The Internet is often described as a network of networks. In reality though, staying connected is often more complicated than that, especially as internet traffic volume increases by more than 40 percent every year. In an age when there are so many computers and people to connect, IP transit versus peering has become a network growths biggest dilemma. Both interconnection strategies have their own unique performance advantages and challenges, so it can be difficult to know which is best for a small hosting provider, content publisher, an ISP or anything in between.