Can you point me to some current network sizing advice for Internet service (WAN and LAN)? I am looking for rules-of-thumb, guidelines, equations, books, or even anecdotal evidence that would help me in evaluating future network design concepts. I have somewhat unconventional network constraints, but I would like to start from current conventional assumptions on, say, numbers of users (home or office) that can be supported by various bandwidths.
I've tried the related links off the NANOG pages, but some are old or broken. I have found some advice like "a T1 will support 200 to 300 28K modem users," but I hope there may be more current advice somewhere especially with regard to QoS, future trends, and to larger networks. Any relevant pointers or advice would be welcome.
R/
Dan Glover
Can you point me to some current network sizing advice for Internet service
(WAN and LAN)? I am looking for rules-of-thumb, guidelines, equations,
<snip>
I've tried the related links off the NANOG pages, but some are old or
broken. I have found some advice like "a T1 will support 200 to 300 28K
There's are two very simple rules:
- if you install it, they will use it
- you can never have too much bandwidth
More seriously, it really depends on what you're doing - an office full of
graphic artists needs a lot more bandwidth than an office full of
data entry clerks.
Miles Fidelman wrote:
More seriously, it really depends on what you're doing - an office full of
graphic artists needs a lot more bandwidth than an office full of
data entry clerks.
assuming, of course, that the data entry clerks haven't found a
collection of good napster buddies ... 
It doesn't matter Napster is about to be dead and all those people will go
back to using IRC to trade music.
Curtis
Curtis Maurand wrote:
It doesn't matter Napster is about to be dead and all those people will go
back to using IRC to trade music.
Curtis
I originally wrote:
> assuming, of course, that the data entry clerks haven't found a
> collection of good napster buddies ...
s/napster/<INSERT P2P FILE SHARING CLIENT HERE>/
Freenet, Gnutella, Aimster ... napster is merely the poster child for a
new generation of file sharing clients and protocols. Pandora has
already opened the box, regardless of Napster's ultimate fate.
I'm not sure which is more surreal, the 11th-hour proposal by
Napster to filter based on filename "because nobody would ever misspell
Metallica", or the interesting twist in Aimster's usage policy, which
would require the record industry to intentionally violate the same
laws they wanted passed in order to get evidence to use as the basis
of a lawsuit....
"There is a theory which states that if ever anyone discovers what
the Universe is for and why it is here, it will instantly dissapear
and be replaced by something even more bizzare and inexplicable.
There is another that says this has already happened". -- Douglas Adams
"May you live in interesting times" -- ancient Chinese curse
Hang on everybody, we're in for a ride....
Valdis Kletnieks
Operating Systems Analyst
Virginia Tech
Good point. When I wrote that, I hadn't had my coffee, yet. 
There is
the Hydra effect after all.
cuirtis