What is SneakyNet?
SneakyNet is a pretend ISP that shows up at events like this one to supply retro networking, or just networking that's interesting. The main SneakyNet network has 2 major divisions are described below. You can click on the icons to learn more about the individual hardware.
TDM Circuit Switched Network
The circuit switched network is, as the name implies, switched over continuously allocated circuits. At the heart of the network is a Cisco 3825 Integrated Services Router.
IP Packet Data Network
The IP packet network is a modern-ish packet data network supporting Internet Protocol (IP) as well as other more exotic protocols. At the heart of the network is a Cisco 3825 Integrated Services Router, though most services are hosted on a dedicated x86 server.
The entire network is self contained, and hosts all services consistent with what an ISP in the late 1990's to early 2000's would have provided. Not the level of a major ISP like AOL, but a smaller one with a questionable business model.
Why Is SneakyNet
Why not?
No really, why?
This is all for fun. Networks are a fantastically interesting form of communication over often times vast differences. These distances are shortened from days and weeks of travel to mere milliseconds by colossal infrastructure systems that relay, process, and transmit data from point to point.
As time moves forward and technology changes, some forms of network communication become obsolete. SneakyNet attempts to preserve some of the fun of the early days of the internet where network technology was new and exciting, and the concept of connecting your communications instrument to a larger collection was a novel experience.
We hope that our mission is fulfilled and you have gained some new understanding of how the connected world around you started, as well as getting to see a neat technology in action.
What about it is sneaky?
We have to be sneaky so the phone company people from ShadyTel don't notice what we're up to and start billing for the telephone lines. How else could we offer our low low prices?
Equipment
The SneakyNet services are provided via a myriad of differnet hardware. Some of this hardware is modern, some of it is not. The entire stack is based on hardware that could have been found at a datacenter operated by a small regional Internet service provider (ISP) at the turn of the millenium.
See the additional pages for information on each specific component of our network.
Telco
Telephone Company, or 'Telco' equipment, is the portion of the network that would be present at a Telephone Company Central Office (CO) where it could be directly interconnected into both packet and circuit switched networks to provide service onwards to customers.
Equipment that is destined to go to a telco facility is easily identifiable because of its form factor and harsh operating condition ratings. Equipment will usually possess multiple power supplies, provide an option for directly consuming -48v power, and be capable of operating for extended periods of time at high temperature.
With packet voice being the norm today it is easy to forget that telephone service used to be considered the single most reliable service money could buy, but there was a time where you could have power out, no water, and questionable gas service. Through all this though you could be confident that your phone would ring and you could call your loved ones and emergency services to deal with any situation that arose.
The majority of SneakyNet's hardware is contained in a rolling 19" equipment rack making it easy to transport and store. The connections to the outside world are made via a high current AC power inlet jack and a series of patch panels on the front face.
Cisco ISR
The Cisco Integrated Services Router (ISR) is a 2U platform designed for dense routing applications where size matters. This chassis was originally designed as a branch office router and was introduced to the Cisco product line around 2004. The hardware reached end-of-life in 2011 and passed end-of-service-life in 2016 per Cisco's listed policies.
The 3825 is used in the SneakyNet system to provide both IP data services as well as to serve as the TDM switch at the Telco end of the connection. The router contains multiple T1 interface cards, and has an NM-ESW16 card which provides an onboard 16 port switch.
The 3825 provides the network clock for the T1 connections which are synchronous serial links. The clock on the 3825 is allowed to free-run relative to network time, however proper ISPs make use of extremely high precision clocks to maintain a precise lock against the long distance network's clock. The IP throughput capabilities of the 3825 chassis are laughable by today's standards, but would have been fairly impressive when it launched. While not in use by SneakyNet, the 3800 series routers support Cisco's proprietary DC feed standard for a secondary power supply, which would have enabled the router to consume power from either a standard AC bus or from a variety of secondary sources in the event of a mains power failure.
Patton Electronics Dialfire 2960
The spectacularly named Dialfire 2960 is a Remote Access Server. This is a special class of device that includes all the components for dial-in networking into one RU of space. The device has dual power supplies, and models exist which are capable of terminating 96 concurrent calls. The SneakyNet unit only has sufficient Digital Signal Processing capacity (DSP) to support 23 concurrent calls. It connects via a T1 Primary Rate Interface (PRI) to the TDM network, and connects via 10/100 Fast Ethernet to the IP network.
The Dialfire handles all the machinery of dynamically connecting an inbound phone call to a modem, negotiating with it to begin a data channel, figuring out what the caller wants and performing sufficient authentication to grant those services. The Dialfire authenticates users using the 802.1X protocol suite, specifically the Remote Access Dial In User Service (RADIUS) protocol.
Surprisingly, the Dialfire is still a production device and Patton Electronics, a Maryland telecom company can still supply spare parts and new components.
Zhone Z-Plex-10-24S
The TDM network normally passes around data in bundles on T1 carriers. This is a channelized medium, and is capable of carrying a very dense bundle of calls over a single cable. To make individual numbers available, they need to be broken out on individual lines for equipment to be plugged into. A channel bank performs this function by taking a bank of Bearer or "B" channels from a T1 and turning them into individual telephone circuits.
The Zhone Z-Plex-10-24S is a compound device in a 1RU form factor designed to consume 1-2 T1 circuits and provide a mix of FXS interfaces, v.35 data, and redundancy across lines. The single power supply present allows it to operate economically in an office setting, however it is capable of drawing from a secondary -48v supply.
The Zhone company continues to exist as the modern brand "DZS" who continues to manufacture telecom equipment.
Carrier Access Corporation Adit 600
The TDM network normally passes around data in bundles on T1 carriers. This is a channelized medium, and is capable of carrying a very dense bundle of calls over a single cable. To make individual numbers available, they need to be broken out on individual lines for equipment to be plugged into. A channel bank performs this function by taking a bank of Bearer or "B" channels from a T1 and turning them into individual telephone circuits.
The CAC Adit 600 is a telco channel bank. These units were commonly found in roadside equipment cabinets serving subscriber lines where distance or density outstripped the existing copper plant in the area. Designed to consume 2 T1 lines and provide a mix of phone and data service, these extremely ruggedized devices are commonly found in places where space is tight and conditions are harsh.
Services Host
Some services need to run on a Linux host. These services are broadly hosted by a 2U server which runs Void Linux. It is a modern amd64 based machine that is anachronistic based on the equipment surrounding it. There's not much else to say about it, its a Linux computer.
Office
Its difficult to be a business without some office infrastructure. To this end SneakyNet has an office telephone system for taking orders and processing support inquiries, as well as an office IP network to be able to use the latest in technology from Microsoft and other vendors to provide for customer needs and effect swift and correct billing for services consumed.
The office equipment isn't rated for quite the same harsh conditions as the equipment that would run in a telephone company's facilities, and its visibly quite different. The equipment is made of more plastic, has more lights, indicators, and is clearly meant to be physically interacted with more frequently. Usually its considered acceptable if this equipment is down during a disaster, as the people responsible for resolving the emergency will relocate to the Central Office facility to coordinate from there.
The office equipment is contained in a smaller portable rack which packs up into a nylon case. With some effort its possible to shoulder this case and walk with it.
Nortel Business Communications Manager 50
The Nortel BCM50 is a small office telephone system. Commonly referred to as a Private Branch Exchange, the BCM50 has more features in common with an advanced key system than a true PBX, but still packs a significant number of features.
The BCM50 is capable of driving both digital and analog telephones, can make use of IP telephony via the UNISTIM protocol, and supports both IP and physical outbound trunks. The SneakyNet BCM is connected to the main TDM network via a Digital Trunk Module which provides a PRI interface on the BCM. This allows for 23 simulataneous phone calls to the public network, while other phone calls internal to the office network can occur independently.
Juniper SRX 220
The Juniper Networks SRX220 small branch router is a compact 1RU router providing IP services only. The router is capable of providing a small gigabit IP network, as well as performing the BGP session maintenance to do dynamic routing to the telco equipment rack.
Other
There's some equipment that supports the SneakyNet operation that doesn't fit in any category, because its either anachronistic or just something that needs to exist to make things work at an event that doesn't technically belong. Items in this category include various modern hardware like current generation laptops, cables being abused for things they weren't designed for, and "crutch" hardware such as LTE modems and WiFi to Ethernet bridges.
This equipment is modern, its stuff you should generally recognize and can be sourced from any reputable component supplier. Most of SneakyNet's hardware came from Amazon or Microcenter and gets stored away in plastic bins when not in use. For modern hardware like this its always important to check what kind of batteries are in use, so we carefully store ours under climate controlled conditions and check the battery condition monthly.
Dial-Up
Dialup uses many complex signaling schemes to produce a reliable data channel over an unreliable medium. The following diagram by Oona Räisänen provides a visual representation of what each sound is.
Service Areas
Ordering service from SneakyNet is only possible if you are inside of one of our coverage areas. These areas change from time to time.
Vintage Computer Festival Southwest - 2025
SneakyNet is proud to provide service at the 2025 Southwest Vintage Computer Festival in Dallas, Texas. Our service portfolio will include wireline and wireless services in both exhibit halls as well as a myriad of pack-in value added services.
Inside Plant
The equipment in the SneakyNet CO wil comprise mostly the equipment listed earlier in this document, as well as a selection of telephones.
The Terminal Services equipment is broadly an extension of the TDM Core rack. The TDM core includes all the switching, routing and network capability.
External jumpers are as follows:
Outside Plant
The outside plant includes substantial network capability distributed between two wirecenters. Each exhibit hall is one wircenter and contains central infrastructure as well as distribution cabling. The wirecenters are linked in a centra/remote architecture, with the remote being fed by 2 T1 circuits and a 1000BaseSX circuit.
Using the advanced capabilities of the Shady Rate Interface, some exhibitor circuits "loop through" other customer premises. These circuits are on existing trunk infrastructure, but are not present on the interface equipment at these customer sites.
Wirecenter - GNDY
The GNDY wirecenter services the main hall, and two smaller breakout rooms. The MDCON space is not within the SneakyNet coverage area.
Wirecenter - ATC
The ATC wirecenter covers the ATC building, as well as the Media Archeology Lab's remote footprint.
IP Services
Overall the IP network is presented as a large layer 2 broadcast domain for exhibitor use. Some exhibitors are fed from the core switch in the CO, which is an HPE /////. Leaf switches are all Ruckus ICX715-C12P which provide a great balance of compact switches with generous PoE.
The network core is a Mikrotik CCR 2004. This is not vintage hardware at all, but when operating large scale wifi networks and Ethernet fabrics, I prefer to have access to modern hardware that interacts with modern management systems.
Overall, the IP network looks like this:
Not pictured in the above diagram are the other ports on the ICX switches, which were used to provision exhibitor facing Ethernet ports.