🚀 go-pugleaf

In <1991Jun2.052408.21005@newshost.anu.edu.au> cmf851@anu.oz.au (Albert Langer) writes:

>In article <1991Jun1.124059.8093@hq.demos.su> avg@hq.demos.su 
>(Vadim Antonov) writes:

>> [discussion about uucp nets over old exchanges in Soviet Union deleted]

>Thus poor phone networks are not a major issue.

There is a difference between poor phone networks and atrocious phone
networks.  Also, try motivating for an unbarred external telephone line
at a third world university...... they are in great demand, but not
neccessarily for data comms purposes ;-)  The reason for this is simple:
with some PTT's it can take several years after an application for a
telephone or dedicated line is made before the service is installed.
Also, what do you do if your dedicated line goes on the blink?  Getting
it fixed can be a trying exercise.

Somebody from the University of XXXXXXXX was down here a few months ago,
and mentioned that it was easier to phone a colleague in London and ask
the colleague to phone his wife across town to pass on a message.

>But skilled labor for sysadmin or sysop work IS a major issue.

>These are the points I tried to make before, but nobody bit.

Just an observation - this newsgroup appears to be linked to a mailing
list - is it working reliably?  i.e. are postings to the newsgroup
making it out to the mailing list? 

>If Vadim's experience and my theorizing about this are correct,
>shouldn't we focus on how to reduce the labor requirements for
>store and forward email network management?

>Why on earth should a skilled sysadmin be required at every node?

>Once this problem is resolved, massive expansion both in developed
>countries and developing countries becomes quite straight forward.
>The equipment itself is already very cheap and all costs except
>network management are declining rapidly.

Because, as I tried to point out in an earlier note, email/networking is
a culture that develops in non-obvious ways.  Plunking down maintenance
free (or remotely maintainable) hardware and software somewhere and then
getting it linked via a dedicated satellite link (or whatever) does not
guarantee it is going to be used.  How do you give potential users
access to the central email hub?  Via a tcp/ip based local area network?
Dumb terminals into a multiport serial card?  Who is going to maintain
these links and terminals?  Similarly, who is going to provide user
training for the mail software?  For a typical Un*x system the email
users will have to know their way around vi, and somebody is going to
have to register users and provide rudimentary system administration
support (backups etc).  These are all ongoing problems, and if an
organisation doesn't have somebody on site that can deal with day to day
problems, email/networking just isn't going to be viable.

For email/networking to take off, you need the following ingredients:

- some pre-existing computing environment with on-site skills to keep
  things moving through minor crises, and to provide some form of
  ongoing end-user training.

- a desire to communicate electronically (it helps considerably to have
  an internal, isolated email system).  Having one guy in the Philosophy
  department who wants international email doesn't count...

- some easily implemented method of installing wide area networking
  (such as uucp or TCP/IP using PCRoute over 9600 baud slip).

- some infrastructure capable of noticing and dealing with comms carrier
  faults. 

- support from internal management or administration for the concept of
  WAN, for footing the bill or dealing with those who will be footing
  it.

Leave out any one of these five ingredients and you have a flop on your
hands, irrespective of the amount of technology or money that has been
poured in.  If you have the first four, you have still got a flop (but
you are getting close).  Add the fifth and you have a fighting chance
of getting somewhere.

Your scenario assumes that the developing world is clamouring to get
onto or into networking.  The only people clamouring are first world
faculty on secondment and who want to keep in touch with things back
home.  Isn't this a form of imperialism or colonialism? ;-)

--
     F.F.  Jacot Guillarmod - Computing  Centre - Rhodes  University
     Artillery Road - P.O Box 94 - Grahamstown - 6140 - South Africa
     Internet: ccfj@hippo.ru.ac.za    Phone: +27 [0]461 22023 xt 284
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