Market for diversity (was: Re: Cogent latency / congestion)

Sat Aug 25 19:48:23 UTC 2007

On Sat, 25 Aug 2007, Andy Davidson wrote:

> Is it not possible to require that each of your suppliers provide over a 
> specified path ?  I'm planning a build-out that will require a diverse path 
> between two points, and one supplier has named two routes, and promised that 
> they wont change for the duration of the contract.  Perhaps I am naive, but a 
> promise should be a promise.

Note: IANAL, nor do I play one on TV.

Spell out exactly what you want (read: make no assumptions about even the 
most mundane details) when talking to your account rep and go over the 
contract and accompanying schedules with a fine-toothed comb before you 
sign.  You want to make sure all those details are spelled out the same 
way that you provided them to your salescritter and also check for 
legalese that gives the provider room to do things like re-groom your 
circuit/lamdba/whatever you're buying onto another (possibly convergent) 
path without your notification and consent.

Even then, be prepared to take your provider(s) to task and perform due 
diligence on those physical routes on a regular basis.  Note that getting 
this information in the first place may require you to execute a non-
disclosure agreement.  Check the wording of that agreement as well to make
sure that it won't prevent you from a) performing future due diligence and
b) seeking legal relief if a future round of due diligence shows that the
terms of your contract have been breached.

jms