rick@uunet.UU.NET (Rick Adams) (08/27/87)
This is a short progress report on the UUNET experiment sponsored by the Usenix Association. As of today, we have 92 sites using the system. Of those 92, 65 are getting some amount of news. (It is always interesting to see what news groups people are willing to pay for). We are averaging about 65-70 connect hours per day and have had as many as 17 simultaneous connections. The system seems to be able to handle the load with no problem. A majority of the connections that were using seismo have moved to the uunet machine. This includes all of the foreign connections via x.25. (When seismo retires next week, the only way to get to most of those sites will be through uunet.) 800 service is due to be installed on Sept 1, which will allow a reasonable rate to be charged ($15 per connect hour) during the day instead of the absurd $20 currently being charged if Tymnet is used. We have been testing some of the newest Telebit Trailblazer modems with the uucp g protocol 'spoofing'. They have worked well and will be available on the 800 numbers as well as via a normal dialup connection. We have been getting an honest 10,000 bps throughput with these modems. Since this is about 5 times better than a 2400 bps modem, if you use a trailblazer on the new 800 service, you would be spending effectively $3 per hour to transfer the same data that you would spend $15 per hour with a 2400 bps modem. This is extremely cost effective for daytime mail. Telebit is offering a great deal for existing usenet sites. A 50% discount on one modem (This brings the price to under $700!). Watch for an official announcement from Telebit soon. The final status of uunet will be decided at the October board of directors meeting. Things look fairly good at this point, but only if new signups continue at the current rate. ---rick