Internet exchange points (IXP) are a critical piece of the Internet infrastructure that enable ISP networks to exchange traffic with each other. The Internet has more than 300 IXPs worldwide with more than 80 in US/Canada alone and some IXPs carry as much traffic as the Tier-1 ISPs. IXPs offer a number of benefits including cost savings on International transit costs, better performance and user experience for locally hosted content, and improved security and availability. However, several less developing countries face two key challenges: 
 
(a) They either lack IXP infrastructure or have recently deployed IXPs with limited capabilities (e.g., Pakistan, the 6th most populous country, deployed their first ever IXP in Islamabad just last year), and (b) They lack expertise and human resource for operating and managing IXPs, which is essential for realizing the true potential of IXPs. 
 
This research aimed to address deployment of software-defined IXP, which uses recent advances in Software-Defined Networking (SDN) that allows operators to enable new applications such as application-specific peering, traffic redirection through middleboxes, and inbound traffic engineering. Pakistan IXP was used as a testbed for deployment, testing, and evaluation. In addition, training programs were carried out to prepare human resource in managing IXPs as well as in using SDN controllers.