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From: zben@umd5.UUCP (Ben Cranston)
Newsgroups: net.mail
Subject: Re: Real Networks (was Neighbor optimized away)
Message-ID: <961@umd5.UUCP>
Date: Thu, 15-May-86 23:06:27 EDT
Article-I.D.: umd5.961
Posted: Thu May 15 23:06:27 1986
Date-Received: Sat, 17-May-86 04:09:39 EDT
References: <4509@dartvax.UUCP> <2124@peora.UUCP> <912@decuac.DEC.COM> <6657@utzoo.UUCP>
Reply-To: zben@umd5.UUCP (Ben Cranston)
Organization: U of Md, CSC, College Park, Md
Lines: 37
Summary: Telco is the REAL network...

In article <6657@utzoo.UUCP> henry@utzoo.UUCP (Henry Spencer) writes:
> In article <?> ? writes:
>> ... Real Networks do this [routing] automatically and dynamically...

>Clearly, then, a Real Network has to have connections live all the time so
>that it knows when machines go down.  Do let us know when you are willing
>to finance such a network for us.  Meanwhile, we will continue to use our
>unReal but still exceedingly cost-effective network.  We will also continue
>to have a low opinion of people who think that there is something "unreal"
>about one of the largest networks in the world.

Ahem...

In the finest tradition of "layered systems" UUCP is built ON TOP OF
a "REAL SYSTEM".  I am speaking of the international telephone system.
So when I send mail from UMD2 I open an SMTP connection; when you send mail
you open a TELCO connection.  We both rely upon the underlying transport
layer to do the dirty work.  Yes, Telco is live all the time.  Yes, users
VERY seldom know when a piece of Telco is down.  It's a pretty fine
network, all in all, and sometimes I wonder why we bother to reinvent the
wheel.

The only reason UUCP need use multiple systems is to try to take advantage
of things like "unlimited local calling".  If it were not for these quite
artificial constraints (i.e. if telco charged for straight "mile-seconds")
it would be just as economcal to call the final site as to chain through
intermediate sites.  This is of course ignoring the site-phone# database
problem...

I personally have a very low opinion of people who thing bigger is better.
If you dislike those of us in the "lower 48" claiming we are better because
we are bigger, you might want to rethink your statement...

-- 
"We're taught to cherish what we have   |          Ben Cranston
 by what we have no longer..."          |          zben@umd2.umd.edu
                          ...{seismo!umcp-cs,ihnp4!rlgvax}!cvl!umd5!zben