On Mon, 16 Jun 2003, William R. Lorenz wrote:
Can someone with a bit of experience in telco line engineering speak to IntraLATA vs. InterLATA DS-1 circuit reliability? More specifically, is it more likely for multiple DS-1 circuits to be aggregated using a single piece of multiplexing equipment when heading into another LATA, thus increasing the chance of combined failure of two diverse circuits at a single point? I would love to have two diverse T1 circuits coming into the offices, but it looks like they'll ultimately traverse the same telco switches, both at the local and regional interconnection levels (? more info ?), and it seems as though this presents increased risk. We have entrance failities for just one LEC in our office building here, and I understand that a new telco buildout would require lots of investment.
I've actually talked with LEC engineers about the various switching stations in the area, and it seems as though everything is aggregated through a single central office before hitting the other LATAs. Have others encountered this same kind of topology in the past? What are some of the things that can be done to help ensure circuit diversity?
Maybe I'm just really lucky, but I've never had an entire central office go down on me. (restrain yourselves, I'm aware of the softball I just lobbed) You don't mention what entrance facilities are in your building; I'm assuming it's a part of your LEC's SONET ring. You can ask how that circuit is built (diverse physical paths back to the CO?), but at the T1 level, I doubt you'll even get somebody to answer your questions...and if they do, chances are they're telling you what you want to hear. Few people really know how the fiber is run, and you don't have their phone number. Bottom line is that you're going to have to rely 100% on the last mile provided by your LEC. You could contract with a CLEC to take your circuit cross-LATA; it's cheaper, and will most likely ride their fiber from CO to CO as opposed to on the LECs fiber. Andy --- Andy Dills Xecunet, Inc. www.xecu.net 301-682-9972 ---