ABSTRACT: Internet Exchange Points (IXPs) play an important role in the architecture of the modern Internet, but they are mostly transparent for the end users and therefore are an often unknown piece of the puzzle. This talk wants to shed some light on what happens "behind the scenes" of the daily usage of the Internet, and why a growing number of operators choose to connect to MIX, the largest IXP in Italy. BIO: Simone Morandini studied Computer Engineering at the University of Padova, working at the VISIONS European Project. After graduating in 2004, he started cooperating with MIX for the development of traffic analysis software, and eventually joined the company in 2005. His activities are mainly focused on network traffic analysis, device configuration, peering LAN monitoring and software development. Since 2010 he also gives classes on how an IXP operates to the many students that visit MIX every year.