I don't disagree with anything you have said. I don't think "too many hops" is an interesting criticism of an NSPs network. All I was saying is that it is possible, using switches, to reduce your hop count. I am not arguing the merits of doing so. Today, regardless of how fast switches can push cells, if your network is IP based you need to traverse routers. When the routers get overloaded you must either install more routers or faster routers.
an average number of hops is no big deal...too many hops, and the ttls get too high, so there are certainly instances where some level of meshing is necessary (but meshing doesn't imply switching with ATM or Frame..) Dave -- Dave Siegel Sr. Network Engineer, RTD Systems & Networking (520)623-9663 x130 Network Consultant -- Regional/National NSPs dsiegel@rtd.com User Tracking & Acctg -- "Written by an ISP, http://www.rtd.com/~dsiegel/ for an ISP."