Patent ID: 8219622

Claim:
A method comprising: receiving, using one or more processors and from a first customer via a web-based interface, selection of a first port, from a first plurality of ports, the first port being associated with the first customer and located in a first geographical region; receiving, using one or more processors and from the first customer via the web-based interface, selection of a second port, from a second plurality of ports, the second port being associated with a second customer and located in a second geographical region different than the first geographical region; receiving, using one or more processors and from the first customer via the web-based interface, selection of a communication protocol; receiving, using one or more processors, a request, from the first customer via the web-based interface, to establish a peering connection, based on the selected communication protocol, between the selected first port and the selected second port; sending, using one or more processors, a notification to the second customer, in response to receiving the request from the first customer, the notification including information identifying a first service provider associated with the first customer, information identifying a second service provider associated with the second customer, and information identifying the selected communication protocol; detecting, using one or more processors, that the second customer has accepted the request to establish the peering connection after sending the notification; and establishing, using one or more processors, in response to detecting that the second customer has accepted the request, the peering connection based on the received request.