This document discusses a search for an Internet Service Providers (ISP)
to provide dial-up ISDN service to SLAC users who live outside of the local
SLAC calling area.
The short answer is: WinterLAN.
The main starting point for this search was:
http://thelist.iworld.com/areacode/areacode.html
taking all entries that cover 408, 415 and 510 and that list some form
of ISDN.
A few additional listings came from other sources including:
ftp://ftp.aplatform.com/pub/bayisp
The providers were initially evaluated by viewing their web sites in mid-September 1996.
We required ISDN Points of Presence (POPs) for 408, 415 and 510.
We required that these POPs be local for the following three users:
PERL 510 652 Oakland
RICHARD 415 342 Burlingame
WENDLING 415 821 San Francisco
Seven providers appeared to satisfy our intial criteria.
Six of those providers were then sent an e-mail requesting the IP addresses of their gateways (we already had this information for the seventh provider, Internex). With this information we could conduct ping tests from SLAC all the way to the providers' POPs. By pinging these POPs rather than just the providers' web sites, we managed to include the providers' internal networks in our tests.
Some of the providers responded quickly to this request, others responded slowly or not at all. Response to the e-mail was itself a useful test of the providers' technical service.
For those that provided the requested information, plus Internex, we then monitored the ping response for several weeks using a system maintained by Les Cottrell.
The overall winner, in terms of quick response to the initial e-mail (responded accurately and fully in only 15 minutes), technical competence (all of their technical staff gave consistent accurate responses to our questions concerning router configuration) and excellent ping time (with minimal packet loss) was WinterLAN.
WinterLAN provided us two test accounts free of charge. PERL and WENDLING successfully ran with these test accounts.
It is strongly recommended that SLAC use WinterLAN as its internet service provider for those that wish to connect to SLAC over ISDN from outside the local SLAC calling area.
Aimnet Corporation
home page: www.aimnet.com
ISDN dialup: available for all of us
devices: 3Com Impact, Ascend Pipeline, ISDN*Tek
ip options: dynamic, static, group
SF: 204.247.144.10
San Mateo: 204.247.152.10
fast, professional looking, well organized home page
Response to Request for Gateway Information: none after a full month.
Direct Network Access
home page: www.dnai.com
ISDN dialup: available for all of us
devices: Farallon Netopia, ISC Securelink, USRobotics Sportster,
Motorola BitSURFR, 3COM Impact
South SF: 140.174.162.19
Berkeley:
fast, professional looking, well organized home page
Response to Request for Gateway Information: next day around noon.
A later request for the Berkeley POP's router address got the response
"I don't think you really need this, we don't give it out just on request.
If you want to simplify things and just sign up and try out our service
for 15 days risk-free, then I would suggest that. Then you can evaluate
the quality of our service firsthand."
Failure to understand why ping statistics are a good first test makes this
person sound ill informed.
Ping response and packet loss to this provider have been unimpressive.
Internex
home page: www.internex.net
ISDN dialup: available for all of us
devices: Combinet, Ascend
SF: 205.158.3.52
San Mateo: 205.158.3.36
ip options: static
Response to Request for Gateway Information: already had this for them.
we have already used this provider and have experienced
poor bandwidth and poor support
slow service of home page.
Ping response and packet loss to this provider have been unimpressive.
Netcom
home page: www.netcom.com
ISDN dialup: available for all of us
devices: Motorola BitSURFR, 3Com Impact, USRobotics Sportster
SF:
San Mateo:
ip options:
slow service of home page
Response to Request for Gateway Information: none after a full month.
Surf Communications
home page: www.expressway.com
ISDN dialup: available for all of us
devices: Motorola BitSURFR, USRobotics Sportster
South SF: 206.14.139.6
Berkeley:
ip options: dynamic, static
Response to Request for Gateway Information: five days later.
Required me to phone to discuss before getting gateway information.
Did not initially understand how pinging the router was what I needed.
Did not initially know all gateways.
Somewhat argumentative. Did not sound well informed.
Promised to e-mail me the Berkeley IP address.
They had not done so after a full month.
UUNET Technologies
home page: www.uu.net
ISDN dialup: available for all of us
devices: 3Com Impact, USRobotics Sportster, Ascend Pipeline
SF:
San Mateo:
ip options:
fast, professional looking, well organized home page
Response to Request for Gateway Information: no human after five days.
Had a robotic response within four hours, which promixed that a sales
representative would respond personally within 24 hours.
They had not done so after a full month.
WinterLAN
home page: www.winterlan.net
contact : chrisf@winterlan.com
ISDN dialup: available for all of us
devices: Ascend Pipeline
SF: 204.188.55.45
San Bruno: 204.188.55.46
ip options: dynamic, static
Response to Request for Gateway Information: within 15 minutes.
Initial response included offer of free test accounts on both routers.
Quickly responded to further questions about ip options and supported devices.
Ping response and packet loss to this provider have been excellent.
As is discussed above, we have settled on WinterLAN as the best ISP for SLAC
users.
The following provider is in a category all its own.
It is not available now, but might be expected to be useful when it
does appear, "soon."
Pacific Bell Internet home page: www.pacbell.net ISDN dialup: not yet available. will be available to all of us "soon" devices: an unspecified terminal adaptor Pac Bell seems to be very careful not to quantify exactly when this service will be available. But they claim it will be an integrated solution designed correctly from the ground up.
Ablecom home page: www.ablecom.net ISDN dialup: no details on POPs emf.net home page: www.emf.net ISDN dialup: no details on POPs very slow serving of home page Exodus Communications home page: www.exodus.net ISDN dialup: no details on POPs GeoNet home page: www.geo.net ISDN dialup: no details on POPs HLC-Internet home page: www.hlc.net ISDN dialup: no details on POPs very slow serving of home page QuakeNet home page: www.quake.net ISDN dialup: no details on POPs TransBay.Net home page: TransBay.Net ISDN dialup: no details on POPs looks like a very small operation, mostly a computer store Value Net home page: www.value.net ISDN dialup: no details on POPs
A-Link home page: www.alink.net ISDN dialup: unavailable for PERL CCnet home page: www.ccnet.com ISDN dialup: unavailable for RICHARD CERFnet home page: www.cerf.net ISDN dialup: unavailable for RICHARD and WENDLING Earthlink Network home page: www.earthlink.net ISDN dialup: unavailable for any of us Hooked.net home page: www.hooked.net ISDN dialup: unstable. not really supported yet Hypersurf Internet Services home page: www.hypersurf.com ISDN dialup: unavailable for any of us Internet Avenue home page: www.ave.net ISDN dialup: unavailable for any of us looks like a one person company LanMinds home page: www.lanminds.com ISDN dialup: unavailable for any of us Liberty home page: www.liberty.com ISDN dialup: unavailable for any of us looks like a one person company MediaCity home page: www.MediaCity.com ISDN dialup: unavailable for any of us doesn't actually appear to be an ISP NetTech Group home page: www.tngi.com ISDN dialup: unavailable for any of us Network Architects home page: www.archnet.com ISDN dialup: unavailable for any of us Pipeline home page: www.pipeline.com ISDN dialup: unavailable for RICHARD PSINet home page: www.psi.net ISDN dialup: unavailable for any of us broken home page SLIP.Net home page: www.slip.net ISDN dialup: unavailable for RICHARD West Coast Online home page: www.wco.com ISDN dialup: unavailable for any of us Zoom.Com home page: www.zoom.com ISDN dialup: unavailable for 408, only two ISDN POPs in all