-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
=-=-=-=-=Copyright 1993,4 Wired Ventures, Ltd.  All Rights Reserved-=-=-=-=
-=-=For complete copyright information, please see the end of this file=-=-
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

WIRED 2.05
Net Surf
********

Toasternets
^^^^^^^^^^^
You've fingered Coke machines, coffeemakers and Christmas trees. But never 
in your net.travels have you encountered that most venerable and ubiquitous 
of home applicances: the toaster. You wonder: "Why would anyone build an 
entire network of bread-browning devices?" 

A fine question. But toasternets are not actually comprised of toasters and 
network cable. Rather, the term "toasternet" refers generically to small 
computer networks built out of cheap and readily available parts. Unlike 
commercial network service providers, who are motivated primarily by their 
bottom line, most toasternets exist to meet their members' communication 
needs -- to get people wired. Toasternets have become increasingly popular 
as demand for Internet services has outpaced the capabilities of commercial 
service providers. This is particularly true in the area of full-time 
direct IP connectivity -- even providers that charge a flat rate for dialup 
shell connections usually have hourly charges for direct IP services like 
SLIP or PPP (see Netsurf 2.04). In addition, since toasternets operate by 
cooperative agreement, they are typically free of the restrictions on 
content or on the resale of service often imposed by commercial providers. 

Toasternets can be an ideal solution for businesses (or individuals) 
seeking inexpensive full-time direct IP service . However, this freedom 
does come at a cost: Toasternets cannot usually afford to provide the same 
level of technical assistance in getting connected that is typical for 
commercial network service providers. Therefore, you will need to do at 
least some of the dirty work yourself (or pay a consultant to do it for 
you).

Toasternets connections require both a computer capable of connecting 
directly to the Internet and some kind of telecom connection. The least 
expensive gateway to the Net is a '386 running one of the free versions of 
UNIX (such as Linux or NetBSD), though other UNIX boxes will also work just  
fine. Once you have a machine, you need to connect your physical location 
to your service provider's Connections to the outside world can be made by 
either standard telephone lines (up to 28.8k), by ISDN (up to 128k), or via 
leased lines (56k or T1 (1.5Mbps)). In each case, pricing will depend on 
whether your connection is part-time or full time (residential dial-up 
customers take note: unmeasured rate service means you can have a full-time 
dialup connection for about $15 a month in most locations!). You will also 
need appropriate communication hardware (standard modems for dial-up lines, 
TA's for ISDN, CSU/DSU's for 56k or T1). Depending on your setup, you may 
also need a router (to separate your local network traffic from Internet 
traffic) and other network hardware (such as ethernet cabling, hubs, etc.) 
to connect multiple machines to your Internet gateway.

The emergent phenomenon of toasternetworking is too new (and perhaps too 
complex) for there to be any comprehensive reference guide, either printed 
or electronic. However, plenty of information to get you started can be 
found on the Net. Two useful starting points are Bernard Aboba's Mailcom 
archive (FTP to ftp.netcom.com in /pub/mailcom/Toaster) and information 
archive provided by the Little Garden (one of the original toasternets and 
WIRED's own IP service provider) (FTP or gopher to tlg.org; 
http://tlg.org).

Happy toasting!

-- Jonathan Steuer (jonathan@wired.com)


                                   * * *

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=WIRED Online Copyright Notice=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

        Copyright 1993,4 Wired Ventures, Ltd.  All rights reserved.

  This article may be redistributed provided that the article and this
  notice remain intact. This article may not under any circumstances
  be resold or redistributed for compensation of any kind without prior
  written permission from Wired Ventures, Ltd.

  If you have any questions about these terms, or would like information
  about licensing materials from WIRED Online, please contact us via
  telephone (+1 (415) 904 0660) or email (info@wired.com).

       WIRED and WIRED Online are trademarks of Wired Ventures, Ltd.

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=