Q: how to make home PC an internet node?

[Guy Helmer]

In <155838 at felix.UUCP> asylvain at felix.UUCP (Alvin "the Chipmunk" Sylvain) writes:
>In article <00942BD0.3790B740 at max.berkeley.edu> dc at max.berkeley.edu (Dave Cottingham) writes:
>> It sure would be great if my PC at home were on the internet.  I'm
>> sure this must be possible, since there are plenty of smallish
>> businesses on the internet.  However, a perusal of the documents at
>> nic.ddn.mil shows only how to launch a new network, which requires
>> divine intervention from a government agency, and is definitely of a
>> grander scale than what I have in mind.
>There is interest. [...]

Sites attached to the internet such that they send may send packets across
NSFnet or other parts of the federally funded internet must have some
relation to institutions or groups that are doing research under federal
funding or are educational institutions.  It's hard to find out exactly
where the line is drawn, but this could rule out home ip sites unless
one is involved with federal research or a university.  If you are
involved like this, it shouldn't be too hard to talk to your network
administration and find out details of how to connect remotely to
your IP net, if they will allow it.

Otherwise, you will have to either be rich or have a
real good reason to be on an IP net.  Two commercial internet
providers are UUNET Communications, which runs AlterNET, and PSI,
which runs PSInet.  These two providers give services which range from
9600 baud dialup to T1 (1.544Mbaud) dedicated IP service.  You can't
send packets from AlterNET or PSInet across NSFnet or the DDN
unless you, once again, are doing federal research or are involved
with a university.  This makes the AlterNET and PSInet services
good for connecting geographically separated portions of a company's
network, but poor for your average Joe at home that wants to
FTP stuff from NSFnet sites.  AlterNET and PSInet people will
help take care of the site setup and administration details, but
they get paid well to do that.

If we could just get the feds to change their restrictions on the
use of the NSF & other backbones...  1/2 :-)

Followups should probably go to email, since there isn't a usenet
group that discusses this subject.
-- 
More information that you couldn't have existed another day without, from:
Guy Helmer                       helmer at sdnet.bitnet, uunet!dsuvax!ghelmer
work: DSU Computing Services                                (605) 256-5315
play: MidIX System Support Services - Crufty Hacks 'R' Us   (605) 256-2788