I think this is old news. There was a cover story back in 1996 time frame on Mae_east. We have to ask how likely is this with many of the top backbones doing private peering over local loops, how much damage would occur if an exchange point where hit? I have 2 different questions. 1) In the current environment, are peering circuits running fuller then in previous years. I ask after there has been questions on UUNET/L3 Capacity in europe etc. If the case is so, then an attack in one peering location/region might cause major problems as other peering sessions become overloaded. 2) Wouldnt an attach on particular servers that are NOT redundant have a more significant affect? Are microsoft's servers mirrored? Just posing a scenario. Thought this might be worth passing on: <http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/2514651.stm>http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/2514651.stm There is a recent book out called "Linked: The New Science of Networks" which details the potential for causing widespread Internet damage by targeting a few hubs instead of random or widespread attacks against large numbers of hosts. This simulation seems to backup the author's concerns. Irwin -- David Diaz dave@smoton.net [Email] pagedave@smoton.net [Pager] www.smoton.net [Peering Site under development] Smotons (Smart Photons) trump dumb photons