[thelist] Re: DSL vs. Cable

[Maxwell Kanat-Alexander]

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At 06:01 AM 10/24/02, you wrote:
>Interesting. I've noticed slowdowns around peak usage times, and lightning
>speeds in the middle of the night, which would make sense if they were
>pooling.

         There's actually another case in which it would make sense: router
overload (or general central equipment overload). Many network systems are
designed to run well with the "average" number of users, and then degrade
sharply above that. For example, just one "bad" router in the way will
definitely make your connection seem quite slow. And then, of course, this
would magically disappear in the middle of the night, because the router
would be receiving fewer requests. :-D

         Also, (even more likely) it could be your _ISP's_ pipe. It's
strange to think about, but you _can_ overload an OC-3 or OC-48. Especially
if you give, say, several thousand users a promise of 1.5Mbps.

         -Max
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