Re: [AFMUG] IPArchitechs
I've heard of them for many years. They've had booths at MUM shows for quite a while. They're at most WISPA shows in one form or another. - Mike Hammett Intelligent Computing Solutions Midwest Internet Exchange The Brothers WISP - Original Message - From: "Josh Luthman" <j...@imaginenetworksllc.com> To: af@afmug.com Sent: Monday, November 13, 2017 10:00:39 AM Subject: Re: [AFMUG] IPArchitechs I don't understand why you wouldn't just use a consultant within our industry, that's part of WISPA, that's knows their stuff, that other people use... I've never even heard of the IPA guys, never seen them at any show. Josh Luthman Office: 937-552-2340 Direct: 937-552-2343 1100 Wayne St Suite 1337 Troy, OH 45373 On Mon, Nov 13, 2017 at 10:57 AM, Paul McCall < pa...@pdmnet.net > wrote: Good info. I agree with the network assessment time, etc. We had spoken with IPA about doing this, and didn’t pull the trigger because we had bigger fish to fry at the time. So, I re-asked the question. I hear specific to IPA that they really don’t have a high satisfaction record among this group. So, while this discussion morphed into charges for assessing the network, it wasn’t really the question, and I think people on here that are credible have described IPA as not quite having their act together at this time From: Af [mailto: af-boun...@afmug.com ] On Behalf Of Justin Wilson Sent: Sunday, November 12, 2017 11:53 PM To: af@afmug.com Subject: Re: [AFMUG] IPArchitechs Speaking from a consultant side it can be a little tricky with a new client. I have been burned more than once thinking I was going to “hop in and fix it real quick”. Anymore, I want to build relationships with my clients. One of the last ones was a guy calls me at midnight having a traffic issue. He has two upstream pipes he wants to try and utilize and needs some BGP help. It’s an emergency situation because he is maxing out one pipe and the other is barely being used. So, I talk with him for 45 minutes on his drive home before he can give me remote access. I then spend the next hour or so writing out diagrams on paper trying to learn his network as quickly as I can. I then make some BGP changes and see traffic change and watch it for another 15 minutes or so. By this time his prime time is starting to wind down a little so I can’t tell if it’s normal traffic utilization or I actually fixed it. I tell client I made changes, spent 15 minutes typing up said changes, and say I *think* I fixed it but don’t really know enough about the network to say I did. Send client invoice and say let me know and we can look again at no charge. Three days later I get a nasty e-mail saying I didn’t fix it, goes on and on how he can prove I didn’t fix it blah blah. Oh, and by the way his normal consultant logged in and fixed it. Well yeah because the normal guy knows a whole lot more about the network than I did. Another off the street client had me look at some drop out issues. Again, same story. I have never touched the network and he calls me saying traffic just randomly stops for a second or two at a time. Start looking at things, start from the easiest things to look at. Spend 3 hours or so making sure configs are correct, etc. Bill client and say get back to me. Sends me a nasty gram 3 months later saying it was the switch the routers were hooked into and they had buffer issues. Why did I not tell him to replace the switch within the first hour?!?!?! These are just a few examples. Us WISP consultants are a small bunch and we all know each other. My advice is you need to find a consultant you can build a relationship with that works for BOTH of you. My regular clients know I pick up the phone in a pinch and am fair with them. However, they have taken the time and effort to build the relationship on their side too. Anyone new who calls me that is looking for someone to answer the phone in that pinch automatically starts out with a 3-5 network evaluation. I don’t go as far as labbing everything up, but I make sure the documentation is spot on. I still do the small break fixes, etc. but I am much more cautious about things. We all have our own way of doing stuff. Some people and I don’t click. Some do. I am sure that is the same with any other consultant. Justin Wilson j...@mtin.net j2sw.com www.mtin.net www.midwest-ix.com On Nov 9, 2017, at 1:10 PM, Sterling Jacobson < sterl...@avative.net > wrote: Similar case with me which I kind of already pointed out. They couldn’t figure out a BGP issue and wanted to virtualize and put in a lab and spend hours on top of hours analyzing. I stopped them right there and said no thanks to that. Then I called Dennis and he took a few minutes, found out it likely wasn’t my problem, and worked with my upstream provider to fix it. And it was
Re: [AFMUG] IPArchitechs
They are one of the largest if not the largest MT consultancy in the world with offices in multiple countries. That is not to say they don't support other technologies, but that is one of their big ones. They don't do booths at Wispa because supporting wisps in general is not really a huge market for them, and they are probably out of the price range of most small wisps. I know they are always AT the shows even if they don't have a booth. Heck in Louisville they rented out a bar and gave away free drinks. As far as I know, they require the lab set up so that they can get your network right. Justin probably hit the nail on the head with his description. If you are a big company and you hire one of the big 3 to come in to advise you on your business, they are most certainly going to charge you to analyze your business before ever making any recommendations. Do you really want a company that doesn't fully understand your network making decisions on how to change that network if they don't know how it is running? If's one thing if you need help understanding a concept or how to change one setting, but totally different if you are going from something like a flat network to fully routed, or from static routes to OSPF/BGP, etc. As is true more often that not, you get what you pay for. Cameron On Mon, Nov 13, 2017 at 12:29 PM, Adair Winter <ada...@amarillowireless.net> wrote: > IMHO, that is exactly back words > Kevin and the guys at IPA are good at what they do and they share a lot of > info with the community. > That said, use someone you are comfortable with. > > On Mon, Nov 13, 2017 at 9:57 AM, Paul McCall <pa...@pdmnet.net> wrote: > >> Good info. I agree with the network assessment time, etc. We had spoken >> with IPA about doing this, and didn’t pull the trigger because we had >> bigger fish to fry at the time. So, I re-asked the question. I hear >> specific to IPA that they really don’t have a high satisfaction record >> among this group. So, while this discussion morphed into charges for >> assessing the network, it wasn’t really the question, and I think people on >> here that are credible have described IPA as not quite having their act >> together at this time >> >> >> >> *From:* Af [mailto:af-boun...@afmug.com] *On Behalf Of *Justin Wilson >> *Sent:* Sunday, November 12, 2017 11:53 PM >> *To:* af@afmug.com >> *Subject:* Re: [AFMUG] IPArchitechs >> >> >> >> Speaking from a consultant side it can be a little tricky with a new >> client. I have been burned more than once thinking I was going to “hop in >> and fix it real quick”. Anymore, I want to build relationships with my >> clients. One of the last ones was a guy calls me at midnight having a >> traffic issue. He has two upstream pipes he wants to try and utilize and >> needs some BGP help. It’s an emergency situation because he is maxing out >> one pipe and the other is barely being used. So, I talk with him for 45 >> minutes on his drive home before he can give me remote access. I then >> spend the next hour or so writing out diagrams on paper trying to learn his >> network as quickly as I can. >> >> >> >> I then make some BGP changes and see traffic change and watch it for >> another 15 minutes or so. By this time his prime time is starting to wind >> down a little so I can’t tell if it’s normal traffic utilization or I >> actually fixed it. I tell client I made changes, spent 15 minutes typing up >> said changes, and say I *think* I fixed it but don’t really know enough >> about the network to say I did. Send client invoice and say let me know >> and we can look again at no charge. >> >> >> >> Three days later I get a nasty e-mail saying I didn’t fix it, goes on and >> on how he can prove I didn’t fix it blah blah. Oh, and by the way his >> normal consultant logged in and fixed it. Well yeah because the normal guy >> knows a whole lot more about the network than I did. >> >> >> >> Another off the street client had me look at some drop out issues. >> Again, same story. I have never touched the network and he calls me saying >> traffic just randomly stops for a second or two at a time. Start looking >> at things, start from the easiest things to look at. Spend 3 hours or so >> making sure configs are correct, etc. Bill client and say get back to me. >> Sends me a nasty gram 3 months later saying it was the switch the routers >> were hooked into and they had buffer issues. Why did I not tell him to >> replace the switch within the first hour?!?!?! >> >> >> >> These are just a few examples. Us WISP consultants are a small bunch a
Re: [AFMUG] IPArchitechs
IMHO, that is exactly back words Kevin and the guys at IPA are good at what they do and they share a lot of info with the community. That said, use someone you are comfortable with. On Mon, Nov 13, 2017 at 9:57 AM, Paul McCall <pa...@pdmnet.net> wrote: > Good info. I agree with the network assessment time, etc. We had spoken > with IPA about doing this, and didn’t pull the trigger because we had > bigger fish to fry at the time. So, I re-asked the question. I hear > specific to IPA that they really don’t have a high satisfaction record > among this group. So, while this discussion morphed into charges for > assessing the network, it wasn’t really the question, and I think people on > here that are credible have described IPA as not quite having their act > together at this time > > > > *From:* Af [mailto:af-boun...@afmug.com] *On Behalf Of *Justin Wilson > *Sent:* Sunday, November 12, 2017 11:53 PM > *To:* af@afmug.com > *Subject:* Re: [AFMUG] IPArchitechs > > > > Speaking from a consultant side it can be a little tricky with a new > client. I have been burned more than once thinking I was going to “hop in > and fix it real quick”. Anymore, I want to build relationships with my > clients. One of the last ones was a guy calls me at midnight having a > traffic issue. He has two upstream pipes he wants to try and utilize and > needs some BGP help. It’s an emergency situation because he is maxing out > one pipe and the other is barely being used. So, I talk with him for 45 > minutes on his drive home before he can give me remote access. I then > spend the next hour or so writing out diagrams on paper trying to learn his > network as quickly as I can. > > > > I then make some BGP changes and see traffic change and watch it for > another 15 minutes or so. By this time his prime time is starting to wind > down a little so I can’t tell if it’s normal traffic utilization or I > actually fixed it. I tell client I made changes, spent 15 minutes typing up > said changes, and say I *think* I fixed it but don’t really know enough > about the network to say I did. Send client invoice and say let me know > and we can look again at no charge. > > > > Three days later I get a nasty e-mail saying I didn’t fix it, goes on and > on how he can prove I didn’t fix it blah blah. Oh, and by the way his > normal consultant logged in and fixed it. Well yeah because the normal guy > knows a whole lot more about the network than I did. > > > > Another off the street client had me look at some drop out issues. Again, > same story. I have never touched the network and he calls me saying > traffic just randomly stops for a second or two at a time. Start looking > at things, start from the easiest things to look at. Spend 3 hours or so > making sure configs are correct, etc. Bill client and say get back to me. > Sends me a nasty gram 3 months later saying it was the switch the routers > were hooked into and they had buffer issues. Why did I not tell him to > replace the switch within the first hour?!?!?! > > > > These are just a few examples. Us WISP consultants are a small bunch and > we all know each other. My advice is you need to find a consultant you can > build a relationship with that works for BOTH of you. My regular clients > know I pick up the phone in a pinch and am fair with them. However, they > have taken the time and effort to build the relationship on their side > too. Anyone new who calls me that is looking for someone to answer the > phone in that pinch automatically starts out with a 3-5 network evaluation. > I don’t go as far as labbing everything up, but I make sure the > documentation is spot on. I still do the small break fixes, etc. but I am > much more cautious about things. We all have our own way of doing stuff. > Some people and I don’t click. Some do. I am sure that is the same with > any other consultant. > > > > > > > > Justin Wilson > > j...@mtin.net > > > > j2sw.com > > www.mtin.net > > www.midwest-ix.com > > > > On Nov 9, 2017, at 1:10 PM, Sterling Jacobson <sterl...@avative.net> > wrote: > > > > Similar case with me which I kind of already pointed out. > > > > They couldn’t figure out a BGP issue and wanted to virtualize and put in a > lab and spend hours on top of hours analyzing. > > > > I stopped them right there and said no thanks to that. > > > > Then I called Dennis and he took a few minutes, found out it likely wasn’t > my problem, and worked with my upstream provider to fix it. > > > > And it was fixed after some emails back and forth between all of us. > > > > I asked IPArchitechs to refund me sin
Re: [AFMUG] IPArchitechs
IPA was at the last two MUM's I was at. (Dallas and Denver) Kevin and the guys are good at what they do. Suspect that they operate at a level higher than most can understand. On Mon, Nov 13, 2017 at 10:00 AM, Josh Luthman <j...@imaginenetworksllc.com> wrote: > I don't understand why you wouldn't just use a consultant within our > industry, that's part of WISPA, that's knows their stuff, that other people > use... > > I've never even heard of the IPA guys, never seen them at any show. > > > Josh Luthman > Office: 937-552-2340 <(937)%20552-2340> > Direct: 937-552-2343 <(937)%20552-2343> > 1100 Wayne St > <https://maps.google.com/?q=1100+Wayne+St+Suite+1337+Troy,+OH+45373=gmail=g> > Suite 1337 > <https://maps.google.com/?q=1100+Wayne+St+Suite+1337+Troy,+OH+45373=gmail=g> > Troy, OH 45373 > <https://maps.google.com/?q=1100+Wayne+St+Suite+1337+Troy,+OH+45373=gmail=g> > > On Mon, Nov 13, 2017 at 10:57 AM, Paul McCall <pa...@pdmnet.net> wrote: > >> Good info. I agree with the network assessment time, etc. We had spoken >> with IPA about doing this, and didn’t pull the trigger because we had >> bigger fish to fry at the time. So, I re-asked the question. I hear >> specific to IPA that they really don’t have a high satisfaction record >> among this group. So, while this discussion morphed into charges for >> assessing the network, it wasn’t really the question, and I think people on >> here that are credible have described IPA as not quite having their act >> together at this time >> >> >> >> *From:* Af [mailto:af-boun...@afmug.com] *On Behalf Of *Justin Wilson >> *Sent:* Sunday, November 12, 2017 11:53 PM >> >> *To:* af@afmug.com >> *Subject:* Re: [AFMUG] IPArchitechs >> >> >> >> Speaking from a consultant side it can be a little tricky with a new >> client. I have been burned more than once thinking I was going to “hop in >> and fix it real quick”. Anymore, I want to build relationships with my >> clients. One of the last ones was a guy calls me at midnight having a >> traffic issue. He has two upstream pipes he wants to try and utilize and >> needs some BGP help. It’s an emergency situation because he is maxing out >> one pipe and the other is barely being used. So, I talk with him for 45 >> minutes on his drive home before he can give me remote access. I then >> spend the next hour or so writing out diagrams on paper trying to learn his >> network as quickly as I can. >> >> >> >> I then make some BGP changes and see traffic change and watch it for >> another 15 minutes or so. By this time his prime time is starting to wind >> down a little so I can’t tell if it’s normal traffic utilization or I >> actually fixed it. I tell client I made changes, spent 15 minutes typing up >> said changes, and say I *think* I fixed it but don’t really know enough >> about the network to say I did. Send client invoice and say let me know >> and we can look again at no charge. >> >> >> >> Three days later I get a nasty e-mail saying I didn’t fix it, goes on and >> on how he can prove I didn’t fix it blah blah. Oh, and by the way his >> normal consultant logged in and fixed it. Well yeah because the normal guy >> knows a whole lot more about the network than I did. >> >> >> >> Another off the street client had me look at some drop out issues. >> Again, same story. I have never touched the network and he calls me saying >> traffic just randomly stops for a second or two at a time. Start looking >> at things, start from the easiest things to look at. Spend 3 hours or so >> making sure configs are correct, etc. Bill client and say get back to me. >> Sends me a nasty gram 3 months later saying it was the switch the routers >> were hooked into and they had buffer issues. Why did I not tell him to >> replace the switch within the first hour?!?!?! >> >> >> >> These are just a few examples. Us WISP consultants are a small bunch and >> we all know each other. My advice is you need to find a consultant you can >> build a relationship with that works for BOTH of you. My regular clients >> know I pick up the phone in a pinch and am fair with them. However, they >> have taken the time and effort to build the relationship on their side >> too. Anyone new who calls me that is looking for someone to answer the >> phone in that pinch automatically starts out with a 3-5 network evaluation. >> I don’t go as far as labbing everything up, but I make sure the >> documentation is spot on. I still do the small break fixes,
Re: [AFMUG] IPArchitechs
what did happen to butch? On Mon, Nov 13, 2017 at 10:27 AM, Paul McCall <pa...@pdmnet.net> wrote: > They were highly recommended by Butch Evans, when Butch was entering into > to a very busy time in his work life. > > > > Our initial talks with them were excellent, and maybe if we had pulled the > trigger with them at the time, and gleamed the benefits of what they offer, > I wouldn’t be asking now. > > > > We really appreciated Butch when he was available. > > > > Paul > > > > *From:* Af [mailto:af-boun...@afmug.com] *On Behalf Of *Josh Luthman > *Sent:* Monday, November 13, 2017 11:01 AM > > *To:* af@afmug.com > *Subject:* Re: [AFMUG] IPArchitechs > > > > I don't understand why you wouldn't just use a consultant within our > industry, that's part of WISPA, that's knows their stuff, that other people > use... > > > > I've never even heard of the IPA guys, never seen them at any show. > > > > > Josh Luthman > Office: 937-552-2340 <(937)%20552-2340> > Direct: 937-552-2343 <(937)%20552-2343> > 1100 Wayne St > <https://maps.google.com/?q=1100+Wayne+St+%0D+Suite+1337+%0D+Troy,+OH+45373=gmail=g> > Suite 1337 > Troy, OH 45373 > > > > On Mon, Nov 13, 2017 at 10:57 AM, Paul McCall <pa...@pdmnet.net> wrote: > > Good info. I agree with the network assessment time, etc. We had spoken > with IPA about doing this, and didn’t pull the trigger because we had > bigger fish to fry at the time. So, I re-asked the question. I hear > specific to IPA that they really don’t have a high satisfaction record > among this group. So, while this discussion morphed into charges for > assessing the network, it wasn’t really the question, and I think people on > here that are credible have described IPA as not quite having their act > together at this time > > > > *From:* Af [mailto:af-boun...@afmug.com] *On Behalf Of *Justin Wilson > *Sent:* Sunday, November 12, 2017 11:53 PM > > > *To:* af@afmug.com > *Subject:* Re: [AFMUG] IPArchitechs > > > > Speaking from a consultant side it can be a little tricky with a new > client. I have been burned more than once thinking I was going to “hop in > and fix it real quick”. Anymore, I want to build relationships with my > clients. One of the last ones was a guy calls me at midnight having a > traffic issue. He has two upstream pipes he wants to try and utilize and > needs some BGP help. It’s an emergency situation because he is maxing out > one pipe and the other is barely being used. So, I talk with him for 45 > minutes on his drive home before he can give me remote access. I then > spend the next hour or so writing out diagrams on paper trying to learn his > network as quickly as I can. > > > > I then make some BGP changes and see traffic change and watch it for > another 15 minutes or so. By this time his prime time is starting to wind > down a little so I can’t tell if it’s normal traffic utilization or I > actually fixed it. I tell client I made changes, spent 15 minutes typing up > said changes, and say I *think* I fixed it but don’t really know enough > about the network to say I did. Send client invoice and say let me know > and we can look again at no charge. > > > > Three days later I get a nasty e-mail saying I didn’t fix it, goes on and > on how he can prove I didn’t fix it blah blah. Oh, and by the way his > normal consultant logged in and fixed it. Well yeah because the normal guy > knows a whole lot more about the network than I did. > > > > Another off the street client had me look at some drop out issues. Again, > same story. I have never touched the network and he calls me saying > traffic just randomly stops for a second or two at a time. Start looking > at things, start from the easiest things to look at. Spend 3 hours or so > making sure configs are correct, etc. Bill client and say get back to me. > Sends me a nasty gram 3 months later saying it was the switch the routers > were hooked into and they had buffer issues. Why did I not tell him to > replace the switch within the first hour?!?!?! > > > > These are just a few examples. Us WISP consultants are a small bunch and > we all know each other. My advice is you need to find a consultant you can > build a relationship with that works for BOTH of you. My regular clients > know I pick up the phone in a pinch and am fair with them. However, they > have taken the time and effort to build the relationship on their side > too. Anyone new who calls me that is looking for someone to answer the > phone in that pinch automatically starts out with a 3-5 network evaluation. > I don’t go as far as labbing everything up, but I m
Re: [AFMUG] IPArchitechs
They were highly recommended by Butch Evans, when Butch was entering into to a very busy time in his work life. Our initial talks with them were excellent, and maybe if we had pulled the trigger with them at the time, and gleamed the benefits of what they offer, I wouldn’t be asking now. We really appreciated Butch when he was available. Paul From: Af [mailto:af-boun...@afmug.com] On Behalf Of Josh Luthman Sent: Monday, November 13, 2017 11:01 AM To: af@afmug.com Subject: Re: [AFMUG] IPArchitechs I don't understand why you wouldn't just use a consultant within our industry, that's part of WISPA, that's knows their stuff, that other people use... I've never even heard of the IPA guys, never seen them at any show. Josh Luthman Office: 937-552-2340 Direct: 937-552-2343 1100 Wayne St Suite 1337 Troy, OH 45373 On Mon, Nov 13, 2017 at 10:57 AM, Paul McCall <pa...@pdmnet.net<mailto:pa...@pdmnet.net>> wrote: Good info. I agree with the network assessment time, etc. We had spoken with IPA about doing this, and didn’t pull the trigger because we had bigger fish to fry at the time. So, I re-asked the question. I hear specific to IPA that they really don’t have a high satisfaction record among this group. So, while this discussion morphed into charges for assessing the network, it wasn’t really the question, and I think people on here that are credible have described IPA as not quite having their act together at this time From: Af [mailto:af-boun...@afmug.com<mailto:af-boun...@afmug.com>] On Behalf Of Justin Wilson Sent: Sunday, November 12, 2017 11:53 PM To: af@afmug.com<mailto:af@afmug.com> Subject: Re: [AFMUG] IPArchitechs Speaking from a consultant side it can be a little tricky with a new client. I have been burned more than once thinking I was going to “hop in and fix it real quick”. Anymore, I want to build relationships with my clients. One of the last ones was a guy calls me at midnight having a traffic issue. He has two upstream pipes he wants to try and utilize and needs some BGP help. It’s an emergency situation because he is maxing out one pipe and the other is barely being used. So, I talk with him for 45 minutes on his drive home before he can give me remote access. I then spend the next hour or so writing out diagrams on paper trying to learn his network as quickly as I can. I then make some BGP changes and see traffic change and watch it for another 15 minutes or so. By this time his prime time is starting to wind down a little so I can’t tell if it’s normal traffic utilization or I actually fixed it. I tell client I made changes, spent 15 minutes typing up said changes, and say I *think* I fixed it but don’t really know enough about the network to say I did. Send client invoice and say let me know and we can look again at no charge. Three days later I get a nasty e-mail saying I didn’t fix it, goes on and on how he can prove I didn’t fix it blah blah. Oh, and by the way his normal consultant logged in and fixed it. Well yeah because the normal guy knows a whole lot more about the network than I did. Another off the street client had me look at some drop out issues. Again, same story. I have never touched the network and he calls me saying traffic just randomly stops for a second or two at a time. Start looking at things, start from the easiest things to look at. Spend 3 hours or so making sure configs are correct, etc. Bill client and say get back to me. Sends me a nasty gram 3 months later saying it was the switch the routers were hooked into and they had buffer issues. Why did I not tell him to replace the switch within the first hour?!?!?! These are just a few examples. Us WISP consultants are a small bunch and we all know each other. My advice is you need to find a consultant you can build a relationship with that works for BOTH of you. My regular clients know I pick up the phone in a pinch and am fair with them. However, they have taken the time and effort to build the relationship on their side too. Anyone new who calls me that is looking for someone to answer the phone in that pinch automatically starts out with a 3-5 network evaluation. I don’t go as far as labbing everything up, but I make sure the documentation is spot on. I still do the small break fixes, etc. but I am much more cautious about things. We all have our own way of doing stuff. Some people and I don’t click. Some do. I am sure that is the same with any other consultant. Justin Wilson j...@mtin.net<mailto:j...@mtin.net> j2sw.com<http://j2sw.com> www.mtin.net<http://www.mtin.net> www.midwest-ix.com<http://www.midwest-ix.com> On Nov 9, 2017, at 1:10 PM, Sterling Jacobson <sterl...@avative.net<mailto:sterl...@avative.net>> wrote: Similar case with me which I kind of already pointed out. They couldn’t figure out a BGP issue and wanted to virtualize and put in a lab and
Re: [AFMUG] IPArchitechs
I don't understand why you wouldn't just use a consultant within our industry, that's part of WISPA, that's knows their stuff, that other people use... I've never even heard of the IPA guys, never seen them at any show. Josh Luthman Office: 937-552-2340 Direct: 937-552-2343 1100 Wayne St Suite 1337 Troy, OH 45373 On Mon, Nov 13, 2017 at 10:57 AM, Paul McCall <pa...@pdmnet.net> wrote: > Good info. I agree with the network assessment time, etc. We had spoken > with IPA about doing this, and didn’t pull the trigger because we had > bigger fish to fry at the time. So, I re-asked the question. I hear > specific to IPA that they really don’t have a high satisfaction record > among this group. So, while this discussion morphed into charges for > assessing the network, it wasn’t really the question, and I think people on > here that are credible have described IPA as not quite having their act > together at this time > > > > *From:* Af [mailto:af-boun...@afmug.com] *On Behalf Of *Justin Wilson > *Sent:* Sunday, November 12, 2017 11:53 PM > > *To:* af@afmug.com > *Subject:* Re: [AFMUG] IPArchitechs > > > > Speaking from a consultant side it can be a little tricky with a new > client. I have been burned more than once thinking I was going to “hop in > and fix it real quick”. Anymore, I want to build relationships with my > clients. One of the last ones was a guy calls me at midnight having a > traffic issue. He has two upstream pipes he wants to try and utilize and > needs some BGP help. It’s an emergency situation because he is maxing out > one pipe and the other is barely being used. So, I talk with him for 45 > minutes on his drive home before he can give me remote access. I then > spend the next hour or so writing out diagrams on paper trying to learn his > network as quickly as I can. > > > > I then make some BGP changes and see traffic change and watch it for > another 15 minutes or so. By this time his prime time is starting to wind > down a little so I can’t tell if it’s normal traffic utilization or I > actually fixed it. I tell client I made changes, spent 15 minutes typing up > said changes, and say I *think* I fixed it but don’t really know enough > about the network to say I did. Send client invoice and say let me know > and we can look again at no charge. > > > > Three days later I get a nasty e-mail saying I didn’t fix it, goes on and > on how he can prove I didn’t fix it blah blah. Oh, and by the way his > normal consultant logged in and fixed it. Well yeah because the normal guy > knows a whole lot more about the network than I did. > > > > Another off the street client had me look at some drop out issues. Again, > same story. I have never touched the network and he calls me saying > traffic just randomly stops for a second or two at a time. Start looking > at things, start from the easiest things to look at. Spend 3 hours or so > making sure configs are correct, etc. Bill client and say get back to me. > Sends me a nasty gram 3 months later saying it was the switch the routers > were hooked into and they had buffer issues. Why did I not tell him to > replace the switch within the first hour?!?!?! > > > > These are just a few examples. Us WISP consultants are a small bunch and > we all know each other. My advice is you need to find a consultant you can > build a relationship with that works for BOTH of you. My regular clients > know I pick up the phone in a pinch and am fair with them. However, they > have taken the time and effort to build the relationship on their side > too. Anyone new who calls me that is looking for someone to answer the > phone in that pinch automatically starts out with a 3-5 network evaluation. > I don’t go as far as labbing everything up, but I make sure the > documentation is spot on. I still do the small break fixes, etc. but I am > much more cautious about things. We all have our own way of doing stuff. > Some people and I don’t click. Some do. I am sure that is the same with > any other consultant. > > > > > > > > Justin Wilson > > j...@mtin.net > > > > j2sw.com > > www.mtin.net > > www.midwest-ix.com > > > > On Nov 9, 2017, at 1:10 PM, Sterling Jacobson <sterl...@avative.net> > wrote: > > > > Similar case with me which I kind of already pointed out. > > > > They couldn’t figure out a BGP issue and wanted to virtualize and put in a > lab and spend hours on top of hours analyzing. > > > > I stopped them right there and said no thanks to that. > > > > Then I called Dennis and he took a few minutes, found out it likely wasn’t > my problem, and worked with my upstream provider to fix it. > &
Re: [AFMUG] IPArchitechs
Good info. I agree with the network assessment time, etc. We had spoken with IPA about doing this, and didn’t pull the trigger because we had bigger fish to fry at the time. So, I re-asked the question. I hear specific to IPA that they really don’t have a high satisfaction record among this group. So, while this discussion morphed into charges for assessing the network, it wasn’t really the question, and I think people on here that are credible have described IPA as not quite having their act together at this time From: Af [mailto:af-boun...@afmug.com] On Behalf Of Justin Wilson Sent: Sunday, November 12, 2017 11:53 PM To: af@afmug.com Subject: Re: [AFMUG] IPArchitechs Speaking from a consultant side it can be a little tricky with a new client. I have been burned more than once thinking I was going to “hop in and fix it real quick”. Anymore, I want to build relationships with my clients. One of the last ones was a guy calls me at midnight having a traffic issue. He has two upstream pipes he wants to try and utilize and needs some BGP help. It’s an emergency situation because he is maxing out one pipe and the other is barely being used. So, I talk with him for 45 minutes on his drive home before he can give me remote access. I then spend the next hour or so writing out diagrams on paper trying to learn his network as quickly as I can. I then make some BGP changes and see traffic change and watch it for another 15 minutes or so. By this time his prime time is starting to wind down a little so I can’t tell if it’s normal traffic utilization or I actually fixed it. I tell client I made changes, spent 15 minutes typing up said changes, and say I *think* I fixed it but don’t really know enough about the network to say I did. Send client invoice and say let me know and we can look again at no charge. Three days later I get a nasty e-mail saying I didn’t fix it, goes on and on how he can prove I didn’t fix it blah blah. Oh, and by the way his normal consultant logged in and fixed it. Well yeah because the normal guy knows a whole lot more about the network than I did. Another off the street client had me look at some drop out issues. Again, same story. I have never touched the network and he calls me saying traffic just randomly stops for a second or two at a time. Start looking at things, start from the easiest things to look at. Spend 3 hours or so making sure configs are correct, etc. Bill client and say get back to me. Sends me a nasty gram 3 months later saying it was the switch the routers were hooked into and they had buffer issues. Why did I not tell him to replace the switch within the first hour?!?!?! These are just a few examples. Us WISP consultants are a small bunch and we all know each other. My advice is you need to find a consultant you can build a relationship with that works for BOTH of you. My regular clients know I pick up the phone in a pinch and am fair with them. However, they have taken the time and effort to build the relationship on their side too. Anyone new who calls me that is looking for someone to answer the phone in that pinch automatically starts out with a 3-5 network evaluation. I don’t go as far as labbing everything up, but I make sure the documentation is spot on. I still do the small break fixes, etc. but I am much more cautious about things. We all have our own way of doing stuff. Some people and I don’t click. Some do. I am sure that is the same with any other consultant. Justin Wilson j...@mtin.net<mailto:j...@mtin.net> j2sw.com<http://j2sw.com> www.mtin.net<http://www.mtin.net> www.midwest-ix.com<http://www.midwest-ix.com> On Nov 9, 2017, at 1:10 PM, Sterling Jacobson <sterl...@avative.net<mailto:sterl...@avative.net>> wrote: Similar case with me which I kind of already pointed out. They couldn’t figure out a BGP issue and wanted to virtualize and put in a lab and spend hours on top of hours analyzing. I stopped them right there and said no thanks to that. Then I called Dennis and he took a few minutes, found out it likely wasn’t my problem, and worked with my upstream provider to fix it. And it was fixed after some emails back and forth between all of us. I asked IPArchitechs to refund me since they had charged me hundreds of dollars to get nowhere. One of their sales guys made out a personal check to me for some reason, claiming his reputation was on the line or something like that. I think it was a shady play at emotions, but I don’t have many emotions, so it didn’t work with me, lol! I took whatever little money they could refund me, however they wanted to refund and ‘play’ that. Then they gave me credit which I still have, to use. Likely I’ll not be doing BGP stuff with them, but maybe they will do something more benign, like standard server work. From: Af [mailto:af-boun...@afmug.com] On Behalf Of can...@believewireless.net<
Re: [AFMUG] IPArchitechs
utes, found out it likely >> wasn’t my problem, and worked with my upstream provider to fix it. >> >> And it was fixed after some emails back and forth between all of us. >> >> I asked IPArchitechs to refund me since they had charged me hundreds of >> dollars to get nowhere. >> One of their sales guys made out a personal check to me for some reason, >> claiming his reputation was on the line or something like that. >> I think it was a shady play at emotions, but I don’t have many emotions, >> so it didn’t work with me, lol! >> >> I took whatever little money they could refund me, however they wanted to >> refund and ‘play’ that. >> Then they gave me credit which I still have, to use. >> >> Likely I’ll not be doing BGP stuff with them, but maybe they will do >> something more benign, like standard server work. >> >> *From:* Af [mailto:af-boun...@afmug.com <af-boun...@afmug.com>] *On >> Behalf Of *can...@believewireless.net >> *Sent:* Thursday, November 9, 2017 10:01 AM >> *To:* af@afmug.com >> *Subject:* Re: [AFMUG] IPArchitechs >> >> We used them once and we weren't happy. I wanted to give them a try to >> see how they compared to others. >> What I thought was a simple BGP issue that could have been handled with a >> 15-30 minute phone call ended >> up taking over two weeks. They "needed" to get our router configs and >> virtualize them in their network. Then >> figure out which interfaces were backhaul links, etc. >> >> They then came up with a crazy network design that, to me, made no sense. >> After them burning a lot of hours >> on that, a simple call at the end of that process amounted to just >> creating a single EoIP tunnel to fix the issue. >> >> So my thought is they want to burn hours whenever they can. >> >> On Thu, Nov 9, 2017 at 10:04 AM, Paul McCall <pa...@pdmnet.net> wrote: >> >> So, IPArchitechsis there a current consensus on whether they are >> worth investing time with? We are looking to layer BGP within (or upon) >> our OSPF network to better control traffic between towers, subnets, etc. >> >> IPA talked a good game, but we didn't roll out with them. >> >> Any thoughts? >> >> Paul >> >> -Original Message- >> From: Af [mailto:af-boun...@afmug.com] On Behalf Of Dennis Burgess >> Sent: Tuesday, August 8, 2017 1:47 PM >> To: af@afmug.com >> Subject: Re: [AFMUG] IPArchitechs >> >> We are always here :) >> >> >> Dennis Burgess - Network Solution Engineer - Consultant MikroTik >> Certified Trainer/Consultant - MTCNA, MTCRE, MTCWE, MTCTCE, MTCINE >> >> For Wireless Hardware/Routers visit www.linktechs.net Radio Frequency >> Coverages: www.towercoverage.com >> Office: 314-735-0270 >> E-Mail: dmburg...@linktechs.net >> >> >> -Original Message- >> From: Af [mailto:af-boun...@afmug.com] On Behalf Of Sterling Jacobson >> Sent: Tuesday, August 8, 2017 12:45 PM >> To: 'af@afmug.com' <af@afmug.com> >> Subject: [AFMUG] IPArchitechs >> >> That company was a bust. >> >> So I'm looking again for a professional team/company that can >> professionally handle my network contracting needs in a reasonable time >> frame. >> >> Dennis, I'll be asking for your help again in the meantime as soon as I >> get refunded from IPArchitechs. >> >> >>
Re: [AFMUG] IPArchitechs
Well said, Justin. The little bit of consulting I've done has shown me that it's hard to take in to account everything about a network if it's not decently documented. Otherwise it does take time. Sometimes without labbing stuff your taking a gamble with your production network. On Nov 12, 2017 10:53 PM, "Justin Wilson" <li...@mtin.net> wrote: > Speaking from a consultant side it can be a little tricky with a new > client. I have been burned more than once thinking I was going to “hop in > and fix it real quick”. Anymore, I want to build relationships with my > clients. One of the last ones was a guy calls me at midnight having a > traffic issue. He has two upstream pipes he wants to try and utilize and > needs some BGP help. It’s an emergency situation because he is maxing out > one pipe and the other is barely being used. So, I talk with him for 45 > minutes on his drive home before he can give me remote access. I then > spend the next hour or so writing out diagrams on paper trying to learn his > network as quickly as I can. > > I then make some BGP changes and see traffic change and watch it for > another 15 minutes or so. By this time his prime time is starting to wind > down a little so I can’t tell if it’s normal traffic utilization or I > actually fixed it. I tell client I made changes, spent 15 minutes typing up > said changes, and say I *think* I fixed it but don’t really know enough > about the network to say I did. Send client invoice and say let me know > and we can look again at no charge. > > Three days later I get a nasty e-mail saying I didn’t fix it, goes on and > on how he can prove I didn’t fix it blah blah. Oh, and by the way his > normal consultant logged in and fixed it. Well yeah because the normal guy > knows a whole lot more about the network than I did. > > Another off the street client had me look at some drop out issues. Again, > same story. I have never touched the network and he calls me saying > traffic just randomly stops for a second or two at a time. Start looking > at things, start from the easiest things to look at. Spend 3 hours or so > making sure configs are correct, etc. Bill client and say get back to me. > Sends me a nasty gram 3 months later saying it was the switch the routers > were hooked into and they had buffer issues. Why did I not tell him to > replace the switch within the first hour?!?!?! > > These are just a few examples. Us WISP consultants are a small bunch and > we all know each other. My advice is you need to find a consultant you can > build a relationship with that works for BOTH of you. My regular clients > know I pick up the phone in a pinch and am fair with them. However, they > have taken the time and effort to build the relationship on their side > too. Anyone new who calls me that is looking for someone to answer the > phone in that pinch automatically starts out with a 3-5 network evaluation. > I don’t go as far as labbing everything up, but I make sure the > documentation is spot on. I still do the small break fixes, etc. but I am > much more cautious about things. We all have our own way of doing stuff. > Some people and I don’t click. Some do. I am sure that is the same with > any other consultant. > > > > Justin Wilson > j...@mtin.net > > j2sw.com > www.mtin.net > www.midwest-ix.com > > On Nov 9, 2017, at 1:10 PM, Sterling Jacobson <sterl...@avative.net> > wrote: > > Similar case with me which I kind of already pointed out. > > They couldn’t figure out a BGP issue and wanted to virtualize and put in a > lab and spend hours on top of hours analyzing. > > I stopped them right there and said no thanks to that. > > Then I called Dennis and he took a few minutes, found out it likely wasn’t > my problem, and worked with my upstream provider to fix it. > > And it was fixed after some emails back and forth between all of us. > > I asked IPArchitechs to refund me since they had charged me hundreds of > dollars to get nowhere. > One of their sales guys made out a personal check to me for some reason, > claiming his reputation was on the line or something like that. > I think it was a shady play at emotions, but I don’t have many emotions, > so it didn’t work with me, lol! > > I took whatever little money they could refund me, however they wanted to > refund and ‘play’ that. > Then they gave me credit which I still have, to use. > > Likely I’ll not be doing BGP stuff with them, but maybe they will do > something more benign, like standard server work. > > *From:* Af [mailto:af-boun...@afmug.com <af-boun...@afmug.com>] *On > Behalf Of *can...@believewireless.net > *Sent:* Thursday, November 9, 2017 10:01 AM > *To:* af@afmug.com >
Re: [AFMUG] IPArchitechs
ing. > > I stopped them right there and said no thanks to that. > > Then I called Dennis and he took a few minutes, found out it likely wasn’t > my problem, and worked with my upstream provider to fix it. > > And it was fixed after some emails back and forth between all of us. > > I asked IPArchitechs to refund me since they had charged me hundreds of > dollars to get nowhere. > One of their sales guys made out a personal check to me for some reason, > claiming his reputation was on the line or something like that. > I think it was a shady play at emotions, but I don’t have many emotions, > so it didn’t work with me, lol! > > I took whatever little money they could refund me, however they wanted to > refund and ‘play’ that. > Then they gave me credit which I still have, to use. > > Likely I’ll not be doing BGP stuff with them, but maybe they will do > something more benign, like standard server work. > > *From:* Af [mailto:af-boun...@afmug.com <af-boun...@afmug.com>] *On > Behalf Of *can...@believewireless.net > *Sent:* Thursday, November 9, 2017 10:01 AM > *To:* af@afmug.com > *Subject:* Re: [AFMUG] IPArchitechs > > We used them once and we weren't happy. I wanted to give them a try to see > how they compared to others. > What I thought was a simple BGP issue that could have been handled with a > 15-30 minute phone call ended > up taking over two weeks. They "needed" to get our router configs and > virtualize them in their network. Then > figure out which interfaces were backhaul links, etc. > > They then came up with a crazy network design that, to me, made no sense. > After them burning a lot of hours > on that, a simple call at the end of that process amounted to just > creating a single EoIP tunnel to fix the issue. > > So my thought is they want to burn hours whenever they can. > > On Thu, Nov 9, 2017 at 10:04 AM, Paul McCall <pa...@pdmnet.net> wrote: > > So, IPArchitechsis there a current consensus on whether they are > worth investing time with? We are looking to layer BGP within (or upon) > our OSPF network to better control traffic between towers, subnets, etc. > > IPA talked a good game, but we didn't roll out with them. > > Any thoughts? > > Paul > > -Original Message- > From: Af [mailto:af-boun...@afmug.com] On Behalf Of Dennis Burgess > Sent: Tuesday, August 8, 2017 1:47 PM > To: af@afmug.com > Subject: Re: [AFMUG] IPArchitechs > > We are always here :) > > > Dennis Burgess - Network Solution Engineer - Consultant MikroTik Certified > Trainer/Consultant - MTCNA, MTCRE, MTCWE, MTCTCE, MTCINE > > For Wireless Hardware/Routers visit www.linktechs.net Radio Frequency > Coverages: www.towercoverage.com > Office: 314-735-0270 > E-Mail: dmburg...@linktechs.net > > > -Original Message- > From: Af [mailto:af-boun...@afmug.com] On Behalf Of Sterling Jacobson > Sent: Tuesday, August 8, 2017 12:45 PM > To: 'af@afmug.com' <af@afmug.com> > Subject: [AFMUG] IPArchitechs > > That company was a bust. > > So I'm looking again for a professional team/company that can > professionally handle my network contracting needs in a reasonable time > frame. > > Dennis, I'll be asking for your help again in the meantime as soon as I > get refunded from IPArchitechs. > > > >
Re: [AFMUG] IPArchitechs
Agree with this method 100%. Rarely can you hop in a fix something with little info. Spending time to learn about the customer and not just their current needs goes a long way toward creating a good business relationship. Both parties end up happier. On Nov 12, 2017 10:53 PM, "Justin Wilson" <li...@mtin.net> wrote: Speaking from a consultant side it can be a little tricky with a new client. I have been burned more than once thinking I was going to “hop in and fix it real quick”. Anymore, I want to build relationships with my clients. One of the last ones was a guy calls me at midnight having a traffic issue. He has two upstream pipes he wants to try and utilize and needs some BGP help. It’s an emergency situation because he is maxing out one pipe and the other is barely being used. So, I talk with him for 45 minutes on his drive home before he can give me remote access. I then spend the next hour or so writing out diagrams on paper trying to learn his network as quickly as I can. I then make some BGP changes and see traffic change and watch it for another 15 minutes or so. By this time his prime time is starting to wind down a little so I can’t tell if it’s normal traffic utilization or I actually fixed it. I tell client I made changes, spent 15 minutes typing up said changes, and say I *think* I fixed it but don’t really know enough about the network to say I did. Send client invoice and say let me know and we can look again at no charge. Three days later I get a nasty e-mail saying I didn’t fix it, goes on and on how he can prove I didn’t fix it blah blah. Oh, and by the way his normal consultant logged in and fixed it. Well yeah because the normal guy knows a whole lot more about the network than I did. Another off the street client had me look at some drop out issues. Again, same story. I have never touched the network and he calls me saying traffic just randomly stops for a second or two at a time. Start looking at things, start from the easiest things to look at. Spend 3 hours or so making sure configs are correct, etc. Bill client and say get back to me. Sends me a nasty gram 3 months later saying it was the switch the routers were hooked into and they had buffer issues. Why did I not tell him to replace the switch within the first hour?!?!?! These are just a few examples. Us WISP consultants are a small bunch and we all know each other. My advice is you need to find a consultant you can build a relationship with that works for BOTH of you. My regular clients know I pick up the phone in a pinch and am fair with them. However, they have taken the time and effort to build the relationship on their side too. Anyone new who calls me that is looking for someone to answer the phone in that pinch automatically starts out with a 3-5 network evaluation. I don’t go as far as labbing everything up, but I make sure the documentation is spot on. I still do the small break fixes, etc. but I am much more cautious about things. We all have our own way of doing stuff. Some people and I don’t click. Some do. I am sure that is the same with any other consultant. Justin Wilson j...@mtin.net j2sw.com www.mtin.net www.midwest-ix.com On Nov 9, 2017, at 1:10 PM, Sterling Jacobson <sterl...@avative.net> wrote: Similar case with me which I kind of already pointed out. They couldn’t figure out a BGP issue and wanted to virtualize and put in a lab and spend hours on top of hours analyzing. I stopped them right there and said no thanks to that. Then I called Dennis and he took a few minutes, found out it likely wasn’t my problem, and worked with my upstream provider to fix it. And it was fixed after some emails back and forth between all of us. I asked IPArchitechs to refund me since they had charged me hundreds of dollars to get nowhere. One of their sales guys made out a personal check to me for some reason, claiming his reputation was on the line or something like that. I think it was a shady play at emotions, but I don’t have many emotions, so it didn’t work with me, lol! I took whatever little money they could refund me, however they wanted to refund and ‘play’ that. Then they gave me credit which I still have, to use. Likely I’ll not be doing BGP stuff with them, but maybe they will do something more benign, like standard server work. *From:* Af [mailto:af-boun...@afmug.com <af-boun...@afmug.com>] *On Behalf Of *can...@believewireless.net *Sent:* Thursday, November 9, 2017 10:01 AM *To:* af@afmug.com *Subject:* Re: [AFMUG] IPArchitechs We used them once and we weren't happy. I wanted to give them a try to see how they compared to others. What I thought was a simple BGP issue that could have been handled with a 15-30 minute phone call ended up taking over two weeks. They "needed" to get our router configs and virtualize them in their network. Then figure out which interfaces were backhaul links, etc. They then came up with a crazy net
Re: [AFMUG] IPArchitechs
Speaking from a consultant side it can be a little tricky with a new client. I have been burned more than once thinking I was going to “hop in and fix it real quick”. Anymore, I want to build relationships with my clients. One of the last ones was a guy calls me at midnight having a traffic issue. He has two upstream pipes he wants to try and utilize and needs some BGP help. It’s an emergency situation because he is maxing out one pipe and the other is barely being used. So, I talk with him for 45 minutes on his drive home before he can give me remote access. I then spend the next hour or so writing out diagrams on paper trying to learn his network as quickly as I can. I then make some BGP changes and see traffic change and watch it for another 15 minutes or so. By this time his prime time is starting to wind down a little so I can’t tell if it’s normal traffic utilization or I actually fixed it. I tell client I made changes, spent 15 minutes typing up said changes, and say I *think* I fixed it but don’t really know enough about the network to say I did. Send client invoice and say let me know and we can look again at no charge. Three days later I get a nasty e-mail saying I didn’t fix it, goes on and on how he can prove I didn’t fix it blah blah. Oh, and by the way his normal consultant logged in and fixed it. Well yeah because the normal guy knows a whole lot more about the network than I did. Another off the street client had me look at some drop out issues. Again, same story. I have never touched the network and he calls me saying traffic just randomly stops for a second or two at a time. Start looking at things, start from the easiest things to look at. Spend 3 hours or so making sure configs are correct, etc. Bill client and say get back to me. Sends me a nasty gram 3 months later saying it was the switch the routers were hooked into and they had buffer issues. Why did I not tell him to replace the switch within the first hour?!?!?! These are just a few examples. Us WISP consultants are a small bunch and we all know each other. My advice is you need to find a consultant you can build a relationship with that works for BOTH of you. My regular clients know I pick up the phone in a pinch and am fair with them. However, they have taken the time and effort to build the relationship on their side too. Anyone new who calls me that is looking for someone to answer the phone in that pinch automatically starts out with a 3-5 network evaluation. I don’t go as far as labbing everything up, but I make sure the documentation is spot on. I still do the small break fixes, etc. but I am much more cautious about things. We all have our own way of doing stuff. Some people and I don’t click. Some do. I am sure that is the same with any other consultant. Justin Wilson j...@mtin.net j2sw.com www.mtin.net www.midwest-ix.com > On Nov 9, 2017, at 1:10 PM, Sterling Jacobson <sterl...@avative.net> wrote: > > Similar case with me which I kind of already pointed out. > > They couldn’t figure out a BGP issue and wanted to virtualize and put in a > lab and spend hours on top of hours analyzing. > > I stopped them right there and said no thanks to that. > > Then I called Dennis and he took a few minutes, found out it likely wasn’t my > problem, and worked with my upstream provider to fix it. > > And it was fixed after some emails back and forth between all of us. > > I asked IPArchitechs to refund me since they had charged me hundreds of > dollars to get nowhere. > One of their sales guys made out a personal check to me for some reason, > claiming his reputation was on the line or something like that. > I think it was a shady play at emotions, but I don’t have many emotions, so > it didn’t work with me, lol! > > I took whatever little money they could refund me, however they wanted to > refund and ‘play’ that. > Then they gave me credit which I still have, to use. > > Likely I’ll not be doing BGP stuff with them, but maybe they will do > something more benign, like standard server work. > > From: Af [mailto:af-boun...@afmug.com <mailto:af-boun...@afmug.com>] On > Behalf Of can...@believewireless.net <mailto:can...@believewireless.net> > Sent: Thursday, November 9, 2017 10:01 AM > To: af@afmug.com <mailto:af@afmug.com> > Subject: Re: [AFMUG] IPArchitechs > > We used them once and we weren't happy. I wanted to give them a try to see > how they compared to others. > What I thought was a simple BGP issue that could have been handled with a > 15-30 minute phone call ended > up taking over two weeks. They "needed" to get our router configs and > virtualize them in their network. Then > figure out which interfaces were backhaul links, etc. > > They then came up with a
Re: [AFMUG] IPArchitechs
Ha...reminds me of Hyperlink in the 90s..we ordered a custom designed 5 watt amp for WaveLAN 900MHz 85 mile link in Hermosillo area... paid with Amex and no amp for almost a month... Matt ,my salesman, called to tell me Peter had used payment to make payroll and had to wait to get more sales to order parts for this amp. A phone call from Peter would have made all the difference...I never bought Hyperlink products ever again. We almost lost the project due to delay...it was for Brandy Presidente owners hunting ranch in mountains... On Nov 9, 2017 11:10 AM, "Sterling Jacobson" <sterl...@avative.net> wrote: Similar case with me which I kind of already pointed out. They couldn’t figure out a BGP issue and wanted to virtualize and put in a lab and spend hours on top of hours analyzing. I stopped them right there and said no thanks to that. Then I called Dennis and he took a few minutes, found out it likely wasn’t my problem, and worked with my upstream provider to fix it. And it was fixed after some emails back and forth between all of us. I asked IPArchitechs to refund me since they had charged me hundreds of dollars to get nowhere. One of their sales guys made out a personal check to me for some reason, claiming his reputation was on the line or something like that. I think it was a shady play at emotions, but I don’t have many emotions, so it didn’t work with me, lol! I took whatever little money they could refund me, however they wanted to refund and ‘play’ that. Then they gave me credit which I still have, to use. Likely I’ll not be doing BGP stuff with them, but maybe they will do something more benign, like standard server work. *From:* Af [mailto:af-boun...@afmug.com] *On Behalf Of * can...@believewireless.net *Sent:* Thursday, November 9, 2017 10:01 AM *To:* af@afmug.com *Subject:* Re: [AFMUG] IPArchitechs We used them once and we weren't happy. I wanted to give them a try to see how they compared to others. What I thought was a simple BGP issue that could have been handled with a 15-30 minute phone call ended up taking over two weeks. They "needed" to get our router configs and virtualize them in their network. Then figure out which interfaces were backhaul links, etc. They then came up with a crazy network design that, to me, made no sense. After them burning a lot of hours on that, a simple call at the end of that process amounted to just creating a single EoIP tunnel to fix the issue. So my thought is they want to burn hours whenever they can. On Thu, Nov 9, 2017 at 10:04 AM, Paul McCall <pa...@pdmnet.net> wrote: So, IPArchitechsis there a current consensus on whether they are worth investing time with? We are looking to layer BGP within (or upon) our OSPF network to better control traffic between towers, subnets, etc. IPA talked a good game, but we didn't roll out with them. Any thoughts? Paul -Original Message- From: Af [mailto:af-boun...@afmug.com] On Behalf Of Dennis Burgess Sent: Tuesday, August 8, 2017 1:47 PM To: af@afmug.com Subject: Re: [AFMUG] IPArchitechs We are always here :) Dennis Burgess - Network Solution Engineer - Consultant MikroTik Certified Trainer/Consultant - MTCNA, MTCRE, MTCWE, MTCTCE, MTCINE For Wireless Hardware/Routers visit www.linktechs.net Radio Frequency Coverages: www.towercoverage.com Office: 314-735-0270 E-Mail: dmburg...@linktechs.net -Original Message- From: Af [mailto:af-boun...@afmug.com] On Behalf Of Sterling Jacobson Sent: Tuesday, August 8, 2017 12:45 PM To: 'af@afmug.com' <af@afmug.com> Subject: [AFMUG] IPArchitechs That company was a bust. So I'm looking again for a professional team/company that can professionally handle my network contracting needs in a reasonable time frame. Dennis, I'll be asking for your help again in the meantime as soon as I get refunded from IPArchitechs.
Re: [AFMUG] IPArchitechs
Similar case with me which I kind of already pointed out. They couldn’t figure out a BGP issue and wanted to virtualize and put in a lab and spend hours on top of hours analyzing. I stopped them right there and said no thanks to that. Then I called Dennis and he took a few minutes, found out it likely wasn’t my problem, and worked with my upstream provider to fix it. And it was fixed after some emails back and forth between all of us. I asked IPArchitechs to refund me since they had charged me hundreds of dollars to get nowhere. One of their sales guys made out a personal check to me for some reason, claiming his reputation was on the line or something like that. I think it was a shady play at emotions, but I don’t have many emotions, so it didn’t work with me, lol! I took whatever little money they could refund me, however they wanted to refund and ‘play’ that. Then they gave me credit which I still have, to use. Likely I’ll not be doing BGP stuff with them, but maybe they will do something more benign, like standard server work. From: Af [mailto:af-boun...@afmug.com] On Behalf Of can...@believewireless.net Sent: Thursday, November 9, 2017 10:01 AM To: af@afmug.com Subject: Re: [AFMUG] IPArchitechs We used them once and we weren't happy. I wanted to give them a try to see how they compared to others. What I thought was a simple BGP issue that could have been handled with a 15-30 minute phone call ended up taking over two weeks. They "needed" to get our router configs and virtualize them in their network. Then figure out which interfaces were backhaul links, etc. They then came up with a crazy network design that, to me, made no sense. After them burning a lot of hours on that, a simple call at the end of that process amounted to just creating a single EoIP tunnel to fix the issue. So my thought is they want to burn hours whenever they can. On Thu, Nov 9, 2017 at 10:04 AM, Paul McCall <pa...@pdmnet.net<mailto:pa...@pdmnet.net>> wrote: So, IPArchitechsis there a current consensus on whether they are worth investing time with? We are looking to layer BGP within (or upon) our OSPF network to better control traffic between towers, subnets, etc. IPA talked a good game, but we didn't roll out with them. Any thoughts? Paul -Original Message- From: Af [mailto:af-boun...@afmug.com<mailto:af-boun...@afmug.com>] On Behalf Of Dennis Burgess Sent: Tuesday, August 8, 2017 1:47 PM To: af@afmug.com<mailto:af@afmug.com> Subject: Re: [AFMUG] IPArchitechs We are always here :) Dennis Burgess - Network Solution Engineer - Consultant MikroTik Certified Trainer/Consultant - MTCNA, MTCRE, MTCWE, MTCTCE, MTCINE For Wireless Hardware/Routers visit www.linktechs.net<http://www.linktechs.net> Radio Frequency Coverages: www.towercoverage.com<http://www.towercoverage.com> Office: 314-735-0270 E-Mail: dmburg...@linktechs.net<mailto:dmburg...@linktechs.net> -Original Message- From: Af [mailto:af-boun...@afmug.com<mailto:af-boun...@afmug.com>] On Behalf Of Sterling Jacobson Sent: Tuesday, August 8, 2017 12:45 PM To: 'af@afmug.com<mailto:af@afmug.com>' <af@afmug.com<mailto:af@afmug.com>> Subject: [AFMUG] IPArchitechs That company was a bust. So I'm looking again for a professional team/company that can professionally handle my network contracting needs in a reasonable time frame. Dennis, I'll be asking for your help again in the meantime as soon as I get refunded from IPArchitechs.
Re: [AFMUG] IPArchitechs
We used them once and we weren't happy. I wanted to give them a try to see how they compared to others. What I thought was a simple BGP issue that could have been handled with a 15-30 minute phone call ended up taking over two weeks. They "needed" to get our router configs and virtualize them in their network. Then figure out which interfaces were backhaul links, etc. They then came up with a crazy network design that, to me, made no sense. After them burning a lot of hours on that, a simple call at the end of that process amounted to just creating a single EoIP tunnel to fix the issue. So my thought is they want to burn hours whenever they can. On Thu, Nov 9, 2017 at 10:04 AM, Paul McCall <pa...@pdmnet.net> wrote: > So, IPArchitechsis there a current consensus on whether they are > worth investing time with? We are looking to layer BGP within (or upon) > our OSPF network to better control traffic between towers, subnets, etc. > > IPA talked a good game, but we didn't roll out with them. > > Any thoughts? > > Paul > > -Original Message- > From: Af [mailto:af-boun...@afmug.com] On Behalf Of Dennis Burgess > Sent: Tuesday, August 8, 2017 1:47 PM > To: af@afmug.com > Subject: Re: [AFMUG] IPArchitechs > > We are always here :) > > > Dennis Burgess - Network Solution Engineer - Consultant MikroTik Certified > Trainer/Consultant - MTCNA, MTCRE, MTCWE, MTCTCE, MTCINE > > For Wireless Hardware/Routers visit www.linktechs.net Radio Frequency > Coverages: www.towercoverage.com > Office: 314-735-0270 > E-Mail: dmburg...@linktechs.net > > > -Original Message- > From: Af [mailto:af-boun...@afmug.com] On Behalf Of Sterling Jacobson > Sent: Tuesday, August 8, 2017 12:45 PM > To: 'af@afmug.com' <af@afmug.com> > Subject: [AFMUG] IPArchitechs > > That company was a bust. > > So I'm looking again for a professional team/company that can > professionally handle my network contracting needs in a reasonable time > frame. > > Dennis, I'll be asking for your help again in the meantime as soon as I > get refunded from IPArchitechs. > > >
Re: [AFMUG] IPArchitechs
So, IPArchitechsis there a current consensus on whether they are worth investing time with? We are looking to layer BGP within (or upon) our OSPF network to better control traffic between towers, subnets, etc. IPA talked a good game, but we didn't roll out with them. Any thoughts? Paul -Original Message- From: Af [mailto:af-boun...@afmug.com] On Behalf Of Dennis Burgess Sent: Tuesday, August 8, 2017 1:47 PM To: af@afmug.com Subject: Re: [AFMUG] IPArchitechs We are always here :) Dennis Burgess - Network Solution Engineer - Consultant MikroTik Certified Trainer/Consultant - MTCNA, MTCRE, MTCWE, MTCTCE, MTCINE For Wireless Hardware/Routers visit www.linktechs.net Radio Frequency Coverages: www.towercoverage.com Office: 314-735-0270 E-Mail: dmburg...@linktechs.net -Original Message- From: Af [mailto:af-boun...@afmug.com] On Behalf Of Sterling Jacobson Sent: Tuesday, August 8, 2017 12:45 PM To: 'af@afmug.com' <af@afmug.com> Subject: [AFMUG] IPArchitechs That company was a bust. So I'm looking again for a professional team/company that can professionally handle my network contracting needs in a reasonable time frame. Dennis, I'll be asking for your help again in the meantime as soon as I get refunded from IPArchitechs.
Re: [AFMUG] IPArchitechs
We are always here :) Dennis Burgess - Network Solution Engineer - Consultant MikroTik Certified Trainer/Consultant - MTCNA, MTCRE, MTCWE, MTCTCE, MTCINE For Wireless Hardware/Routers visit www.linktechs.net Radio Frequency Coverages: www.towercoverage.com Office: 314-735-0270 E-Mail: dmburg...@linktechs.net -Original Message- From: Af [mailto:af-boun...@afmug.com] On Behalf Of Sterling Jacobson Sent: Tuesday, August 8, 2017 12:45 PM To: 'af@afmug.com' <af@afmug.com> Subject: [AFMUG] IPArchitechs That company was a bust. So I'm looking again for a professional team/company that can professionally handle my network contracting needs in a reasonable time frame. Dennis, I'll be asking for your help again in the meantime as soon as I get refunded from IPArchitechs.
[AFMUG] IPArchitechs
That company was a bust. So I'm looking again for a professional team/company that can professionally handle my network contracting needs in a reasonable time frame. Dennis, I'll be asking for your help again in the meantime as soon as I get refunded from IPArchitechs.
