[9276] in Commercialization & Privatization of the Internet
Re: Cost vs benefit of internet services
daemon@ATHENA.MIT.EDU (Steven L. Johnson)
Mon Dec 27 19:34:57 1993
Date: Mon, 27 Dec 1993 19:34:15 -0500
From: "Steven L. Johnson" <johnson@jvnc.net>
To: bcox@gmu.edu
Cc: com-priv@psi.com
In mail.com-priv Brad Cox writes:
>Thanks; that's a *big* help. I'd imagined that registering IP addresses
>with the DNS might be involved too, but I guess the dedicated dialin modem
>works around that.
Having a dedicated modem with a single IP address simplifies
configuration. It still should be registered in the DNS as
some services will complain if accessed via and unregistered IP address.
There are also other DNS entries, but these are largely one
time (per customer) and can be automated.
>No, that doesn't make sense either. Why isn't a modem pool as satisfactory
>for SLIP/PPP as conventional dialup?
It is. But it needs a little more software (in the terminal server
or box that is serving as the IP gateway) to back it up. If all
users can/will/must take whatever IP address that is assigned to
the specific line that they happen to call in on then this simplifies
the configuration, at the expense of shifting some of the load
onto support (i.e. configuring user's software to support dynamic
address assignment). Some users will wish a fixed IP address for
a perceived or real need, which must be dynamically assigned to the
line on which they are currently calling. Add to this IP routing,
if this is a 'gateway' or 'lan' type of connection.
>I'm still puzzled. There's more than an order of magnitude difference in
>price. But you described only a 2-fold difference in hardware costs and a
>(huge; 2x? 5x?) difference in support costs. They don't add up to 10x,
>unless you claiming support alone is 10x.
The support costs can be substantial (I know that doesn't help).
The usage patterns for SLIP/PPP are typically much higher, leading
to more capital equipment and line costs to the provider per
customer. Also the provider's internal training and operations
for dialup IP services is typically spread across a smaller
customer base.
Or, this could all be rationalization of what the market will
currently bear.
-Steve
