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In NZ, Sharing Ethernet With A Whole CIty

Posted by timothy on from the vpn-clients dept.

ryuko writes: "Normally LANs are used by a single organization at best, but Wellington's 13-square-mile LAN comprises many of the city's businesses. The city council garnered a UNESCO Digital Access Award in recognition of its achievement in installing the 1,000 Mbps network. The full article is here on ZDNet. Drool ... gigabit internet ..."

5 of 282 comments (clear)

  1. Re:WAN, not LAN, and other inconsistencies.... by ergo98 · · Score: 3, Interesting

    Isn't the term for the type of network they're creating a "MAN", or Metropolitan Area Network? There was a big push for these several years ago. Indeed, and I'm not diminishing the accomplishment involved in getting this done in NZ, I know of several towns in Southern Ontario that outfitted their entire town with fiber optics for control systems (because of attenuation problems/distance they couldn't use copper), and they offered businesses internet access at least 3 years ago: I think this is a pretty common thing for `hydro' (which is what we call combo electricity/water companies here) to do. Now they don't sign everyone up for free, nor do I think they should: Why should the city foot a giant bill because a guy is hosting a mega porn server when the next business is using it to check hotmail once a day?

  2. Article inaccuracy? by Luminous+Coward · · Score: 5, Interesting
    As another cost-cutting measure, Citylink uses a generic computer running Debian Linux and SMTP management software [...]
    Hmmm... Shouldn't that be SNMP as in Simple Network Management Protocol?

    Straight from RFC 2962:

    There are currently three versions of SNMP. SNMP version 1 (SNMPv1) protocol is defined in STD 15, RFC 1157. The SNMP version 2c (SNMPv2c) protocol is defined in RFC 1901, RFC 1905 and RFC 1906. Finally, the SNMP version 3 (SNMPv3) protocol is defined in RFC 1905, 1906, RFC 2572 and RFC 2574. See RFC 2570 for a more detailed overview over the SNMP standards.

  3. Re:Correction by ka9dgx · · Score: 3, Interesting
    A T1 is the way to go, but it isn't a technical reason, but a practical business reason. We've lost 3 DSL links in the past 6 months, due to vendors going away. We're getting a fractional T1 as a backup for our DSL, for 3 times the cost, only because we don't want to be off the internet if it happens again. I'd much rather have two DSL lines, I especially miss Teligent, with their nice fast, reliable fixed wireless that completely bypassed Ameritech.

    Now its back to the old days, SBC/Ameritech is the monopoly again, and things are going down hill, all over again, due to corporate greed, and monopolization.

    --Mike--

  4. Why Our Tellecomunications Company sux by KingM · · Score: 5, Interesting

    Reading articles like this just make me so damn depressed. In South Africa, we have a major problem with our Telecommunications company. They're a monopoly who controls absolutely every single aspect of communications in this country. We are being held back by huge laws which prohibit the use of any other internet connection system or device if it is not using Telkom's infrastructure. The worst thing is that the best connection we can get to the internet in this country is ISDN if you can't fork out the megabucks for a Leased Line solution. What absolutely grates me more is the mere fact that they close down companies who attempt to run alternative connection systems. Wireless providers start up but get shut down very quickly thanks to the Telkom legislation. Connecting to your neighbour is also illegal if you take a cat5 cable and run it over the wall! By the mere definitions in the legislative clauses Telkom enjoys the right to force you to rent their equipment only. And when you have 3.5 million people connecting to the internet over a duplexed 45meg pipe to the international spectrum, it must measure up to the worst infrastructures for Internet enabled countries in the world. And we're supposed to be the gateway to Africa?

    I hope that someday things will change and we can also have a 1000 mbps LAN connecting our cities.

  5. Addressing Scheme by acoustix · · Score: 3, Interesting

    Since they consider themselves a LAN, I was wondering what addressing scheme they're using.

    Are they using "real" IP addresses? If so, what class?

    Or are they using public address (10.0.0.0) with a NAT box to access the internet?

    Just wondering.

    --
    "A plan fiendishly clever in its intricacies"- Homer Simpson