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Technology Stocks : Silkroad -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Frank A. Coluccio who wrote (69)	11/15/1998 8:46:00 PM
From: aladin	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 626

Frank, Just like vBNS, which is research only, Internet2's Abilene project has a policy for usage which will keep it non-commercial. The terms and conditions for usage require a GigaPop or University client to maintain separate commercial connections. The sentiment to keep it that way is very strong. The plus side is that Qwest and other entities are in the process of using the same technologies to role out improved commercial services. On the Network research front I2's Abilene will be a great testbed for QoS, multicast and other emerging standards. John

To: Frank A. Coluccio who wrote (69)	11/15/1998 9:17:00 PM
From: Frank A. Coluccio	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 626

Before I drift too far off of SilkRoad, there were a few observations and questions I wanted to present for all to consider. For one, the plight that SR faces may well be one of merchandising, in the classical sense. Shelf space, package sizing, etc. Anyone who has ever stocked shelves as a kid [forsooth, or now, in fact] will know what I'm referring to. If the rail spacing on their idea of a track is not conducive to established norms, in other words, they may have problems gaining access to carriers' networks from a physical constraints perspective. They claim that their aggregate flows are on the order of hundreds of gigabits per second. Where are the on- and off- ramps to this aggregate? Sure if it's a pure and simple high definition video signal array, maybe I can see a customized front end for this. But what of LECs and the traditional Interstate Carriers' needs, where some very strict container sizing [optical carrier framing] is of the utmost importance, indeed crucial for passage? Carriers typically package their transport loads in the optical carrier or OC-x format. Does the SR engine make accommodations for these on I/O panels? If so, how are those signals groomed for ingress and egress? This would ordinarily be the work of a digital or optical cross connect if where nodal intersections in a larger network setting were involved. Also, and this is a biggie: What means of transmission testing exists today to test and measure performance of their approach? None that I know of can directly accommodate multigigabit flows for error performance and other transmission parameter testing and benchmarking. No carrier of any import would ever consider acquiring these devices until those issues are settled, probably meaning that standards would need to be created and implemented. Didn't mean to shower on anyone's parade, but these are just a few nuggets that have been klinking around upstairs since I first became aware of SRI.