10/20/2000 BGN News Monthly- October Edition 1. Broadband Technologies: Cable modems versus DSL 2. Knowledge Base: How the Internet works- Backbone connections 3. Disappearing BluegrassNet homepage through MyWay.Com Broadband Technologies: Cable modems versus DSL Two competing technologies are emerging to become the next standard in Internet access; cable modems and digital subscriber lines (DSL). Both technologies are many times faster than a dialup modem and stay connected 24 hours per day, but which is the better means of access? Cable and DSL technologies both offer fast connections with the freedom of being online without tying up the phone line, but the similarities end there. The differences stem from a combination of the access technology itself and the company actually providing the connection to the Internet. DSL connections are point-to-point from the user to the ISP while cable connections rely on a network shared by all users. Concerns stemming from the network topologies are security and most importantly, connection speed. Moreover, the quality or availability for support, customer service, and the Internet connection itself is a function of the ISP who serves the client at the end of either a DSL or Cable connection. Consumers can sometimes choose between ISPs offering DSL while cable service comes from the local cable company; a turn-off in itself to many. A single connection at the head end of the cable network can service thousands of customers so each modem competes with others for available bandwidth on the network; as more people use the service, connection speeds decrease. Alternately, DSL's point-to-point connection with the ISP provides every user a direct connection to the router. Moreover, since choices are available for DSL service providers, subscribers can choose an ISP that offers a quality service, adequate support, and a low bandwidth over-subscription ratio (faster connections). The security concern arises from the fact that the same physical wire connects cable modem users. With a little skill and effort, anyone could intercept private emails, view which websites others are visiting, or actually access files stored on other's computers. In some instances, cable modem users have clicked on the Window's network neighborhood icon only to discover computers listed were actually their neighbors! The pitfalls of DSL are frequently cost and availability. The service is often not available in more rural areas because the technology is distance sensitive. DSL will only operate over phone lines that stretch about 3 miles or less from the telephone company's central office, otherwise know as the serving wire center. The cost of DSL is often a few dollars more than cable access due to the phone company's charge for the point-to-point connection and the superior service offered by ISPs in comparison to most cable companies. As the telephone companies continue to deploy DSL and DSL equipment is improved, more and more subscribers will be able to gain access to the technology. BluegrassNet works closely with several telephone companies and offers DSL in many of the locales across our service footprint. Currently, subscribers in the following areas may qualify for BlueSpeed DSL: Louisville, Lexington, Frankfort, Radcliff, Elizabethtown, Vine Grove, Brandenburg, Versailles, Nicholasville, Ashland, and Somerset. For more information, or to attempt to qualify your location, call 1-888-922-8743 and ask for the Broadband department. Knowledge Base: How the Internet works- Backbone connections So you know you've got Internet "access" but you don't know exactly to what or how it works. In simple terms, the Internet is a collection of networks that are all interconnected, thus the "inter" in Internet. At the highest level, there are a number of service providers referred to as tier 1 networks or backbone Internet service providers. These backbone providers are the companies that manage long-haul networks crossing the United States and the world, typically using fiber optic cable. Connected to these networks are many other sub-networks, such as ISPs who host websites on server computers and also have commercial and residential subscribers connected to them. Among the 50 or more tier 1 providers are companies such as Sprint, Cable & Wireless, UUNet, and AGIS, which by the way, are the networks that BluegrassNet connects to. Also connected to these networks are a number of other ISPs hosting websites and connecting customers of their own. As BluegrassNet customers view websites or send data to remote offices, their data traffic leaves our network and crosses onto a tier 1 network. At that point, there may be many more similar network crossings or "hops" before the data traffic reaches its final destination at another ISP's network to request that a web server send back a website or for the traffic to reach its destination at a company's network. As a commercial customer, wouldn't it be better to connect directly to a tier 1 network like Sprint instead of BluegrassNet's tier 2 network? The answer is no. As all connections on the Internet are spread out over many tier 1 networks, a connection to a network with multiple backbone connections like BluegrassNet actually puts the user closer to more of the content and/or destinations on the Internet. This is because traffic moving through our network takes the best possible path at any time over our 4 "upstream" connections and private peering arrangements. Moreover, tier 1 networks are incredibly complex and subject to outages. During an outage, customers using an ISP with a single tier 1 provider, or the tier 1 provider's customers themselves, are left stranded without any Internet connectivity at all; not a good choice for mission critical applications. The BGN multi-homed network provides a high level of redundancy and customers will still have connectivity to the Internet even in the event of multiple tier 1 failures. Disappearing BluegrassNet homepage through MyWay.Com Earlier this year, BluegrassNet introduced subscribers to an Internet portal site full of news, weather, stock quotes, and more. The website was implemented through a partnership with MyWay.Com who maintained the content of the site. Although MyWay.Com is a subsidiary of CMGI, the same company that owns AltaVista.Com and Ubid.Com among others, it is nonetheless shutting down operations. The site currently provided as the BGN user portal at http://home.bluegrass.net will cease to exist after October 31st. Other ISPs currently providing the site to subscribers include BellSouth.Net and many others who face this same situation as BluegrassNet. We sincerely apologize for the any inconvenience this may cause. Subscribers who have set this site as the default page in their web browser and need help changing the default setting may call our tech support department at (888) 922-8743. Next month: Internet Acronyms- If you don't know your SOHO, from the ATM, the DWDM, or the NIC!   BluegrassNet has been providing quality DSL, Web Hosting, Server Colocation, and Dial Up Internet Access since 1995. Louisville Office: 321 E. Breckinridge Street, Louisville, Kentucky 40203 (502) 589-4638 Lexington Office: 535 W. 2nd Street, Lexington, Kentucky 40508 Elizabethtown/Radcliff/Fort Knox: 347 W. Lincoln Trail, Radcliff, Kentucky 40106