Which had more impact on the net?

Thu Sep 27 15:05:10 UTC 2001

> Date: Thu, 27 Sep 2001 01:47:21 -0400 (EDT)
> From: Sean Donelan <sean at donelan.com>
> 
> Which had more impact on the the net?

An interesting question... I'm not sure that they're directly
comparable.  As Patrick pointed out, they have different side
effects.

> 1. Destruction in New York City Sept 11 and following days
> 2. Nimda virus/worm on Sept Sept 18 and following days
> 3. Multiple fiber cuts on Sept 26

1. Damage focused at selected vertices
2. Congestion across the entire mesh
3. Damage along selected edges.

Viewing the Internet as one large graph, all three affected
different portions.  When damage occurs, spokes disappear, and
nearby vertices/edges become more congested.

This is probably one very good reason that big providers demand
peering in >= { 3 | 4 | however many } locations in different
regions across the country:  Performance might plummet in the
event of damage, but there are alternate routes.[1]

Multiple fiber cuts _did_ elicit a curious thought, though:
Terrorists get ahold of backhoes and fiber maps.  Eek.

[1] This assumes that, when an edge or vertex disappears, the
providers peering will route traffic "down the road".  This is
an administrative issue, but at least the infrastructure for a
survivable network is in place.

Eddy

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