC3, OC12 and OC48.

How do I become a member of a MAE facility?
Start by sending an email to info@mae.net. A Verizon representative will contact you and answer your questions. Detailed information about what is needed to connect to the MAE network can be found here.

Who can I peer with?
Potentially, you can peer with any MAE customer in the U.S. if you are also a U.S. customer with MAE Extended Service. However, you must contact each prospective peer to verify that you meet its peering policies. If you have MAE Regional Service, peering connections with other Regional customers must be within the same MAE region. More information is found here.

What kind of router do I need?
A router equivalent to a Cisco GSR or Juniper M-series with enough RAM to support the large routing tables.

Can I colocate my router at the MAE facility?
Yes, your border router may be located at the MAE facility, or in some cases on a different floor within the same building.

How do I order access circuits?
Your Verizon sales representative can order the local loop and, if needed, IXC circuits for you. Any cross-connects within the MAE facility will be provided by Verizon.

Can I provide my own access loop to the MAE facility?
Typically, a customer is required to purchase an Verizon local loop to access their MAE port. However, in some cases where there is a meet-me room hosting other carriers, an in-house cross-connect may be all that is required. An inquiry to info@mae.net will help identify which access case applies.

How many members are at the MAE facilities?
The best way to find MAE Services members is by checking the member list for each MAE Facility available on this web site.

Who can we contact about pricing for connectivity to the MAEs?
Please send an email to info@mae.net. A Verizon representative will contact you shortly and answer your questions.

Can I connect to the MAE network via GigE?
Yes. GigE access to MAE Services is now available (August 2004).

What do I need to peer at a MAE facility?
The customer must provide the following:

A border router to connect to the port on the MAE switch
Somebody who can configure the border router
An exchange point IP address for the border router
An Autonomous System Number (ASN) to identify the customer
A bilateral peering agreement with each peer.

For more details look here.

How do I obtain an Autonomous System Number (ASN)?
You must obtain the ASN from the appropriate Regional Internet Registry depending on your company location: ARIN for the Americas, Caribbean, sub-Saharan Africa, APNIC for Asia Pacific, RIPE for Europe, Middle East, Northern Africa.

How do I obtain an exchange point IP address?
You must fill out the Exchange Point IP Registration Form. Instructions on how to fill out the Exchange Point IP Registration Form can be found here.

Do I need to change my Peering IP address if I want to transition from MAE-ATM to MAE-FE service at the same MAE facility?
New IP addressing is required when a new or upgraded MAE port is added. However, if a service is being upgraded or changed, then a customer usually will reuse its MAE ATM IP address for use on its MAE FE port. Of course, both IP addresses cannot be used on separate interfaces simultaneously.

I am located in the same building as your MAE facility. What type of connection do I need to connect to the MAE and what would the pricing be?
Where there is a meet-me room in the same building as a MAE switch, there are cases where an in-house cross-connect may be all that is required to connect to the MAE switch. An inquiry to info@mae.net will help identify what facilities are available at a MAE site and will also initiate contact with a sales representative who can provide pricing.

When GigE is available, can I connect to customers that use other access services?
Yes, using our interworking service you can connect to any ATM or FE member of the MAE facility.

How long does it take to provision a connection to another MAE customer?
Connections to other customers can be built without contacting MAE operations using our web-based provisioning tool, PeerMaker. As soon as the targeted customer accepts the peering request, the connection is built automatically in less than a minute.

What is PeerMaker?
PeerMaker^SM is a web-based provisiong tool that allows customers to build, modify and delete connections without the need to contact MAE operations. In addition, PeerMaker allows customers to administer their own user access control, get reports of their connections, connection history, ports with bandwidth information, port traffic statistics, and failed login attempts. Click here for more information.

Is access to the PeerMaker provisioning tool secure?
Yes, access to the web-based PeerMaker provisioning tool is controlled via a SecurID^® card. The SecurID^® card is issued to members of MAE facilities and required for log in.

What is a SecurID^® card and how can I get one?
The SecurID^® card manufactured by RSA Security, Inc. is a credit card sized precision security device complete with CPU, RAM and ROM, power source and I/O interface. It displays a random 6 digit number that gets updated every minute. This number along with a user password (or PIN) must be entered in the login screen as a "passcode" to gain access to the PeerMaker provisioning tool. Your Verizon sales representative will obtain the SecurID^® card for you.

Are traffic statistics available for MAE exchanges?
Yes, every member of a MAE facility can obtain a username and password to access traffic statistics for a MAE facility from this web site. Just go to the MAE Facilities page and select the appropriate facility.

How do I get username and password to access MAE traffic statistics?
Just send an email to info@mae.net. You will be contacted shortly to receive username and password.

Can I get traffic statistics just for my MAE port?
Yes, you can get daily, weekly and monthly traffic statistics for any of your MAE ports through our PeerMaker provisioning tool.

Can other MAE members see traffic statistics of my MAE ports?
No, the PeerMaker Provisioning Tool controls access to all reports. Only your own users can access traffic statistics for your company's ports.


	Privacy Policy Legal Notices Service Terms & Rates Copyright © 2003-2008 Verizon, Inc. All rights reserved. The names, logos, and taglines identifying Verizon's products and services, including PeerMaker, MAE, MAE East, MAE West, MAE Miami, MAE Paris, MAE Frankfurt, and MAE Europe, are the proprietary marks or registered marks of Verizon, Inc., or its subsidiaries. SecurID is a trademark of RSA Security, Inc. All other trademarks and service marks are the property of their respective owners.


	Quick Links


Frequently Asked Questions