From pozar@kumr.lns.com Sun Apr 25 13:07:28 1993
Received: from kumr.lns.com by fido.wps.com (5.67/1.34)
	id AA00838; Sun, 25 Apr 93 13:07:13 -0700
Received: by kumr.lns.com (/\==/\ Smail3.1.25.1 #25.3)
	id <m0nnCzA-0002d3C@kumr.lns.com>; Sun, 25 Apr 93 13:07 PDT
Message-Id: <m0nnCzA-0002d3C@kumr.lns.com>
From: pozar@kumr.lns.com (Tim Pozar)
Subject: boardwatch art
To: tomj@fido.wps.com
Date: Sun, 25 Apr 1993 13:07:36 -0700 (PDT)
Content-Type: text
Content-Length: 10864     
Status: OR

  resend...
---

                              TOASTERNETS

                   An introduction on building your own.

                              By Tim Pozar
             [also plagerized from writings by Tom Jennings]


1.0 - DEFINITION OF TOASTERNET...

Recently with the development of low cost software and hardware that
supports the Internet networking protocols and the commercialization of
the Internet, a level of access for users and new concept in coopretive
networking has been born.

"Toasternet" is the generic term for Internet-connected computer
networks built very cheaply so as to have a cost that a small busness,
school or individual can afford. In fact, it has been joking said that
these networks are so cheap, you can connect everything in sight,
including  your toaster. Generally speaking, most Toasternets exist to
meet a group's communications needs, rather than profit as a motive.

At the same time Toasternets are poping up everywhere with low cost
access to the Internet, there is a push to develop programs to provide
better naviation tools for the Internet to aid in search and retrival of
information. The most notible tools/programmes are Gopher, WAIS, and
World Wide Web.


2.0 - WHAT'S BEHIND THE MIRRORS...

The Internet has typically used expensive technology to transport its
packets.  Lease lines, microwaves, and fiber are costly and require a
technical knowlege that most folks don't have. These "costs" are
translated into high access fees to connect to the Internet.

Recently, with the development of personal computers and networking
hardware and software, the cost and expertise to install local and wide
are networks has dropped dramaticly. Some of the advances are:

* Dial-up telephone modems using standards like V.32bis or V.FAST and
  compression standards like V.42bis to create links over low-cost,
  residential lines have just become fast enough to run networking
  protocols like the Internet Protocol (IP).

* Packet routers can be built out of inexpensive personal computers
  running public-domain or shareware software like KA9Q, PCROUTE, or
  386BSD can send IP over these fast modems from the Internet to
  computers running client software for the users.

The hardware and software advances are only half of the story. A
non-profit, or cooprative "agreement" is made between the members of a
Toasternet. The agreement can also includes the nonexclusive use of the
network where, members can also resell their connections, and the
agreement may also include the non-restriction of data unless existing
law may prohibit it.

With the use of these tools, the availiblity of a close access point to
the Internet (aka. Point Of Presents - POP), and the cooprative nature
of toasternets, the Internet can be accessed at a very low cost to the
user.


3.0 - HOW INTERNETWORKING IS DONE...

A Toasternet looks just like any other Wide Area Network (WAN), where
leased lines, and/or radio links are used to connect hubs to other links
that eventually connect to each machine or host in the network. Since a
Toasternet is not an isolated network there needs to be at least one
link to the outside world. This link is a connection to an Internet
provider at the most convenient POP to the network.

We will start looking at the Toasternet layout from the IP provider's
POP going towards the hosts. This is more of a technical tour through
the net and we will cover more of the politics and social aspects of the
Toasternet later.

3.1 - The POP

The POP would normally be a commercial provider. The provider would
require a monthy fee and a startup fee to install. The startup fee may
include the purchase of a commercial router ($4,000 to $20,000). The
montly fee would vary with the bandwith that the Toasternet requires.
Monthy fees are typically less than $1000 a month for 56 Kilobit per
second (Kb/s), and upwards to $2000 a month for T1 or 1.544 Megabits per
second service.

3.2 - Routers and Links

>From the POP the Toasternet starts it's distribution. A number of
technlogies may be mixed and matched to create data paths to deliver IP
to the user.

3.2.1 - The Links

3.2.1.1 - Lease lines (i.e., T1 and 56Kb/s) 

There are several leased line options offered by your local phone
company. The lines you would be most likely use for high speed data
links are [FIXME: right nomanclature?] 56K, T1. 56K linkes will support
(as you would imagine) 56 Kilobits per second and T1 will supply 1.544
Megabits per second. 56K and T1 are used for long distance runs where
you need to get data to the next Central Office (CO) area, LATA, state
or country.

It should be mentioned that there is another high speed link that most
phone companies will offer. It is called T3 and will provide data at 45
Megabits per second. Normally these links are pretty expensive, and
until a Toasternet gets several thousand hosts on it's net, T3 would not
be accessable to a Toasternet's pocketbook.

[FIXME: How about fiber?]

Cost of lease lines vary with distance and speed of the link. Normally
the local telephone company will charge for the distance of the link and
for each end termination. An example breakdown for cost of a 30 mile
56Kb/s link would be:

  (FIXME: get real prices)
	Installation ....................... $1000*
	Termination ($100 per end) .......... $200*
	Milage ($1/mile after 10 miles) ..... $ 20*

In contrast, a T1 link would run:

  (FIXME: get real prices)
	Installation ....................... $1000*
	Termination ($100 per end) .......... $200*
	Milage ($2/mile after 10 miles) ..... $ 40*
[*Pacific Bell 5/1/93 for the SF LATA]

These prices may be higher or lower in your area as the local phone
companies' rates vary wildly.

Lease lines are a bit more involved and more expensive to order than 
your average residential line. A bit of planning is involved. For 
instance, where you install a leased line needs to be considered at 
some lenght. You want to design the link to be the most effective for 
the speed needed and the area you need to serve. You also want the link's 
ends to be placed at locations were they can stay for some period of 
time since each move will cost you another installation fee. Please see 
[FIXME: What is the real ref?] 3.2.1.5 for considerations in choosing 
the what kind of link you need.

Additional hardware is required for lease lines. Each end of the leased
line is terminated with the equivalent of a modem. These boxes are
called Customer Service Units/Data Service Units, or CSU/DSUs. Prices
for CSU/DSUs will start around $550 and go up to about [FIXME: get
prices from Dowty] $750.

On the CSU/DSU you will have at least three connections, power, lease
line connection and interface connection. Power should be simple enough
where you just plug it into the closest power outlet (See [FIXME ref?] 
3.x for bullet proofing your network). The lease line connection will be
tied to the lease line, and the interface will go to the router.

CSU/DSUs can be ordered with a number of different interfaces. The most
common is V.35. V.35 defines the [FIXME: Hardware and electrical? Does
it include RS-422 too?]

[FIXME: What's happening with RS-232C as an Interface?]

[FIXME: What's happening with async vs. sync as an Interface?]

3.2.1.2 - Dial-up phone lines. (i.e., POTS, ISDN, Switched 56)

Unlike lease lines, dial up lines are not permanate links. The data path
needs to be "built", when needed, by dialing the number of the other end 
of the link.

"Plain Old Telephone Service/System" or POTS lines are the voice lines
that we commonly used to dial up our relitives, work, etc.  As most of
the readers to this paper would already know, with the addition of a
device called a modem, this POTS line can be used to transfer data over
it. At this point in time, maximum speeds of a POTS circuit is 14.4Kb/s
for the V.32bis standard for modems or 28Kb/s for V.FAST. Addionally,
the compression standard V.42bis for modems can increase the througput
up to four times. It has been claimed that with a V.FAST modem using
V.42bis can have a potential thoughput of 115.2Kb/s. This, by the way,
is as fast as the serial port of a PC using a 16550 UART will do.

There are a number of advantages to POTS lines. The best, pertaining to
your telephone provider, is that they know how to order it and install
hundreds of them a day. This solves most of the hassles with
installation. In my area, Pacific Bell can take weeks to engineer and
install a line, and may not successfully do it when they try.

Switched 56 is ...

(as you may figure out) 56Kb/s. ISDN is 64Kb/s or 128Kb/s depending on
if one or both channels are used. Tariffs for the above will be in the
range of $10 to $50 a month, and could include a per minute charge of
around $0.01 a minute. Re

3.2.1.3 - Radio links (i.e., AX.25 via KA9Q or PPP over high-speed 
          microwave)

Radio's main benifit is that the monthy cost can be significantly less
than leased lines.  Unfortunatly, high speed radio links can be costly
to install.  A T1 link could run as high as $30,000 for the link. There
is some work by Amateur radio operators, and advances in spread spectrum
radio that promise very low cost links that could move data as fast as
T1 (1.544Mb/s) and T3 (45Mb/s) speeds.

Licensing concerns...

Satilite links...
	Concerns about the 230mS delay.

3.2.1.4 Special Phone Company Supplied tariffs

3.2.1.4.1 LADD Circuts

3.2.1.4.2 OPX

3.2.1.5 Considerations on choosing the right link.

Chossing the right link involves anserwing a number of questions about how
the link will be used.

* Is this a temporary link?
* Can the link go up and down as demand warrants? 
* If it is a temporary link, can the user(s) of the link be happy with the 
  speed of a dialup SLIP or PPP link? With V.32bis/V.42bis modems, the speed
  would be around 21Kb/s. ISDN links would be 64Kb/s or 128Kb/s depending
  on how many B channels used.
* Are both ends of the link within line-of-sight of each other?  Can one site
  see the roof of the other site?

B] Is the end of the link feeding many high demand users?


3.2.2 - Routers  

At each branch of the links, routers are used to route the data down the
proper path. Typical routers are:

* Commercial (CISCO, 3com, Livingston)

* Shareware/Public Domain (KA9Q, PCROUTE, 386BSD)


III.  CASE STUDIES...

TLG (ONE PARAGRAPH)
	topology (20 words)
	constituency (WE'RE SO SOCIALLY RESPONSIBLE WE CANT STAND IT)
	history
		how it started

RAINnet (TWO PARAGRAPHS)
	topology (20 words)
	constituency (WERE SO RIGHTEOUS WE CANT STAND IT EITHER)
	Randy brags here (yes Randy)
	history
		how it started

IP suppliers:
	how they came to exist
	our troubles with (in context)

-- CONCLUSION
What we are doing now. (ONE PARAGRAPH)
Where we're headed.

With the combination of the development of Toasternets and better
navigation tools the Internet ....



