From: wansari@magnus.acs.ohio-state.edu (Waheed A Ansari)
Subject: A test of the Emergency Net-wrecking System
Summary: A successor to Bronco is born
Organization: The Ohio State University
Distribution: na
Date: Fri, 24 Jul 1992 00:45:20 GMT


This is a test of the Emergency Net-wrecking System...

People of the Netrek galaxy, you are invited to participate in a test
of a server that will inherit the Bronco database, and will eventually
use the final Bronco distribution.  The server has already been tested
out locally, but I now need your help in simulating its routine use.
This test is needed so that the sysadmins here can determine the impact
of an operating netrek server on our network.  If this impact is within
reason, as I fully expect it to be, you can look forward to having a
descendant of Bronco available not too long after "the most popular
netrek server" is taken offline.

Address:       geo1s.mps.ohio-state.edu (128.146.130.2)
Port:          2592
Server source: Bronco sources. (Obtained mid-June, to be updated.)
UDP:           version 1.0.
Hours:         5PM-9AM Eastern time Monday-Friday, all day on weekends.
Cyborgs:       Tolerated for now (wont be allowed after I get reserved.c).
Ping time to bronco:    30/31/40
Ping time to bezier:    90/106/120
Ping time to tbird:     60/65/80
Ping time to discovery: 10/20/30
Ping times measured:    Thu Jul 23 19:49-19:53 EDT 1992, 10 packets each.
Maintainer:    ansari@geo1s.mps.ohio-state.edu (Waheed Ansari)

The server is currently running on a DECsystem 5400, but I also have
a DECstation 5000/200 available, and soon expect to acquire an SGI Indigo
(the new MIPS R4000SC, 55 MHz variety) as well.  An IBM RS6000 might also
be making a guest appearance in my lab, which is used by a handful of
graduate students only.  (When you're going for your THIRD graduate
degree, they give you plenty of toys to play with.)  I am aware of the
recent discussions on r.g.n touching upon the problem of server maintainers
going "bad".  All I can say for myself is, when you are 30 years old,
you're more interested in playing the game, and serving the netfolk, than
in cheating.  

Ohio State has good network connections to the rest of the world, with a
fiber-optic campus backbone, and non-local players should not notice any
significant difference in netlag compared to bronco.  This is only a test
of the system so any rank/stats you get now will be lost when the bronco
database is slided in and the server is installed permanently.  There
will be no merging of databases, so people need not worry about dupicate
character problems.

Incidentally, I need reserved.c, so if you are someone who can supply it,
please contact me.  It would also be good to have this server added to the
metaserver list.  I will not be at hand through most of this test, but
please drop me a line with any comments and suggestions.  Also please feel
free to post and let others know if you think this will be a good
substitute for Bronco.  Before I take my leave, I again urge you to
participate in the testing process; go ahead, fire those torps, phaser
thy enemy, and generally wreck the net.  We want to find out what a netrek
server can do to the local net in the worst case.

This does not yet conclude our test of the Emergency Net-wrecking System...

-Waheed