response 50 of 91:

Jul 6 21:56 UTC 2000

Covad is still not giving a due date, and they are not able to provide
a line yet...

I've escalated the issue (again) in order to determine what can be done
to provide the DSL line.  Because of your short distance from the
Central Office, i would have never expected there to be any problems,
but I'm becoming amazed at the problems with getting your line.

response 52 of 91:

Jul 12 01:25 UTC 2000

I can be available that day, but my router knowledge is pretty limited.
I work about 1.5 miles from the Pumpkin, though.

response 54 of 91:

Jul 12 05:58 UTC 2000

You won't have to know anything about routers for the router configuration
either, since the Covad person will do that.  Grex's IP address should get
changed before that at some point, though.  Again, that's something I'm not
really comfortable doing when I can't get to the Pumpkin and fix it if I
screw up, so it should be done by somebody in Ann Arbor.

response 56 of 91:

Jul 13 11:12 UTC 2000

Jared,  I'll send you email with my contact info.

response 58 of 91:

Jul 14 15:54 UTC 2000

I haven't read through all of this, but at some point scg said price is
not as important as the "best support".  That is not quite true; Grex
needs high quality support, but not assistance for the totally ignorant.

response 60 of 91:

Jul 17 02:04 UTC 2000

AADS is Ameritech Advanced Data Service.  They run the NAP in Chicago, and
do a bunch of other stuff.  I forget whether ISDN is part of AADS at this
point or not.

A lot of stuff is required to build a DSL network.  You need the copper from
the LEC (local exchange carrier, in this case Ameritech).  You need a DSLAM
to terminate those copper pairs in every telco central office that you're
service.  You then need a network to transport the DSL traffic.  This could
consist IP router in every CO, but in most cases there's an ATM or Frame Relay
network linking the CO equipment together.  The DSL traffic then gets handed
off to the IP router at some central point, and the data gets routed onto the
Internet.

Building a network like that is a lot of work, and is expensive, both in terms
of the regulatory stuff the companies need to go through to get space in the
COs and copper, and in terms of putting the network itself together.  There
are also some big economies of scale involved.  This isn't something that
small ISPs offering DSL service could afford to do.  Even the really big ISPs
(UUNet and so forth) have decided it's not something they're going to do. 
But there are three companies that are, Covad, Northpoint, and Rhythms.  They
deal with the copper pair to the customer, the ATM or Frame network needed
to haul the data to the central location where they do the handoff, and the
ATM or Frame Relay handoff to the ISP.  That leaves the ISP to focus on
Internet access, which is what the ISPs are tehoretically good at.  In theory,
these companies are selling the DSL lines to enough different ISPs that they
will be able to afford the cost of building and running their networks, while
a single ISP would have a lot of trouble with that.

response 62 of 91:

Jul 22 00:35 UTC 2000

No. There was some problem, but I don't know what the details are.
I hope it is rescheduled soon.

response 64 of 91:

Jul 26 11:11 UTC 2000

Nobody ever called me on the "install day".

response 66 of 91:

Jul 26 22:06 UTC 2000

Well, I sent mail to our staff discussion list about "where the heck is that
phone closet, anyway?" and nobody answered me.  :(

response 68 of 91:

Jul 27 05:49 UTC 2000

Something like that.

To get to the phone closet:

Get the key that is hanging above the punch down block in the Pumpkin.

Go along the right side of the building, to the second or third door.  It's
teh door with signs on it for a bunch of different companies.  The key will
open it.

Once you've gone through that door, there will be a hallway with frequent 90
degree turns.  Go along that hallway a bit, and there will be steps on your
left going into a dark room.  That is the phone room.  There is a light switch
somewhere.

Once you have turned the lights on, look at the punch blocks.  One of them
will be labeled "Cyberspace Communications."

response 70 of 91:

Aug 2 16:07 UTC 2000

Great news!

The Covad installer is here ad the Pumpkin.  We got an email last night, and
it was promised between 12-5.  Right at the dot of noon the guy showed up.
He's in the phone closet right now.

response 72 of 91:

Aug 2 16:14 UTC 2000

I don't know... I'm just the guy with flexible afternoons.