I agree. the BGP path is a blunt instrument. BGP is in need of real
metrics. I really want to fine tune but find it hard with current
abilities of BGP. I would also like to use the bits within the TCP/IP
header to help determine class of services which is there but no one uses
or seems to care about.
We could offer some really good services to the internet if we could get
this fine-grained control. But, when you get down to it, most companies
are having a hard time with this from a resource and the overhead cost on
routers. I think the big companies (cisco) are holding us back. We need
routing to take place more on a switch fabric, hardware/card based, vrs
software based routing. Routers like the Ascend (NetStar) are a step in the
right direction. This will help take care of the third issue.
Gary Zimmerman
V.P. of Network Engineering
Savvis Communications
"I don't wear the uniform to play, I wear it to win!" Larry Byrd