Categories
Business fun stuff

Do you challenge the norm?

Norm challengers of the world unite Howard Fisher from LINX just posted a comment on Facebook: “Junk mail just received advertising a presentation says “Simon’s extensive global experience, providing bespoke solutions for clients, ‘challenging the norm’ to leverage competitive advantage. This is achieved via understanding leading agile workstyles and combining them with brand enhancing concepts […]

Categories
Engineer engineering internet peering

RIPE70

I have to tell you about RIPE70. RIPE70 was held in the Okura hotel in Amsterdam. Very nice hotel. Nice pool, sauna, bars etc etc. Amsterdam was very nice too. Great restaurants, picturesque streets and canals. Only downsides were the lethal nature of the roads and the beer. Re the roads you have to look out […]

Categories
Business Engineer internet peering

Internet bandwidth trend continues to new peaks almost daily @lonap

Internet bandwidth trend – usage continues to grow The title of this post might encourage the odd wise crack. Bear s&*%s in woods etc. Of course internet bandwidth use is growing. The point is though that in the past we have occasionally seen big spikes in bandwidth that have subsequently driven average usage and growth. […]

Categories
Apps End User mobile apps social networking

Working away from home & Natter

Natter Natter Natter Oy Oy Oy The nature of the modern world is that people frequently have to travel as part of their job. In the internet plumbing game this is even more the case. I don’t think I’ve ever worked in an industry that has more conferences and meetings. In the UK alone there […]

Categories
Engineer peering

IXLeeds 4 this Thursday

IXLeeds 4 is on this Thursday – that’s the day after tomorrow If you’ve been umming and ahing about going umm and ahh no more. The IX Leeds people are a great crowd and they put on terrific meetings. They do of course have the benefit of AQL’s conference centre at Salem Chapel which again, […]

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Engineer peering

IXScotland4 meeting Dec 1st

IXScotland4 is happening on Monday 1st  December, in Scotland. If you’ve never been to Scotland it’s a great time of year to go. Whisky tastes a heck of a lot better when it’s ‘orribly cold and wet out there. Oh and dark. Only joking. 55 people from 36 organisations have so far registered to attend. […]

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Engineer engineering internet

Prince Harry special guest appearance at #ripe69 social

RIPE69 social sponsored by LINX on their 20th birthday Whoever said the conference game is a nice little cushy few days out of the office has clearly never been to one. RIPE69 is in London this week and has an action packed schedule. There is very little downtime. This is partly because as soon as […]

Categories
Engineer media peering

Netflix Germany launch to use ECIX instead of DE-CIX

Netflix Germany launch uses ECIX instead of largest player DE-CIX Netflix, in case you didn’t know is a company that streams TV to your home over your broadband internet connection. In fact in markets in which it operates Netflix is responsible for a big proportion of bandwidth usage. Last year Netflix was reported to have […]

trefor.net xmas bash 2014 sponsorship packages

How you can get involved in the trefor.net Xmas bash 2014 The trefor.net xmas bash is an established high point of the networking calendar for those working in the UK internet industries. Attendees are a mix of networking (usually LONAP and  LINX members), VoIP, data centre and hosting company engineers and executives with a further […]

Categories
fun stuff

Most popular weather forecasts

Couldn’t help but notice the most popular places for weather forecasts on the Met Office site and it struck me that Birmingham was missing from the list. Wossgoinon I thought. Are the good burghers of Brum not interested in the weather? Isn’t the place the third most populous metropolitan area in the  United Kingdom? Perhaps […]

Categories
broken gear End User

Breaking news – I bought a Microsoft PC – 5 broken laptops in our house

I bought a new Microsoft PC. It isn’t really breaking news because I mentioned it in a post last week. Ordinarily I’d keep quiet about such an acquisition because it is an embarrassment to have to resort to such retro technology. I only bought it because I have a single application that needs to run […]

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End User fun stuff

Breaking news – the shed is finished

Breaking news – the shed is finished, or as finished as its going to get. Still a few bits of side panel need patching but it ain’t gonna happen. The two images below represent the state of the shed first thing this morning, covered by a tarpaulin because it had no felt on it followed […]

Categories
Business internet mobile connectivity

UKNOF 28 wifi at DeVere Wokefield Park

At the DeVere Hotel, Wokefield Park, Reading for UKNOF28 (Google it). The hotel is huge. This does cause a problem. My room is in the Mansion House which is a good half hour walk1 from the Executive Centre where the meeting is being held. There has been a slight kerfuffle before the meeting starts as […]

Categories
Engineer internet Net peering

Peering policies #peeringweek

You’ve read so far in Peering Week about the many hundreds of thousands of connections that join together the 30,000 or so networks on the Internet. Some of these connections are negotiated in minutes by specialist engineers who work for these networks at one of the many peering events that happen throughout the year. The […]

Categories
broadband datacentre Engineer engineering internet peering

IXManchester – It’s Quiet Up North #peeringweek

So IXManchester has been up and running for nearly two years (must make sure someone organises  another birthday party for June) and things continue to grow at a slightly slower pace than the first hectic few months. January saw a IX Manchester meeting take over part of GMEX Manchester Convention Centre the afternoon before UKNOF 27 and […]

Categories
Engineer peering

ECIX – RemotePeering to help the small ones #peeringweek

ECIX started as a classical Internet Exchange in Berlin, Germany. We tried to sell peering ports to ISPs, carriers and hosters on our platform, hoping to give them some advantage over buying ip transit. Mostly smaller companies made use of it. Shortly after Berlin, we opened an IX in Düsseldorf, which is the biggest internet […]

Categories
Engineer peering

The Italian Internet Peering Landscape by Mauro Magrassi of MIX – the Milan Internet Exchange #peeringweek

Forewords: The Italian Landscape Basic facts about Italy and its Internet Landscape: a. Italy has a strong incumbent, one of the strongest in Europe. It has been amongst the first in splitting domestic and global/foreign business into two separate branches, where the international one is Sparkle, one of the Renesys baker’s dozen, if not a […]

Categories
fun stuff peering

Tomo entertains in Leeds Town Hall #peeringweek

Tomova Yoshida from JPNAP is a globe trotting musician cum IXP engineer. He entertained us all in Helsinki with impromptu Beatles renditions on the grand piano at the 23rd Euro-IX Forum social night. At the 24th Forum he stepped up a gear. OK he accompanied the Euro-IX drunks choir on the piano. But he did […]

Categories
Engineer engineering peering

The evolution of the IXP Network Engineer… #peeringweek @lonap

Tales from the rarely sighted and lesser spotted IXP Network Engineer… From the beginning, the principle of an Internet Exchange Point (IXP) is simple. It’s just a layer 2 network, to which participating service providers connect. Most IXPs started small, and were managed by volunteer efforts, or by another organisation until they become large enough […]

Categories
broadband datacentre Engineer engineering internet Net peering

Why Does Scotland Need a Broadband Internet Exchange? #peeringweek

Almost a year ago exactly, an ambition I’ve had for a very long time came true.  It’s not a personal ambition (not exactly on my bucket list), but it’s an ambition I wanted the local Scottish Internet and broadband community to achieve. After years of failed attempts, talking amongst ourselves in the community and generally […]

Categories
Engineer peering

To the glory of the internet #peeringweek

May your networks be stable and free from DDOS attacks. Always wear a white hat and be nice to others. 24th Euro-IX Forum, Salem church, AQL, Leeds. Other Peering Week posts on trefor.net include: UK internet history – The Early Days of LONAP by Raza Rizvi INEX’s IXP Manager – Tools to help manage an Internet Exchange by Barry […]

Categories
Business peering

The @asda Golden Cone #peeringweek

The Golden Cone. Sometimes you come across something quite by accident that lights up your life. It’s similar to finding a ten pound note in a pair of trousers you haven’t worn since last summer, but different. This morning we were on our way to the 24th Euro-IX Forum in Leeds and Rob Lister decided […]

Categories
Engineer peering

St Patrick’s Day celebration at 24th Euro-IX Forum #peeringweek #Guinness

What a beautiful sight. Dozens of Guinness’ arranged tidily ready for consumption at the 24th Euro-IX Forum. Elsewhere in the world there is trouble. Planes get hijacked, countries annexed, revolution plotted but in Leeds all is well. Guinness – not just a drink, an art form. Other Peering Week posts on trefor.net include: UK internet history – […]

Categories
Engineer peering

The very early days of LONAP – The London Neutral Access Point #peeringweek

Raza Rizvi is an early pioneer of the internet in the UK. He spent ten years on the board of LINX and was one of the founding signatories of LONAP. In this very interesting post he discusses the early years of internet peering in the UK and how the founding of LONAP came about: Back […]

Categories
Engineer peering

Next week is Peering Week on trefor.net #IXP #euroix #internet

To coincide with the 24th Euro-IX Forum being held on Monday and Tuesday in Leeds (England) we are having a peering week on trefor.net. Last month James Blessing provided us with a primer on how ISPs provide internet access using Peering and Internet Transit. Every day next week we are going to be featuring guest […]

Categories
datacentre Engineer internet olympics peering

Regional Peering in the UK

When I was asked to write a piece about regional peering I thought it would be a quick update on the current state of affairs in the UK. Alas with all these things I realised that I need to add a little back story. Feel free to skip over the content to the end if […]

Categories
End User fun stuff

Batten down them hatches

Took the Docklands Light Railway from Bank to London City Airport. Used the DLR many times before to go to Telecity but this may have been my first time on the Woolwich Arsenal branch. It’s also the first time I’ve ever given any thought to the area. Boy is it bleak. We are talking New […]

Categories
End User fun stuff

Schnooky hubbyband loves ickle bunny

It’s Friday, it’s Valentine’s Day and I’m on the way to the Isle of Man for the weekend before landing back for the LINX meeting on Monday. There is no chef on this train so breakfast is a mere croissant and a bacon bap – the staff have striven valiantly to make up for the […]

Categories
End User peering

Football Association founded here @LONAP AGM

This morning I walked from Kings Cross Station to The Freemasons’ Hall in Great Queen’s Street. I was early, it took half an hour, saved money on a taxi/tube and was good exercise. When you walk somewhere you see a lot more than when taking public transport. The Freemasons’ Hall stands on the site of […]

Categories
End User peering

Alarm clocks, body clocks and LONAP AGMs #IXP

On the 07.20 from Lincoln Central Station headed to the LONAP AGM (sung to the tune of Homeward Bound by Paul Simon). Piece of trivia for you. Traditionally when I catch the 07.20 I get a cab to pick me up from the house at 06.50. We are only 5 minutes from the station, especially […]