301 witches.town/@iliana
the somewhat bizarre thing about being your own ISP is that everything actually works?
Apr 7, 2017 at 5:23pmWeb
Show thread301 witches.town/@ilianaApr 7, 2017

okay I got a lot of questions:

I run a hobbyist network (half rack colo / 1 Gbps) in the westin building exchange in seattle (this basically requires free time and money)

the network is technically a tier 3 ISP; we have one transit provider (for now) but peer directly with a lot of networks via the seattle internet exchange

we moved to a house that has line of sight to WBX and have a wireless link

this doesn't make economic sense; I do it because it's a fun and interesting hobby

Show thread🌭Apr 7, 2017
@ilianaw 0 questions in that ;)
Show threadAlex :peace:Apr 7, 2017
@ilianaw this is extremely cool
Show thread~MOVED~ ShadowfactsApr 7, 2017
@ilianaw None of those are questions, but it sounds awesome
Show thread301 witches.town/@ilianaApr 7, 2017

@shadowfacts "I received a few questions"

is that better

Show thread~MOVED~ ShadowfactsApr 7, 2017
@ilianaw Ah, that makes much more sense. Anyway, it sounds really neat
Show threadlcmApr 7, 2017
@ilianaw what I don't get is how line of sight is line of sight. Do you rent space on top of the building to shove an aerial?
Show thread301 witches.town/@ilianaApr 7, 2017

@lcm we have an antenna pointed awkwardly out a window on another floor, and we pay for that colocation space as well

I am honestly surprised any of it works at all

Show threadlcmApr 7, 2017
@ilianaw oh christ, literally out of the window? I was going to ask if that was the case as a joke. Doesn't that wreck havoc with cooling etc?
Show thread301 witches.town/@ilianaApr 7, 2017

@lcm probably. the suite our rack is in has all the windows covered for that reason.

the window faces northwest, so never any direct sunlight through there I suppose?

Show thread(moved) boots‮🌸🌿‭Apr 7, 2017
@ilianaw you can *do that*?
Show threadEdouard ◢◤ EdiApr 7, 2017
@ilianaw make a how to :D
Show threadDuncanApr 7, 2017
@ilianaw you are your own ISP? is it a wisp?
Show thread301 witches.town/@ilianaApr 7, 2017
@Duncan yes, but only technically, because I am the only wireless customer
Show threadDuncanApr 7, 2017
@ilianaw i am confused
Show thread301 witches.town/@ilianaApr 7, 2017
@Duncan https://mastodon.social/@ilianaw/1909992
Show thread301 witches.town/@ilianaApr 7, 2017

@Duncan oh, sorry, it took me 40 minutes to get that notification, you might have already read that

federation is fun

Show threadDuncanApr 7, 2017
@ilianaw major lag. I was curious because I live in a rural place and my connectivity options suck.
Show thread301 witches.town/@ilianaApr 7, 2017

@Duncan your options for that are usually running a series of wireless repeaters to a place with a decent upstream, or trenching your own fiber

neither is usually economically sensible (especially the latter) unless you can basically get the entire neighborhood / area to join in

Show thread301 witches.town/@ilianaApr 7, 2017
@Duncan getting a transit provider and doing BGP is the easy part. it's *getting* there that's the problem.
Show threadDuncanApr 14, 2017
@ilianaw thank you
Show threadFrank RamblingsApr 7, 2017
@ilianaw what's that like?
Show thread🌭Apr 7, 2017
@ilianaw isn't there always someone upstream from you, though?
Show thread301 witches.town/@ilianaApr 7, 2017

.@therealklanni sure, unless you're tier 1 (and even then it's handwavy). but the key differences from a commercial ISP:

especially in a place like seattle, you can directly connect to networks that carry a lot of bandwidth (CDNs, streaming services, etc.) -- and basically talk to them for free (the one-time cost of your SIX port, in this case)

when you contract with a transit provider, you're often getting *guaranteed* speeds, not just an arbitrary limit

Show threadINACTIVEApr 7, 2017
@ilianaw How does one become their own ISP?
Show thread301 witches.town/@ilianaApr 7, 2017
@deadsuperhero boredom, time, money, living in a city with a large internet exchange point, having line of sight to the building where it lives