Unnamed Administration sources reported that Eric Germann said:
Specifically, I was discussing with one of my telco guys about the
sociological effects, namely, everyone watching the ball drop, then going
off hook to see if they have dial tone, or dialing in to the Internet to
see if it still works. Since most switches aren't designed for 100% off
hook load, anyone seen any studies as to whether the switches will crash
from that?
I strongly doubt it. A telco switch is designed to tolerate
extreme abuse without dying. What it WILL do is deny dial tone
to folks it can not handle, or delay it until it can. Further,
it will reject incoming calls as necessary to survive.
There is also a feature called "load control" I believe the
term is. The LEC can make the switch reject incoming calls,
yet complete outgoing ones -- useful in a disaster area where
everyone suddenly calls to see if Grandma in Oakland is OK;
limit both, and variations of same.
Also, some lines can have priority; i.e. everyday folks get
no/slow dialtone, but Hizonner & the Fire Chief are OK...
Trivia: the independent Federal Telecommunications System [FTS]
sprang up from the Cuban Missile Crisis, where it's said JFK
could not get dialtone at the height of the shitinthefan. It
was dedicated switches in diverse locales. Now it's all
software-defined additions to the ordinary switches. I'm not
reassured.
Unnamed Administration sources reported that Eric Germann said:
>
>
> Specifically, I was discussing with one of my telco guys about the
> sociological effects, namely, everyone watching the ball drop, then
going
> off hook to see if they have dial tone, or dialing in to the Internet to
> see if it still works. Since most switches aren't designed for 100% off
> hook load, anyone seen any studies as to whether the switches will crash
> from that?
I strongly doubt it. A telco switch is designed to tolerate
extreme abuse without dying. What it WILL do is deny dial tone
to folks it can not handle, or delay it until it can. Further,
it will reject incoming calls as necessary to survive.
Exactly. Everything will work as it should, and lots of people will get
dead phone lines because all of the dialtones will be used up. I read
somewhere that telcos plan on about 10% active usage. Anybody know for
sure?
What it all boils down to is that ISPs like mine will get flooded with tech
calls (assuming the customer gets a dialtone for the tech support call)
asking why *our* system is broken. We can explain it, of course, but that
won't stop them from being skeptical, to say the least. The best we can
hope for is the customers believing us as we pass the buck. What a mess.
Trivia: the independent Federal Telecommunications System [FTS]
sprang up from the Cuban Missile Crisis, where it's said JFK
could not get dialtone at the height of the shitinthefan. It
was dedicated switches in diverse locales. Now it's all
software-defined additions to the ordinary switches. I'm not
reassured.
Wasn't there a similar incident with Jon Bon Jovi a few years back?
- Steve
Exactly. Everything will work as it should, and lots of people will get
dead phone lines because all of the dialtones will be used up. I read
somewhere that telcos plan on about 10% active usage. Anybody know for
sure?
Well it is a little more complicated then that and involves cool Erlang
formulas.
What it all boils down to is that ISPs like mine will get flooded with tech
calls (assuming the customer gets a dialtone for the tech support call)
Everybody will get dialtone, your switch and have 0 trunks working out of
it and you still will get dialtone. If you are served out of DLC you can
get dialtone without any switch connectivity.
asking why *our* system is broken. We can explain it, of course, but that
won't stop them from being skeptical, to say the least. The best we can
hope for is the customers believing us as we pass the buck. What a mess.
If your system does not work Y2K it will be because you were not prepared,
not your phone company. I am not saying people wont have billing issues
because of Y2K, but your phone will work. I am not even saying you will
not lose power (for a short time) because of Y2K, but your phone will
work.
P.S. Off topic, but did anyone see the new platforms Bell South and Sprint
are mounting DLC systems on now after the flood? They are all made out of
pressure treated 6x6 and at lease 10ft off the ground.
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Nathan Stratton Tricetel Consulting
http://www.tricetel.net nathan@tricetel.net
http://www.robotics.net nathan@robotics.net