288 lines
11 KiB
Plaintext
288 lines
11 KiB
Plaintext
From pozar@kumr.lns.com Sun Apr 25 13:07:28 1993
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Received: from kumr.lns.com by fido.wps.com (5.67/1.34)
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id AA00838; Sun, 25 Apr 93 13:07:13 -0700
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Received: by kumr.lns.com (/\==/\ Smail3.1.25.1 #25.3)
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id <m0nnCzA-0002d3C@kumr.lns.com>; Sun, 25 Apr 93 13:07 PDT
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Message-Id: <m0nnCzA-0002d3C@kumr.lns.com>
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From: pozar@kumr.lns.com (Tim Pozar)
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Subject: boardwatch art
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To: tomj@fido.wps.com
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Date: Sun, 25 Apr 1993 13:07:36 -0700 (PDT)
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Content-Type: text
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Content-Length: 10864
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Status: OR
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resend...
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---
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TOASTERNETS
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An introduction on building your own.
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By Tim Pozar
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[also plagerized from writings by Tom Jennings]
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1.0 - DEFINITION OF TOASTERNET...
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Recently with the development of low cost software and hardware that
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supports the Internet networking protocols and the commercialization of
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the Internet, a level of access for users and new concept in coopretive
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networking has been born.
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"Toasternet" is the generic term for Internet-connected computer
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networks built very cheaply so as to have a cost that a small busness,
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school or individual can afford. In fact, it has been joking said that
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these networks are so cheap, you can connect everything in sight,
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including your toaster. Generally speaking, most Toasternets exist to
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meet a group's communications needs, rather than profit as a motive.
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At the same time Toasternets are poping up everywhere with low cost
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access to the Internet, there is a push to develop programs to provide
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better naviation tools for the Internet to aid in search and retrival of
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information. The most notible tools/programmes are Gopher, WAIS, and
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World Wide Web.
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2.0 - WHAT'S BEHIND THE MIRRORS...
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The Internet has typically used expensive technology to transport its
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packets. Lease lines, microwaves, and fiber are costly and require a
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technical knowlege that most folks don't have. These "costs" are
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translated into high access fees to connect to the Internet.
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Recently, with the development of personal computers and networking
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hardware and software, the cost and expertise to install local and wide
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are networks has dropped dramaticly. Some of the advances are:
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* Dial-up telephone modems using standards like V.32bis or V.FAST and
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compression standards like V.42bis to create links over low-cost,
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residential lines have just become fast enough to run networking
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protocols like the Internet Protocol (IP).
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* Packet routers can be built out of inexpensive personal computers
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running public-domain or shareware software like KA9Q, PCROUTE, or
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386BSD can send IP over these fast modems from the Internet to
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computers running client software for the users.
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The hardware and software advances are only half of the story. A
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non-profit, or cooprative "agreement" is made between the members of a
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Toasternet. The agreement can also includes the nonexclusive use of the
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network where, members can also resell their connections, and the
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agreement may also include the non-restriction of data unless existing
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law may prohibit it.
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With the use of these tools, the availiblity of a close access point to
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the Internet (aka. Point Of Presents - POP), and the cooprative nature
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of toasternets, the Internet can be accessed at a very low cost to the
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user.
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3.0 - HOW INTERNETWORKING IS DONE...
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A Toasternet looks just like any other Wide Area Network (WAN), where
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leased lines, and/or radio links are used to connect hubs to other links
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that eventually connect to each machine or host in the network. Since a
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Toasternet is not an isolated network there needs to be at least one
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link to the outside world. This link is a connection to an Internet
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provider at the most convenient POP to the network.
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We will start looking at the Toasternet layout from the IP provider's
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POP going towards the hosts. This is more of a technical tour through
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the net and we will cover more of the politics and social aspects of the
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Toasternet later.
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3.1 - The POP
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The POP would normally be a commercial provider. The provider would
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require a monthy fee and a startup fee to install. The startup fee may
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include the purchase of a commercial router ($4,000 to $20,000). The
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montly fee would vary with the bandwith that the Toasternet requires.
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Monthy fees are typically less than $1000 a month for 56 Kilobit per
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second (Kb/s), and upwards to $2000 a month for T1 or 1.544 Megabits per
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second service.
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3.2 - Routers and Links
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>From the POP the Toasternet starts it's distribution. A number of
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technlogies may be mixed and matched to create data paths to deliver IP
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to the user.
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3.2.1 - The Links
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3.2.1.1 - Lease lines (i.e., T1 and 56Kb/s)
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There are several leased line options offered by your local phone
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company. The lines you would be most likely use for high speed data
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links are [FIXME: right nomanclature?] 56K, T1. 56K linkes will support
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(as you would imagine) 56 Kilobits per second and T1 will supply 1.544
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Megabits per second. 56K and T1 are used for long distance runs where
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you need to get data to the next Central Office (CO) area, LATA, state
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or country.
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It should be mentioned that there is another high speed link that most
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phone companies will offer. It is called T3 and will provide data at 45
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Megabits per second. Normally these links are pretty expensive, and
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until a Toasternet gets several thousand hosts on it's net, T3 would not
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be accessable to a Toasternet's pocketbook.
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[FIXME: How about fiber?]
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Cost of lease lines vary with distance and speed of the link. Normally
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the local telephone company will charge for the distance of the link and
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for each end termination. An example breakdown for cost of a 30 mile
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56Kb/s link would be:
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(FIXME: get real prices)
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Installation ....................... $1000*
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Termination ($100 per end) .......... $200*
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Milage ($1/mile after 10 miles) ..... $ 20*
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In contrast, a T1 link would run:
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(FIXME: get real prices)
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Installation ....................... $1000*
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Termination ($100 per end) .......... $200*
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Milage ($2/mile after 10 miles) ..... $ 40*
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[*Pacific Bell 5/1/93 for the SF LATA]
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These prices may be higher or lower in your area as the local phone
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companies' rates vary wildly.
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Lease lines are a bit more involved and more expensive to order than
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your average residential line. A bit of planning is involved. For
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instance, where you install a leased line needs to be considered at
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some lenght. You want to design the link to be the most effective for
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the speed needed and the area you need to serve. You also want the link's
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ends to be placed at locations were they can stay for some period of
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time since each move will cost you another installation fee. Please see
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[FIXME: What is the real ref?] 3.2.1.5 for considerations in choosing
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the what kind of link you need.
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Additional hardware is required for lease lines. Each end of the leased
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line is terminated with the equivalent of a modem. These boxes are
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called Customer Service Units/Data Service Units, or CSU/DSUs. Prices
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for CSU/DSUs will start around $550 and go up to about [FIXME: get
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prices from Dowty] $750.
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On the CSU/DSU you will have at least three connections, power, lease
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line connection and interface connection. Power should be simple enough
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where you just plug it into the closest power outlet (See [FIXME ref?]
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3.x for bullet proofing your network). The lease line connection will be
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tied to the lease line, and the interface will go to the router.
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CSU/DSUs can be ordered with a number of different interfaces. The most
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common is V.35. V.35 defines the [FIXME: Hardware and electrical? Does
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it include RS-422 too?]
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[FIXME: What's happening with RS-232C as an Interface?]
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[FIXME: What's happening with async vs. sync as an Interface?]
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3.2.1.2 - Dial-up phone lines. (i.e., POTS, ISDN, Switched 56)
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Unlike lease lines, dial up lines are not permanate links. The data path
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needs to be "built", when needed, by dialing the number of the other end
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of the link.
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"Plain Old Telephone Service/System" or POTS lines are the voice lines
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that we commonly used to dial up our relitives, work, etc. As most of
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the readers to this paper would already know, with the addition of a
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device called a modem, this POTS line can be used to transfer data over
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it. At this point in time, maximum speeds of a POTS circuit is 14.4Kb/s
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for the V.32bis standard for modems or 28Kb/s for V.FAST. Addionally,
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the compression standard V.42bis for modems can increase the througput
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up to four times. It has been claimed that with a V.FAST modem using
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V.42bis can have a potential thoughput of 115.2Kb/s. This, by the way,
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is as fast as the serial port of a PC using a 16550 UART will do.
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There are a number of advantages to POTS lines. The best, pertaining to
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your telephone provider, is that they know how to order it and install
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hundreds of them a day. This solves most of the hassles with
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installation. In my area, Pacific Bell can take weeks to engineer and
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install a line, and may not successfully do it when they try.
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Switched 56 is ...
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(as you may figure out) 56Kb/s. ISDN is 64Kb/s or 128Kb/s depending on
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if one or both channels are used. Tariffs for the above will be in the
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range of $10 to $50 a month, and could include a per minute charge of
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around $0.01 a minute. Re
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3.2.1.3 - Radio links (i.e., AX.25 via KA9Q or PPP over high-speed
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microwave)
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Radio's main benifit is that the monthy cost can be significantly less
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than leased lines. Unfortunatly, high speed radio links can be costly
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to install. A T1 link could run as high as $30,000 for the link. There
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is some work by Amateur radio operators, and advances in spread spectrum
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radio that promise very low cost links that could move data as fast as
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T1 (1.544Mb/s) and T3 (45Mb/s) speeds.
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Licensing concerns...
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Satilite links...
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Concerns about the 230mS delay.
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3.2.1.4 Special Phone Company Supplied tariffs
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3.2.1.4.1 LADD Circuts
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3.2.1.4.2 OPX
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3.2.1.5 Considerations on choosing the right link.
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Chossing the right link involves anserwing a number of questions about how
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the link will be used.
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* Is this a temporary link?
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* Can the link go up and down as demand warrants?
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* If it is a temporary link, can the user(s) of the link be happy with the
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speed of a dialup SLIP or PPP link? With V.32bis/V.42bis modems, the speed
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would be around 21Kb/s. ISDN links would be 64Kb/s or 128Kb/s depending
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on how many B channels used.
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* Are both ends of the link within line-of-sight of each other? Can one site
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see the roof of the other site?
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B] Is the end of the link feeding many high demand users?
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3.2.2 - Routers
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At each branch of the links, routers are used to route the data down the
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proper path. Typical routers are:
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* Commercial (CISCO, 3com, Livingston)
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* Shareware/Public Domain (KA9Q, PCROUTE, 386BSD)
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III. CASE STUDIES...
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TLG (ONE PARAGRAPH)
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topology (20 words)
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constituency (WE'RE SO SOCIALLY RESPONSIBLE WE CANT STAND IT)
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history
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how it started
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RAINnet (TWO PARAGRAPHS)
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topology (20 words)
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constituency (WERE SO RIGHTEOUS WE CANT STAND IT EITHER)
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Randy brags here (yes Randy)
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history
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how it started
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IP suppliers:
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how they came to exist
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our troubles with (in context)
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-- CONCLUSION
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What we are doing now. (ONE PARAGRAPH)
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Where we're headed.
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With the combination of the development of Toasternets and better
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navigation tools the Internet ....
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