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Posted by prox, from Charlotte, on July 13, 2008 at 19:39 local (server) time

I was downloading VMware Server 2.0 (RC1) today, and noticed something odd when running wget:

Resolving download3.vmware.com... 24.25.26.50, 24.25.26.83

So, 24.24/14 is Road Runner, and 24.25.26.0/24 resides in the Raleigh RDC (regional data center).  Further investigation reveals that Road Runner is indeed hosting Akamai caches in certain regions, to (evidently) reduce transit costs.  Here's a traceroute from Charlotte:

% tracepath download3.vmware.com.
 1:  destiny.prolixium.com (10.3.5.107)                     0.112ms pmtu 1500
 1:  et3.starfire.prolixium.net (10.3.5.254)                0.629ms 
 1:  et3.starfire.prolixium.net (10.3.5.254)                0.482ms 
 2:  et0-0.e.prolixium.net (10.3.253.2)                     1.884ms 
 3:  10.218.32.1 (10.218.32.1)                             14.022ms 
 4:  gig2-2.chrlncdnb-rtr1.carolina.rr.com (24.93.65.161)  15.616ms asymm  5 
 5:  srp0-0.chrlncsa-rtr2.carolina.rr.com (24.93.67.175)   14.864ms 
 6:  ge-7-3-0.chrlncpop-rtr1.southeast.rr.com (24.93.64.23)  23.056ms asymm  7 
 7:  ge-0-3-0.rlghncpop-rtr1.southeast.rr.com (24.93.64.172)  27.707ms 
 8:  te-0-25.akamai-swt.akamai.net (24.25.24.158)          21.955ms asymm  7 
 9:  rdc-024-025-026-083.southeast.rr.com (24.25.26.83)    25.052ms reached
     Resume: pmtu 1500 hops 9 back 57 

And here's one from Menands, NY:

% tracepath download3.vmware.com.
 1:  cpe-74-76-220-132.nycap.res.rr.com (74.76.220.132)     0.242ms pmtu 1500
 1:  cable1-0.albynybhi-ar401.nyroc.rr.com (74.76.216.1)   12.582ms 
 1:  cable1-0.albynybhi-ar401.nyroc.rr.com (74.76.216.1)   14.133ms 
 2:  gig2-1-8.albynywav-rtr01.nyroc.rr.com (24.29.39.33)   13.471ms 
 3:  ge-1-0-0.albynywav-rtr03.nyroc.rr.com (24.24.7.21)    12.537ms asymm  4 
 4:  ge-0-0-0.syrcnycsr-rtr03.nyroc.rr.com (24.24.7.173)   32.309ms asymm  5 
 5:  syrny-aka-cache-01.akamai.com (24.24.29.102)          21.402ms 
 6:  syrny-aka-cache-node99.akamai.com (24.24.52.99)       19.799ms reached
     Resume: pmtu 1500 hops 6 back 59 

Now, the funniness comes into play when one realizes that Comcast is Akamai-powered:

% tracepath www.comcast.net.
 1:  destiny.prolixium.com (10.3.5.107)                     0.114ms pmtu 1500
 1:  et3.starfire.prolixium.net (10.3.5.254)                0.728ms 
 1:  et3.starfire.prolixium.net (10.3.5.254)                0.535ms 
 2:  et0-0.e.prolixium.net (10.3.253.2)                     2.034ms 
 3:  10.218.32.1 (10.218.32.1)                             17.462ms 
 4:  gig2-2.chrlncdnb-rtr1.carolina.rr.com (24.93.65.161)  15.766ms asymm  5 
 5:  srp0-0.chrlncsa-rtr1.carolina.rr.com (24.93.67.161)   12.675ms 
 6:  gig0-2.chrlnccrm-ubr2.carolina.rr.com (24.93.66.197)  17.814ms asymm  5 
 7:  ge-7-3-0.chrlncpop-rtr1.southeast.rr.com (24.93.64.23)  30.691ms 
 8:  ge-0-3-0.rlghncpop-rtr1.southeast.rr.com (24.93.64.172)  31.193ms asymm  7 
 9:  te-0-25.akamai-swt.akamai.net (24.25.24.158)          27.696ms asymm  7 
10:  rdc-024-025-026-073.southeast.rr.com (24.25.26.73)    28.550ms reached
     Resume: pmtu 1500 hops 10 back 57 

Yeah, Road Runner is (indirectly) hosting Comcast's website.

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