OpenBGPd
Making internet routers independent
Key facts
- Status:
- Past
- Investment Amount
- €200,000.00
- Investment Year(s)
- 2022, 2023
The Internet is a network of networks. The Border Gateway Protocol (BGP) allows them to communicate with each other. BGP regulates routing so that data packets can get from one network to the next quickly and efficiently.
OpenBGPd is an open implementation of BGP. It allows anyone to participate in the internet by exchanging routes with other BGP providers. With the OpenBGPd software, normal computers can function as routers, allowing independence from closed-source hardware and the associated risks. Internet Exchange Points, for example, use this software to provide their services. However, the field of open BGP implementations increasingly lacks technical diversity. For several years, this diversity has been restored by strengthening and developing OpenBGPd.
Why is this important?
The BGP protocol is the “language” spoken by internet routers to determine how data packets are sent from one device to another. Open implementations are crucial to establish technical diversity and resilience. They create independence from commercial and closed-source routers, enabling access to the internet without any need for expensive hardware.
A lack of funding for OpenBGPd’s core team has negatively impacted the diversity of open implementations. Modernizing OpenBGPD distribution will help to restore diversity at the route server level.
What are we funding?
The BGP protocol is the “language” spoken by internet routers to determine how data packets are sent from one device to another. Open implementations are crucial to establish technical diversity and resilience. They create independence from commercial and closed-source routers, enabling access to the internet without any need for expensive hardware.
A lack of funding for OpenBGPd’s core team has negatively impacted the diversity of open implementations. Modernizing OpenBGPD distribution will help to restore diversity at the route-server-level.