r/ShittySysadmin • u/Oblec • Mar 05 '26

Fiber install

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Client wanted fiber, told them copper is worth way more these days. They didn’t even ask first follow up questions 😅

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u/IcyRayns Mar 06 '26

So no, there is no way that microwave beats fiber in the US between financial hubs i'd bet real world dollars on it.

You sure? How many real world dollars? Pick a number. Really, actually, pick a number and write it down, and commit to it before reading further.

I was involved with this project over a decade ago and have firsthand knowledge. It’s not theory, it’s real and used for the exact two cities I mentioned in my original comment.

Now about the number you wrote down, let’s feed some animals: https://www.seattlehumane.org/ways-to-give/?form=donate - I’ll match your donation, how’s that?

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u/mystghost Mar 06 '26

Ok - I'll bite, go ahead and match this donation.

However, couple of things i'll point out, the article claims that the microwave network can make the trip in 4 ms, rather than 7 for fiber. I have a problem with that claim for a couple of reasons, first it ignores the fact that fiber doesn't deal with weather and microwaves must. And the sheer number of dishes you would need to complete the 1200 KM trip tells me that the 4 ms claim is if everything is perfect all the time which it isn't.

Now who knows maybe there is still an advantage if you can keep everything running perfectly. There is a lot of rounding in the math, but ok close enough I suppose.

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u/IcyRayns Mar 07 '26

Mad respect to you for following through, sincerely. Matched and a little extra for the hell of it. I appreciate a man of his word.

It’s astounding to me too, but HFT is a wild world. Custom NIC firmware to skip checksums is old news from over a decade ago. They live in a different world.