Newsgroups: can.uucp
Path: utzoo!utgpu!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!neat.ai.toronto.edu!rayan
From: rayan@ai.toronto.edu (Rayan Zachariassen)
Subject: Re: .CA root servers
Message-ID: <89Apr15.151454edt.38134@neat.ai.toronto.edu>
Organization: Department of Computer Science, University of Toronto
References: <89Apr13.220817edt.38140@neat.ai.toronto.edu>
Distribution: can
Date: Sat, 15 Apr 89 15:14:42 EDT

In article <524@aurora.AthabascaU.CA> lyndon@nexus.ca (Lyndon Nerenberg) writes:
# that posting contains gateway information for a new subdomain, that
# site (at the least) will not be able to find a route to the new
# subdomain until the next map posting comes along (at least a month).
...
# I also doubt that the majority of sites run pathalias on a daily
# basis to stay up to date on current routing. A lot of people I've
# talked to/worked with collect updates for two to four weeks before
# running pathalias.

Subdomains should not expect to be able to use their domain name the instant
it gets approved.  It takes time to disseminate the information.  If they
use it prematurely, it won't work.  The grace period I recommend to UUCP
sites is "wait a week or so after the information appears in comp.mail.maps",
which on the average is 3 weeks after approval.  As with any other major
change, you should anticipate startup problems and latency.

# What is so evil about listing the root server in the maps as an
# absolute worst case gateway to .CA ?  If the subdomain information
# is as up to date as you claim, the path will hardly be used anyway :-)

A friend of mine put it very succinctly: If a generic .CA route exists,
then there will be no incentive to update the local maps instead of relying
on the .CA gateway(s).  In short order the traffic pattern *will* change.
Even if the .CA gateway(s) is willing to handle more traffic, its neighbours'
facilities will be used without having a say in the matter.

rayan

