OK, you can color me a NAP apologist. As a NAP operator I don't have the
resources at my disposal to conduct the suggested tests. (A couple of DEC
Alpha or other capable workstations attached to the NAP media would be a
nice asset.) However, as a L2 network operator I would be VERY interested
in learning of my customers' perception of the service provided.
Steve
What would it take to set up a couple of Alphas, routers and zero-mile
T1's in a portable testing kit to go around from NAP to NAP and run tests?
I'm thinking of something like the mobile air-quality testing labs that
park in one location for a month, run tests, and then move on. Such
machines could run a full suite of tests including FTP'ing large files,
downloading complex web pages (i.e. multiple images) as well as the lower
level things like ping tests.
This kind of test would provide useful numbers that customers can
understand as well as point out problem areas that a NAP operator might
need to investigate. And with co-operative NAP peers, the same test kit
could be used with T1's out to various locations that feed into the NAP so
as to run the same tests across the peer's routers and lines.
Would this kind of testing reveal any useful information that could not be
gotten from examining router stats?
Michael Dillon - ISP & Internet Consulting
Memra Software Inc. - Fax: +1-604-546-3049
http://www.memra.com - E-mail: michael@memra.com