[TriLUG] OT: Google datacenter in NC

Wed Jan 24 09:59:01 EST 2007

Oh, don't get me wrong.  You're right that TWC has lots of capacity in the
area, fiber-wise.  It's the cable modem termination systems (CMTSes) that
are the bottleneck.  Basically, they can only handle n subscribers per
downstream, and those get divvied up per upstream.  They have to manage
those pretty tightly, lest they oversubscribe a card on a CMTS.  When one
does get oversubscribed, they have to do a node split to redistribute. This
means that they have to have additional capacity on another card to which
they can move customers.  That means downtime in order to complete the node
split, and especially since introducing the VoIP services cable companies
are very reluctant to do node splits.  At this point, if TWC were to offer
20x2M bandwidth, they would have to do so many node splits, put in to many
CMTSes (especially in concentrated areas like the Cary/Morrisville/Apex
drop) that they would have a significant net negative, with significantly
more capacity required to accommodate the subscriber growth that it would be
far too expensive to consider.  So the capacity is there in terms of fiber,
but the pipe isn't the only piece of infrastructure to consider.

Regards,
Ben Pitzer

On 1/23/07, Reginald Reed <reginald.reed at gmail.com> wrote:
>
> I really think this is all about competition.  No matter what the
> growth (and TWC does have a LOT of capacity in this area in general),
> the thing that will cause the fastest bump in speeds is another
> player, like FiOS.  In RR areas that also have FiOS, check out the
> speeds that are offered!  Take a look at the following example:
>
> http://tampabay.mybrighthouse.com/products_and_pricing/internet/compare_plans/default.aspx
>
>
> The *only* reason they offer 15Mb/sec downstream is because of the
> legacy GTE, now Verizon FiOS availability.
>
> Unfortunately I think Verizon is too stupid to push FiOS here.  I live
> in a brand new neighborhood on the edge of Morrisville/RTP.  We're one
> of the few areas in Wake county that doesn't have Bellsouth, we have
> Verizon.  Even though its a very nice, new neighborhood, nearly every
> home has at least one person working RTP (tech/pharma), they are
> sitting on GooGobs of fiber because of the proximity to RTP and we
> STILL didn't get FiOS!  Incredibly lame because I think they were
> pushing for a complete triple play (voice, internet and video).  They
> couldn't provide all 3 services and decided to go voice/DSL instead
> over copper.  I called to get new phone service and was quoted a price
> so high, I was in shock.  It was more than DOUBLE what I paid
> Bellsouth in NW Raleigh before we moved.  So guess what I did?  Triple
> play with TWC!  One bill, 3 services.  TWC dropped multiple fibers
> into the neighborhood, we have *lots* of capacity.
>
> Its all about competition.
>
> --OldSparcLuva
>
> On 1/23/07, Ben Pitzer <bpitzer at gmail.com> wrote:
> > Keep in mind that they have a small, probably underutilized network up
> > there, too.  RR is in a situation where its subscriber base has grown
> very
> > quickly, requiring a great deal of infrastructure changes to keep up.
> > Frankly, small outfits can easily outstrip larger ones, if only for the
> > reason that they probably also don't have the concentration of heavy
> users
> > that the Triangle does (work from home types, VPN requirements,
> bittorrent
> > downloaders, web and mail servers on home networks, multi-system home
> > networks, etc).  Thus, they have that kind of bandwidth to spread
> around.
> > It's easy to keep their routers distributed evenly, especially if they
> can
> > afford to purchase hardware faster than the subscriber base is growing.
> > Down here in the Triangle, it ain't that easy.  Trust me, I've seen it
> from
> > the inside.
> >
> > -Ben Pitzer
> >
> >
> > On 1/22/07, OlsonE at aosa.army.mil <OlsonE at aosa.army.mil> wrote:
> > >
> > > Man are we getting screwed. RoadRunner charges as much for their
> > > 8mb/.5mb as these guys do for their 10m/2m. From personal experience,
> > > I've never come close to 8mb/.5mb (I average about 50% of this).
> > >
> > > -----Original Message-----
> > > From: trilug-bounces at trilug.org [mailto:trilug-bounces at trilug.org] On
> > > Behalf Of Jay Cuthrell
> > > Sent: Saturday, January 20, 2007 7:17 PM
> > > To: Triangle Linux Users Group discussion list
> > > Subject: Re: [TriLUG] OT: Google datacenter in NC
> > >
> > >
> > > On Jan 20, 2007, at 1:35 PM, Neil L. Little wrote:
> > > [snip]
> > > > Though Lenoir is "un-geeky" it is nice country up there.
> > >
> > > Actually, you can get CoMPAS Cable modem service down the road in
> > > Morgantown.
> > >
> > > So, before the un-geeky pops up again, their SEVEN tier service goes
> up
> > > to a 10M/2M package [1].
> > >
> > >         http://www.compascable.net/html/compasinternet.html
> > >
> > > By comparison, RoadRunner here in uber-geeky RTP tops out at 8M/0.5M
> > > service. *yawn*
> > >
> > > -Jay
> > >
> > > [1] Disclosure: I work closely with a provider of their infrastructure
> > >
> > > --
> > > Jay Cuthrell            CTO
> > > NeoNova Network Services
> > >                 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jcuthrell
> > >                 Plaxo: https://www.plaxo.com/add_me?u=8590696957
> > >
> > > --
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