subscribe

I'm very happy with my primary Internet Service Provider (ISP), "Sirius Connections". Not because they never have problems, but because they're brutally honest with the customers after the fact. (Sirius has very little down-time; it's just that they rarely post when things are going well. Reading the following musings shouldn't result in your concluding that Sirius barely serves its customers.) Don Hurter, one of the founders, issues wonderful reports about the trials and tribulations of being an ISP.

They're instructive, funny, and humbling, all at the same time. They're long, but worth your time. If you ever wondered what it's like - really like - working on the bleeding edge of networking technology, read Don's words.

28.8k modem update, Friday evening

Don provides a snapshot of the migration to 28.8 kbps modems. Frustration with getting early hardware. Warped circuit boards. Sportsters, Supras, Multitechs. ISDN will be more of the same.

Dealing with Pacific Bell

Don explains the situation with Pac Bell, the carrier of Sirius' main data circuits. A catalog of screw-ups, incompetence, simple mistakes, and general cluelessness. Be afraid, be very afraid.

Growing an Internet Service Provider

Don gives us an insider's eye view of the hard work involved in maintaining and growing an ISP. I got tired just reading the article

Loose ROMs, busy signals, no sleep, and recursive troubleshooting

Don's two weeks of trouble with a USR 16-port modem, 3 Portmasters cards, 9 Motorola and 48 Mutiltech modem cards, and one PacBell mishap...

Modem busy signals mystery solved (hopefully)

Don finds out Pac Bell's South of Market CO Northern Telecom DMS100 switch is drain-bamaged and will break down when needed most, namely when all the modems are in use!

Modem madness update

Don gives an accounting of the trials and tribulations arising from a "simple" upgrading of the modem pool.

The Cable Company Installation Blues

Don's best. An in-depth examination of the tomfoolery and short-sighted craftmanship used by some cable installers, related during a walk after a Brookline (MA) snowstorm.