Happenings Around the Shop

It’s been one month since our network set a new record with an insanity index score of 146.7. For those of you who don’t follow our index score let me explain what this means. For a mesh network there are two factors that primarily affect the overall quality of the network. 1: The total number of nodes. The more nodes you have the greater the range and stability of the network. 2: The length of time that those nodes can function properly without an error or rebooting. So if you have a LOT of slightly unstable nodes you can still have an ok network because the mesh is redundant and fault tolerant. Likewise if you only have a few very stable nodes you can still have a good network because everything is always working. And…If you have a lot of very stable nodes you could have an “insanely great” network. The insanity index takes both of these factors into account. We add together the total number of days that each node has been up and running without a reboot or setting change. So if I have two nodes and one has been running for a day and the other which has been running for a day and a half I get an index score of three. There is no limit to how high this number can go. Just like there is no limit to how great a network can be. So what is our score today? Zero. So what changed? Well on 3/23 we “upgraded” the network to a fancy new version of our sophisticated mesh software. The new version had many new and enhanced features. Sounds like a good thing right? Except it turns out that the new software made our nodes more sensitive to power fluctuations leading to more reboots. Also it turned out that many of the new features required new hardware and the new hardware was not compatible with the old hardware and has not quite been perfected yet. But I was determined to rise to the occasion and solve any problems that arose. After all…we are building the “insanely great” network. Right…? But what makes it great? Is it having every new cutting edge feature? Or is a truly great network the one that provides you with a quality internet experience whenever you need it? I concluded that the answer was obvious. So I have decided to turn over a new leaf. From now on: I will NOT be seduced by sleek new operating system offering special features I don’t need. I will develop a separate network for testing new technology in the real world (not just on the bench). I will seek to provide the most consistent service possible by utilizing the tried and true techniques we have developed during the past two years. My new goal is to see our index score reach 500. At which time we should through a party of some sort ;). I understand that the past month has not been a very pleasant experience for some of our customers. And for that I am truly sorry. It has always been my most heart felt intention to provide our customers and the people of Homer with the best and most affordable internet possible. I believe that by reconsidering my position on implementing the NEWEST technology. We can achieve this goal. Thank you to every one who has and continues to support us.

This summer watch our index rise as we continue to build the “Insanely Great” Network.

P.S. call us at (907)299-2267 and tell us where the historical reference “insanely great” comes from and we’ll give you a coupon good for one free day of standard service :).

This entry was posted on Tuesday, April 18th, 2006 at 9:52 pm and is filed under Aaron. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.