On Thu, 16 Jul 1998, Johnny Billquist wrote:
>>   I'd consider dropping packets because of inadequate performance "broken".
>
>It's all relative. Every router will drop packets at one point or another.
>It's just a question of where you pass the limits. TCP/IP was designed
>with this in mind, and survives fine on lossy connections, but with a
>degraded performance (of course).

  Of course...But I tend to set those limits pretty low, especially when routers
(read: boxes that were *designed* to do the work we're talking about) are so
damn cheap now.

 >I just don't understand how much traffic you think will be going over his
>router.

  Oh, I have no idea...but, coming from a large ISP background, I just assume
that nobody's gonna *pay* for a whole T1 unless they *need* a whole T1.  At
least that's the way things have been in my past.

>>   You must be used to MUCH slower VAXen than I am.
>
>Don't know what you're using, but personally I'm on a 3500, but the VAX
>I've seen used as a router is a 6440. But once again, the machine used as
>a router is not the big problem you are trying to make it.
>And even if it might turn out to be, I'd say start by trying, and if it
>then turns out to be a real bottleneck, then find something faster.

  I'm not trying to make it out to be a big problem.  I just consider it to be a
"last resort" measure.  It can work, but that certainly doesn't mean is the best
solution.  I'm very big on the "right tool for the job" notion...and where I
come from, you terminate a T1 with a router.  Preferably not a WellFleet router.


                          -Dave McGuire