[175984] in North American Network Operators' Group
RE: I am about to inherit 26 miles of dark fiber. What do I do with
daemon@ATHENA.MIT.EDU (Darden, Patrick)
Mon Nov 10 23:54:36 2014
X-Original-To: nanog@nanog.org
From: "Darden, Patrick" <Patrick.Darden@p66.com>
To: Lorell Hathcock <lorell@hathcock.org>, "nanog@nanog.org " <nanog@nanog.org>
Date: Mon, 10 Nov 2014 08:08:43 -0600
In-Reply-To: <5878C0A5-A727-4C8F-A2C1-5B8DFC220C8A@hathcock.org>
Errors-To: nanog-bounces@nanog.org
Misc thoughts...
Legal
I don't know your background, but I recommend you get with the EFF and/or S=
ANS and get a good idea of possible legal ramifications, e.g. if you choose=
to be an internet provider vs. an internet services provider vs. a private=
network provider or a telecommunications service or some mixture. These =
choices can really change the legal (and business) landscape for you.
Security
If you have a CISSP or equivalent, then you probably know what you are doin=
g from a security standpoint. If not, then I recommend you proceed with ca=
ution--maybe take an intensive general course: physical security, protectin=
g your customers, providing extra security services (IPS, DDOS protection, =
etc.).
Maintenance
Throw some money in the pot for monthly emergencies. Road work. Backhoes.=
Fibre splicing. Bad pink boxen. Converters. FX modules. Extra switche=
s for fast swap-outs. A fast car and a fast technician who is fast with du=
ct tape and bubble gum.
Network Diagnostics
You'll be doing a lot of proving "it isn't me." Get a fast laptop with an=
outstanding NIC and make sure you are up to speed with Wireshark and prese=
ntations. If you aren't a wizard with Wireshark, then take the 4-12 hours =
it takes to become one: memorize the hot keys, figure out the advanced filt=
ering, etc. NMAP and SOCAT as well--you'll want to be able to show that yo=
ur voodoo works, and perhaps even point the finger towards the real problem=
s.
A Nice Suit
Don't underestimate the power of a nice suit. It reassures your customers.=
And that'll be 50% of your job. It's all about professionalism until the=
y get to know you.
Your Audience
If your audience is 90% gamers, you might consider putting together a gamer=
's NOC. Web page showing pings and lag for various games... traffic flows,=
bandwidth, switch utilization, the most popular servers, info. Maybe host=
some games on local servers. Put together a small VMWare Cloud just for t=
hat.
If your audience is 90% online retail, maybe put in a Secure Zone, a DMZ th=
ey can host behind, maybe some Palo Alto firewalls that do WAP (web app pro=
tection) and SQL Protection and etc. Or just use an active IPS.
Etc.
Good luck!
--p
-----Original Message-----
From: NANOG [mailto:nanog-bounces@nanog.org] On Behalf Of Lorell Hathcock
Sent: Sunday, November 09, 2014 8:18 PM
To: nanog@nanog.org=20
Subject: [EXTERNAL]I am about to inherit 26 miles of dark fiber. What do I =
do with it?
All:
A job opportunity just came my way to work with 26 miles of dark fiber in a=
nd around a city in Texas.=20
The intent is for me to deliver internet and private network services to bu=
siness customers in this area.=20
I relish the thought of starting from scratch to build a network right from=
the start instead of inheriting and fixing someone else's mess.=20
That being said, what suggestions does the group have for building a new ne=
twork using existing dark fiber?
MPLS backbone? Like all businesses these days, I will likely have to build=
the lit backbone as I add customers. So how would you recommend scaling th=
e network?
I have six strands of SMF that connect within municipal facilities. Each ne=
w customer will be a new build out from the nearest point. Because of havin=
g only six strands, I don't anticipate selling dark fiber. I believe I need=
to conserve fibers so that it would be lit services that I offer to custom=
ers.=20
I would like to offer speeds up to 10 GB.=20
Thoughts are appreciated!
Sincerely,
Lorell Hathcock
