Ask Steve

1. Here is a brief overview of the orginal structure of the internet
1. The main connection - NAP

i. All Internet networks have to meet somewhere in order to be able to exchange data. The place where that occurs is at something called a Network Access Point or NAP.
1. There were four original network access points in the United States these were located in:
a. San Francisco
b. Chicago
c. Atlanta
d. Pennsauken, New Jersey

2. Since 1994 many other have been added including:
a. Baltimore
b. Washington, DC
c. Tucson
d. New Mexico
e. Nashville
f. Seattle
g. AND MANY MORE
b. MAE
i. As answer to the mostly former “Bell Telecom” based NAP’s, the MAE connection points were set up by MCI Worldcom to compete with the NAP’s. The original ones were based in:
1. Mae-East –Washington, DC
2. Mae-West –San Jose, CA
3. Mae Huston
4. Mae Dallas
5. Mae LA
ii. Most of these points would now also be typically considered NAP’s
c. Beyond that there are a multitude of both private and public exchanges for local traffic. These local exchanges are called “piers”
d. Each pier hooks into another. These are called HOPS
i. Piers hooked into a NAP are known as HOP0 meaning there are no more hops than them to the NAP.
ii. Each of these providers then resell to provider below them and make more HOPS
iii. Each time you add a HOP, you introduce two elements that slow the speed down.
1. Each HOP creates a slow down
2. Every HOP you go through gives potential for errors and/or failure