On Jun 9, 2008, at 11:19 AM, brian raszap wrote:
you're saying it's illegal to run an SSH server? that makes no sense.
On the contrary - it makes perfect sense to ComCast, particularly with the Web 1.0 model.
The Web 1.0 model has all the content on the servers, and the clients talk to the servers and bring down the content. This is massively asymmetric - much more data comes DOWN than UP. The only data that goes UP is the request (e.g., the URL).
Given that for providers like ComCast uplink bandwidth is MUCH more scarce than downlink bandwidth (basically because the upstream packets have to be multiplexed together on the way up - if you look at the DOCSIS cable internet standards, there are only a small number of time slots available for uplink traffic - the very protocol itself is designed for high-traffic downlinks and low-traffic uplinks).
Now, if you run a server at your home location, you are running what they consider to be high-bandwidth data (server output) over their very low-bandwidth uplinks. SO they'd much rather give you 10MB or whatever of free hard disk AT THEIR SERVERS than have to support your sending the same data up your uplink from a server at your home.
So, in a nutshell, that's why "servers" at home are discouraged. -zben
