Best of the ISP-Lists

Business in a Box

Members of the ISP-Bandwidth list snarl virtually at someone who asks for an ISP startup kit. Members also provide helpful hints for those about to build a business from scratch.

[March 30, 2001]

On the ISP-Bandwidth list in March, JF asked,

"What equipment is needed to run an ISP? Is there a basic ISP startup kit?"

A number of respondents pointed out that it's not easy to start your own business:

[JD scoffed] "Basically, you're asking someone to do your homework for you. Sorry: no such kit exits. At least not one that's free."

[JT added] "There is a lot of planning that needs to take place before ordering equipment. How many users are you wanting to support? What program do you want to use for your e-mail (sendmail, iMail, etc.)?"

KJ offered a generalized list of the kind of equipment that might be required:

"Depending on what services you offer and the type of backbone you elect to go with, you will need at least the following: RADIUS server, email server, web server, uplink router, and access server.

Some of the services can be housed on the same server, but if you have the budget, it's a good idea to separate them for performance reasons. That's all you need—except a systems administrator, a network administrator, lots of patience, good luck, caffeine, a patient and understanding wife or girlfriend, and lots of other stuff."

[RY noted] "Also include a good accounting package, credit card processing, and possibly a dialup software package."

[PK added] "The most important thing, however, is to find the right people to help you out."

Others listed their inventories to prove that starting an ISP is no picnic in the park:

[JT suggested] "For business service, with no dialup, we have: 1 Cisco 3640; 2 HP 4000 switches; 5 Linux servers for DNS, web, mail, monitoring; 4 NT servers for DNS, mail, RADIUS, web; 3 Novell servers for internal web, internal mail, internal file/print; 3 Smart-UPS 3000s; 3 KMV switches; 2 19-inch monitors; and lots of fiber and cables."

[MM advised] "This is about the bare minimum to get you started; it would support 200-250 users. A channelized T1 for dialup; a T1 from a bigger ISP; a remote access server (Lucent PortMaster 3, Lucent MAX 6048, or Cisco AS5350); a router (Cisco 1600 or 1700 series will get you started); at least an 8-port 10Mbps hub; at least one server for RADIUS, email and web pages; Linux; and an IP address from the bigger ISP. The most important part, though, is the time to spend on your business and the willingness to learn how this all works together."

— End

   

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