For what it's worth

Interesting conjecture going on regarding Skype architecture, to which I will add a couple of short datapoints. It is my understanding from recent conversations with the company itself that Skype has built and deployed its own-spec gateways, and that supernode designation is far from a random selection process. Also, the now-famous "authentication server in Denmark" is not the only one of its kind. My own bit of speculation to add is that I have long assumed that Skype has "seeded" a number of its own supernodes globally from day one, not only for SkypeOut/SkypeIn, but to assure general network quality and stability.

UPDATE: The more I think about this, if I'm right about the "seeded supernodes" idea, then I am tempted to conclude that the co-branded partnerships that Skype has in Asia must involve some rackspace in the partners' datacenters...