[UFO Chicago] [OT] Anybody using OPT-E-MAN?!?

[sjk]

On Sun, 6 Aug 2006, Netfortius wrote:

> Sorry for the off-topic question, but this is the only list that I know of, in
> the area, with people with all sorts of expertise (not the least of which is
> networking). I am contemplating replacement of multiple T1 connections, in a
> hub-and-spoke setup, between a client HQ and a couple of subsidiaries, all in
> IL, with the AT&T/SBC's OPT-E-MAN service. The point-to-point T1s they are
> using now are not scalable anymore, but they are nice for allowing QoS
> control, and load-balancing and redundancy ... I was wondering if anyone on
> this list has/had experience with this Eth-MAN service, and is willing to
> share some opinions and pros/cons.


I have some experience - what do you want to know? It's a shared ethernet 
cloud built on a cisco platform. Depending upon the level SLA you buy you 
get different latency performance -- not the best latency performance is 
still greater then a P-t-P T1. Unlike other switch clouds you cannot over 
subscribe. SBC was pushing this for a while, and it is generally pretty 
cheap -- it is a non-tariff product, so watch you contracts and pricing.

Feel free to contact me offline if you have any specific questions. . .

--Steve