Info on MAE-EAST

Thu Jan 16 06:50:18 UTC 1997

Michael Dillon said:

> How many exchange points have shared media, i.e. hub and spoke topology,
> and how many rely exclusively on a mesh of cross-connects? Is there any
> data to show whether or not the mesh of cross-connects will scale high
> enough to be usable for major NAP's? If so, it would not be difficult
> to set up such an exchange point in which people basically pay for rack
> space, power and the installation of cross-connects.

Then Paul Vixie said:

>Hmmm.  According to what I learnt in school, the cost of a connected network
>like a GIGAswitch or Catalyst or DELNI with N participants is:
>
>	(N x interface_cost) + (N x port_cost)

>...while the cost of a connected network made up of wire peers is:
> (2 x sum(N - 1) x interface_cost)
> (snip for space)
> 
>
>That means with 19 ISP's in a GIGAswitch-free room, there are 342 FIP's at
>a cost of, what, US$12000 each after discount?  I'll betcha I can buy quite
>a few GIGAswitches for US$4.1M.  Oops, that's not a fair comparison, since
>with a GIGAswitch I also need 19 FIP's.  Figure that a fully configured
>GIGAswitch retails without discount for US$80K and that 19 FIPs are going
>to run another US$228K.  That's still a *lot* less than 2*sum(n-1).
>
>This also assumes that we all have VIP2 cards and want to burn 9 7513 slots
>just on local peering, and it further assumes that a 7513 won't just simply
>melt if all the interfaces ever get hot at the same time.
>
>The breakeven is between N=3 and N=4.  On the Internet, N never stays small.
>
>(And that breakeven assumes that the 4 people have to buy the whole
>GIGAswitch with noone like MFS to underwrite the costs of the unused ports;
>that means four people in a room together could SAVE MONEY buying the GIGA-
>switch.)
>
>Gah.

So I say:

Here's a novel thought:  how about reverting to the original model for
the NAPs?

We have an 11,000 sq ft ex DOD (built like a brick *&^%house) datacenter
near MAE East ( 8201 Greensboro Drive in McLean). We have MFS (including
OC12 to MAE East), MCI Metro and Bell Atlantic sonet terminated in
house. And we have raised floor, computer grade HVAC, conditioned power,
UPS and generator, and will have 24x7 remote hands (no 2-6 hour response
times). If you want to collectively come up with an architecture
(assuming the hub and spoke/gigaswitch/cross-connect factions can agree
on something), we'll fund the purchase and installation of the equipment
(similar to MPIX in Phoenix, a cost-recovery only model). We'll also
offer free facilities to the long distance companies to terminate in the
facility (you may have to encourage them to do so), so that the $2,000
6ft cable disappears. And the local loops. Obviously *we'* will benefit
from not having to run a local loop to the interconnect. In exchange
we'll make colo facilities available that are significantly better than
the current underground parking facilities, and at better rates. 

Anyone interested?

Rodney Joffe
Genuity Inc., a Bechtel company
http://www.genuity.net http://hopscotch.genuity.net