What's the meaning of virtual POP ?

Wed Aug 24 17:27:52 UTC 2016

The key is really that it could mean different things for different providers, although I would agree that the gist is that the location is enabled to look and feel like a POP without the provider installing the full complement of requisite hardware. A provider I worked at in the past, for example, defined a virtual POP as a non-POP location at which POP pricing was offered - the actual method of delivery there being both irrelevant to it being defined that way and unimportant to the concept as a whole. It let the company be price-competitive with others that may have made more extensive investments in hardware at higher-demand locations, and it was purely based on a business justification. There was no specific technical definition (although in reality we were transparent with our customers about methodology anyway) - this contrasts with other providers that are clearly using it in a way that does define a technical approach. It's just an approach specific to that provider.

> On Aug 23, 2016, at 6:51 PM, Rod Beck <rod.beck at unitedcablecompany.com> wrote:
> 
> Yes, except it is done via Switched Ethernet and VLANs. The idea behind virtual peering. Your gear is in Amsterdam and someone gives you VLANs to LINX.
> 
> 
> - R.
> 
> 
> ________________________________
> From: NANOG <nanog-bounces at nanog.org> on behalf of William Herrin <bill at herrin.us>
> Sent: Wednesday, August 24, 2016 12:46 AM
> To: Yucong Sun
> Cc: NANOG
> Subject: Re: What's the meaning of virtual POP ?
> 
>> On Tue, Aug 23, 2016 at 6:31 PM, Yucong Sun <sunyucong at gmail.com> wrote:
>> I came across the idea of the virtual POP  , but the website for them have
>> way too much jargon to me[1][2][3], can someone explain it like i'm five
>> (:-D)?
> 
> A virtual Point Of Presence means that you provide services at a
> location via someone else's facilities.
> 
> The classic example was extending a PRI for dialup modems inside a
> particular local calling area via a point-to-point T1 back to your
> modem bank somewhere else that would have been a long distance call
> for those customers. If you put a modem bank in their local calling
> area, it's a POP. If you extend the circuit from their local calling
> area back to your modem bank elsewhere, it's a virtual POP.
> 
> Modern examples of virtual POPs are much fancier but it's the same basic idea.
> 
> 
>> 1. Is virtual POP basically a L2VPN?
> 
> It can be. Depends on what service you're extending from the "virtual" location.
> 
> 
>> 2. Do such vPOP have guaranteed latency/bandwidth?
> 
> Depends on what you're extending and how.
> 
> 
>> 3. Is that really useful?
> 
> It can be. It can let you dip your toes in a market without a large
> up-front investment in equipment and backhaul.
> 
> Regards,
> Bill Herrin
> 
> 
> --
> William Herrin ................ herrin at dirtside.com  bill at herrin.us
> Owner, Dirtside Systems ......... Web: <http://www.dirtside.com/>
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