[TriLUG] DSL or RoadRunner?

[Ryan Leathers]

DSL is ready to do some new tricks.  BellSouth stands to benefit early. 
If you get DSL from BellSouth you might benefit too.

I posted some detail about this a couple of weeks ago, but here is a
quick summary.

In September the DSL Forum released TR-059 describing the evolution of 
the DSL architecture.  In simplified terms this will allow DSL customers
to pay for not only bandwidth, but a quality of bandwidth.  

Voice, video and on-line gaming are great examples of why this is
valuable.  Given sufficient data transfer capacity (bandwidth) the most
important thing to the consumer of these services is consistency.  It
just won't do to get data at a variable rate.  For example, you can't
speed up and slow down video, even a little bit, without noticing.  A
gamer always wants a low "ping" rate, but an average rate that stays
rock solid is far less irritating than one that fluctuates. 

Customers will need RIP2 and DIFFSERV to take advantage of this new QoS
on demand capability.  Bandwidth on demand will also be part of the new
offering stable for those applications where bandwidth alone - not QoS
is what you need.  Since BellSouth was a major player is getting this
new specification completed you can expect them to look to capitalize on
it.  

All this having been said, there are some fantastic features of DOCSIS
which, when implemented widely, might be every bit as tempting to the
consumer.  However, DOCSIS is a one-trick-pony as a protocol for cable
networks.  TR-059 by contrast lays out a service provider architecture
which is low cost, and idependant of OSI L1-L2. Thats right kids - the
cable networks could play in this game too and no matter how you get
your broadband you could get end to end QoS.  Thats why my bet is with
TR-059 and on DSL in the near future.  Still, the end of this road is
entirely dependant on how service providers (the ASP and CSP type)
embrace these technologies and persue their markets.  

-Ryan    

On Mon, 2003-10-06 at 22:09, Jason Browne wrote:
> Got a general question...
> 
> All I have had for broadband is Bellsouth DSL.  I had Charter Pipeline
> very shortly while i was in school, but promptly dropped them b/c they
> blocked all incoming connections to my box.  So this has made me cautious
> about going to Cable Broadband.  I am going to be moving down to the Holly
> Springs area, so i am thinking about changing to RoadRunner. My main
> concern is that people can access all my services from the web.
> 
> Has anyone had any bad experiences about Timewarner blocking services?  Is
> the speed and connection pretty reliable?  If not, who else is a good
> provider in the Holly Springs area?
> 
> Jason
-- 
Ryan Leathers <ryan.leathers at globalknowledge.com>
Global Knowledge
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