OMS SafeHarbor

Starting next month, in Arkansas and Kansas, Cox Communications will throttle your software updates.

I’m not yet clear on how they plan to determine what constitutes a software update, but I don’t like any of the options I can imagine.

While this is a “limited trial”, I think this is another clear signal that multi-tier, or content-specific distribution models will be the mainstream future.

Here is the meat of the announcement from Cox;

Below is a break-down of the time-sensitivity of the various types of traffic that travel the Cox network. Any traffic that is not specifically classified will be treated as time-sensitive.

Time Sensitive

Web (Web surfing, including web-based email and chat embedded in web pages)
VoIP (Voice over IP, telephone calls made over the Internet)
Email
IM (Instant messages, including related voice and webcam traffic)
Streaming (Web-based audio and video programs)
Games (Online interactive games)
Tunneling & Remote Connectivity (VPN-type services for telecommuting)
Other (Any service not categorized into another area)

Non-Time Sensitive

File Access (Bulk transfers of data such as FTP)
Network Storage (Bulk transfers of data for storage)
P2P (Peer to peer protocols)
Software Updates (Managed updates such as operating system updates)
Usenet (Newsgroup related)

Here is the link to the Cox Communication announcement on network traffic management

Visit OMS SafeHarbor for more information on fulfilling your  software distribution requirements.