Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP Path: utzoo!mnetor!seismo!rutgers!mit-eddie!genrad!decvax!decwrl!hplabs!felix!trwrb!ucla-an!remsit!stb!michael From: michael@stb.UUCP (Michael) Newsgroups: comp.mail.uucp,news.admin Subject: Re: Scary Thought ... Message-ID: <1525@stb.UUCP> Date: Sun, 15-Mar-87 21:27:56 EST Article-I.D.: stb.1525 Posted: Sun Mar 15 21:27:56 1987 Date-Received: Sat, 21-Mar-87 04:38:43 EST References: <919@smeagol.JPL.NASA.GOV> <1112@altnet.UUCP> Reply-To: michael@stb.UUCP (Michael) Organization: STB BBS, La, Ca, USA, 90402, (213) 459-7231, 2400 Lines: 69 Xref: mnetor comp.mail.uucp:339 news.admin:269 In article <1112@altnet.UUCP> edc@altnet.UUCP (Eric D. Christensen) writes: > >Now I don't have any problem with that except for one thing. What's going to >happen to the limited bandwidth available to the uucp links if we suddenly >doubled or tripled the number of hosts. Also, is it right for a system to tie >up someones modem for 2 or 3 hours a day when only one or two users have >access? I would tend to say not. Multiuser installations are able to serve >many users and provide additional services (i.e. forwarding articles, gateways, >mail routing, source archives, etc.) that a PC host just won't be capable of. > >I think that these issues need to be discussed. I would hate to see PCs banned >from the net. Equal access is one of the fundamental principals of the net, but >I'm afraid that a VAX is a bit more equal then a PC-XT in this case. (For that >matter, what about the ATs running Xenix with ony one or two users?) Well, let me put in my 2 sents. I'm running a Trs-80 model 16A. When I joined the net, I had a whopping 12 meg hard disk, 2 of which was free. Since then I've gotten a 70 meg and a news feed. Right now, I have about 4 regular unix users (one of who has his own system; he gives me a partial feed and calls my system to read some groups. If/when he gets 2.11 running on his AT clone, we'll go to batched ihaves transfers. Until then his 3 or 4 users get a partial feed elsewhere. Modem tie up? Well, uucp is logged on my system only a little. I have 3 basic modem uses: uucp (about 4-8 hours a day, I haven't paid much attention), unix users (about 4 hours), and bbs users (my "site" originally was a model 1 (no, not on the net, but I called it stb then) running a public access bbs. It still runs a version of that same bbs. (213-459-7231, 3/12/24)). No idea how much the bbs users are on the system, but there's about 8-12 regular users, plus occasional drop-ins. All this on one phone line. And 512K memory. I had an incredibly hard time getting a feed. My current main news feed is scgvaxd, and it has become impossible lately to get mail to go out to them. (Ditto for outgoing news--10 to 1 this gets to you via remsit!ucla-an) However, I was contacted recently by a gould, with 12 meg memory, 1.2gig disks (more memory than I had disk originally) asking for a connection. They'll be on by the time you read this (I know my propagation delay). Interestingly enough, they've aparently been having such a hard time getting on that they offered to provide services such as mail routing. The point? This is one small system that is providing a connection to a larger, mail-routing, archiving, etc. system. You can bet I'll feed them the sources groups; its easier than trying to contact $alz. Limited bandwith? On the edges, there will soon be enough sites to choose from that that won't be a problem. If worse comes to worse, the small site and the large site can simply swap feeds (only need to swap one). The big problem, if any, will be either in mail along the edge, or mail across the center. Doubling the number of sites will not double the number of users; maybe a 10% increase. It will make a large number of new "Edge nodes" to get future connections to, a small amount of X-center mail, but probably a lot of mail along the edge as you (try to) talk to local people you know. That will be a problem for the small sites more than for the big sites they talk to. -- : Michael Gersten ihnp4!hermix!ucla-an!remsit!stb!michael : sdcrdcf!trwrb!ucla-an!remsit!stb!michael : Sealed with a curse \ As sharp as a knife : Doomed is your sole \ And dammed is your wife.