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&entry=gmail&source=g> > Suite 1337 > <https://maps.google.com/?q=1100+Wayne+St+Suite+1337+Troy,+OH+45373&entry=gmail&source=g> > Troy, OH 45373 > <https://maps.google.com/?q=1100+Wayne+St+Suite+1337+Troy,+OH+45373&entry=gmail&source=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, 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 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, IPArchitechs.... is 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. >> >> >> > > -- Adair Winter VP, Network Operations / Co-Owner Amarillo Wireless | 806.316.5071 C: 806.231.7180 http://www.amarillowireless.net <http://www.amarillowireless.net>
