Date: Wed, 26 Mar 97 8:51:53 CST From: Joe Greco <jgreco@solaria.sol.net> To: sysop@mixcom.com (Jeffrey J. Mountin) Cc: freebsd-isp@freebsd.org Subject: Re: reliable modems? Message-ID: <199703261451.IAA06504@solaria.sol.net> In-Reply-To: <3.0.32.19970326005401.00d3fa14@mixcom.com> from "Jeffrey J. Mountin" at Mar 26, 97 00:54:02 am
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> At 05:23 PM 3/24/97 -0500, Stefan Molnar wrote: > >> I'm sitting about 30 meters from a room where there are TWELVE HUNDRED > >> Courier modems. A local ISP used a bit of creativity and developed a > >> nifty way to set up arrays of 120 Courier modems, complete with phone, > >> power, and network wiring for the four Portmasters on each array. > > Imagine the cacohphony if they all had live speakers. They are M1, the Couriers have a convenient slider volume control (and have, for at least a decade) :-) It's nice and easy to piddle with any particular modem, listen to it answer calls, plug a phone into its backside, or stick a busyout clip into it. I was present once, before they were on UPS's, when the power flickered for a second. The sound of 1000-odd relays clicking was quite impressive, it was sort of like applause for a half a second. > >> It's quite impressive to see a telco demarc for 1200 analog lines. > > I think the VA center in Milwaukee beats that out. Regardless, I wouldn't > want to have to rewire either. Yes, but the VA isn't exactly an ISP. I've seen much larger telco rooms too, but consider how big the VA, UWM, MU, etc are. Show me a building that's only a few thousand square feet that has an average of greater than one line per square foot :-) > >That I would like to see, but I will stick with all the fiber lines. > > If Joe was referring to ExecPC, I should have a picture somewhere (or he > might) from the live cam the used to show on the web page. No... and I think Exec-PC's "cambot" died about a year ago. At one point, they even had a virtual walkthrough of the building, but that was ancient history. If you have a picture handy, post a URL... I suppose I could ask Exec if they have an image available. The modem room has been used as a background for television interviews and stuff, and has even been in an APC UPS brochure at one point. Somebody's gotta have a picture. > I'll 2nd you on the fiber and we have a 2nd fiber feed coming in real soon. > > Personally I can't wait to have all the analog dial-ins go away, as I sit > less than 8 feet from the channel banks. The only good thing is I can tell > an endless ringing. Or wait a few years, and it will all be a nonissue... this facet of the business should hopefully be just about dead by the turn of the century. ... Joe ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Joe Greco - Systems Administrator jgreco@ns.sol.net Solaria Public Access UNIX - Milwaukee, WI 414/342-4847
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