outages, quality monitoring, trouble tickets, etc

Do you really want outage and downtime on public record, or do you
want easier access to clueful folx?

A clueful expert system running on a data base collecting information
from all over the place, and answering questions automatically, would
be a good start. Like an automatic responder at something like this FCC
NRC someone mentioned earlier. No need to send me random outage email,
until I perceive a problem. I get enough email even without that. I
care about fixing problems. The problem is that there is no working
procedure if a problem is being perceived, that results in information
to a user in near real-time. The underlying issue is no overall
Internet management, or at least coordination, at this time.

In a computer network we *do* have the technology to do such things,
you know. It requires willingness to do it more than it needs
technology at this point of time.

I think the response being generated (if nowhere else) on this list shows
that there IS a willingness to implement such a system. The "best"
design for a global trouble database is unclear at best; a lot of issues
re: data collection, information distribution, etc. will have to be resolved.

I, for one, am willing to devote whatever time and computing resources
are required of me to support a project like this, and I think most other
providers share my position. Being better informed is an advantage to
everyone.

// Matt Zimmerman Chief of System Management NetRail, Inc.
// Work..........mdz@netrail.net | Play...gemini@alcor.netrail.net
// (703) 524-4800 [voice] (703) 524-4802 [data] (703) 534-5033 [fax]