MPLS Point to Point Alternative

The traditional way to connect two business locations to send files back and forth is with a point to point data connection. T1 lines have been perfect for this at modest bandwidth levels. DS3 and OCx SONET services work the same way when higher speeds are needed. Ethernet line service is the latest entry into the Point to Point bandwidth space. But have you considered MPLS networks as your best value for the money?

MPLS may seem like an odd choice, since MPLS networks are really targeted for multi-point connectivity in place of older technologies like Frame Relay. MPLS networks are organized as clouds with multiple access points over the service footprint. If you have a dozen or a hundred locations to network, an MPLS solution is likely the best solution by a mile. Yet, there’s no reason you can’t just specify connecting point A to point B as your only connection.

The one possible downside might be cost. Whether a dedicated point to point line service or an MPLS network service makes sense for any given application depends a lot on the distance between locations and whether you intend to order more than one line. Why multiple lines? While some businesses have only two locations to connect, many others have three or more. The most expensive way to make multiple connections is by running point to point lines from each location to the others. A more cost effective approach is to set up a star network with the routing equipment at headquarters and point to point lines fanning out from there to each satellite location. The least cost most flexible solution is often to simply connect every location to a regional or national MPLS network and specify the connectivity within the cloud.

T1 point to point lines became popular because they are relatively inexpensive and offer the security and performance of a dedicated line. You have exclusive use of the 1.5 Mbps bandwidth in both directions. Since the line is “nailed up” to interconnect two locations, security is high. It’s difficult to impossible for snoops and troublemakers to gain access to your private line.

One disadvantage of using dedicated T1 lines is that you are limited to 1.5 Mbps per line, although you can often bond T1 lines together to multiply the bandwidth up to a maximum of 10 or 12 Mbps. Another drawback is that there is no economy of scale. Two lines cost twice as much as one line. They also tend to be priced by distance. A point to point line in town costs much less than a connection from coast to coast. If you need to cross an ocean or international border the cost goes up significantly.

Everything that has been said about T1 lines also goes for higher bandwidth options, such as DS3, OC3, and so on. The cost increases along with bandwidth. Ethernet over Copper or Ethernet over Fiber offers higher bandwidth at lower prices, but is also a dedicated line service. It’s the protocol that’s different between T1 or SONET and Ethernet services.

MPLS networks have a different cost model. The network is based on a privately owned high speed national or international fiber optic network. None of the core network is dedicated to a single customer. It is intended to be shared among many customers to amortize the cost. As such, the cost of a point to point or multipoint connection is more attractive than for a dedicated line service. In-town or close by, the dedicated line may be the cheaper solution. But for locations spaced thousands of miles apart or overseas, MPLS networks have the advantage.

What makes MPLS networks a good substitute for dedicated point to point lines is that the network offers security and guaranteed performance as well as a cost savings. The proprietary nature of the label switching protocol and the fact that access is limited to customers of the network make security much higher than on a public network like the Internet. The network operators establish the virtual paths through the network on a case by case basis. You may be sharing the fiber strands, but you can’t access another customer’s data and they can’t see yours.

Do you have a requirement to link business locations? Be sure to get MPLS network service pricing as well as dedicated line pricing for even a two location hookup to make sure you have the best deal.

Metro Ethernet vs T1 Lines

Small and medium size businesses typically use T1 lines or multiple T1 lines to provide reliable broadband connectivity. But now there’s another option that you should consider for higher bandwidth at lower prices. That’s Metro Ethernet.

Metro Ethernet service is available in most metropolitan areas. Hence, the name “metro.” Also, like the name implies, this is a switched Ethernet protocol compatible with what you are running on your local area network. That makes it easy to connect from your network to your Metro Ethernet connection. You simply plug into the Ethernet jack from the service provider and you are connected to the wide area network. With T1 lines, you need a special interface card that contains the CSU/DSU circuitry to connect with that technology or a stand-alone T1 CSU/DSU with an RJ-45 network output.

Both T1 lines and Metro Ethernet services can be configured to provide point to point private lines between business locations. They can also be used as access network connections to the Internet. Both give you dedicated Internet access with assured bandwidth and availability.

In addition, Metro Ethernet can be set up as a multi-point service to connect several business locations on the same network. This can be a level 2 switched Ethernet service that ties your branch office and main office LANs together in one larger bridged network. You can create larger networks using T1 lines, but they are inherently connections from one location to another. You’ll have to build a star or mesh network yourself.

What about bandwidth? T1 lines are inherently fixed at 1.5 Mbps each. The way to get higher levels of bandwidth is to incrementally add more lines through a process called bonding. For instance, 2 T1 lines gives you 3 Mbps, 4 lines will provide 6 Mbps, 6 lines gives 9 Mbps, and so on.

Ethernet services are also available in a variety of bandwidth options from 1 Mbps through 10 Gbps. Small and medium size businesses will typically opt for 3 to 10 Mbps options. An advantage of Ethernet is that it is scalable up to the fastest speed the connection will handle. You can start out with 3 Mbps bandwidth and upgrade to 10 Mbps or 20 Mbps, often with only a phone call to your provider.

T1 is a wireline service. It is based on two sets of twisted pair copper telco wires. That makes T1 available nearly everywhere you can get phone service. At the lower bandwidths, Ethernet is also provisioned over twisted pair copper wire. A different modulation scheme is used to gain higher bandwidths using multiple copper pair. You may be able to get up to 50 Mbps Ethernet over Copper. The upper limit is distance sensitive, so the closer you are to a carrier’s nearest point of presence, the higher bandwidths you can get.

When fiber optic connections are available, the higher Ethernet bandwidths are readily available. Medium size businesses commonly use 10 Mbps to 100 Mbps connections, with larger corporations installing 1 Gbps to 10 Gbps fiber optic Ethernet services.

How do prices compare? The price of T1 lines has dropped dramatically in recent years and can be had for under $400 per month in many areas. For about the same cost, you can get twice the bandwidth with 3 Mbps Ethernet. For what you may be paying on an older T1 line contract, you may be able to upgrade to 10 Mbps Ethernet and get the bandwidth you need for today’s demanding business applications.

Ethernet sounds good, but how can you find out which Ethernet bandwidth services are available for your location or locations? The easy way is use the quick Metro Ethernet Service finder at Ethernet Today. See if nearby buildings are already lit for Metro Ethernet service and get quotes for competing service providers. You may be surprised how affordable the new Ethernet services really are.

Fixed Wireless Broadband Services For Business

We’ve come to think of business grade telecom services and copper wireline and fiber optic services. That’s why IT managers may cringe when someone says they’ve got to have new high bandwidth Internet access, point to point transmission or VoIP telephone service right this minute. We all know that there is no such thing in WAN networking as right this minute. Or is there?

An option that’s becoming increasingly available is fixed wireless service. Think of getting the same bandwidth services you have now delivered without the wires. This is quite different from cell phone service designed for mobile use or wireless access points that have a range of only a few hundred feet. It’s also not satellite broadband, which has such long latencies and limited bandwidth that you can’t really use it for any but the most limited applications.

This fixed wireless service uses outside antennas that communicate over a range of some miles. Airband, a leader in this field, has installed base stations in 14 major cities. Each base station can communicate with customers up to 5 miles away, forming a service footprint of 78 square miles. Each customer has a subscriber unit (SU) that provides a two-way radio connection with the base station and a simple Ethernet connection to the LAN.

What services can Airband offer? Broadband Internet is a popular choice. You can get speeds from 2 Mbps to Gigabit Ethernet. Yes, you can get replacement service for T1 lines and DS3 connections. But there is also the standard Ethernet speeds of 10 Mbps, 100 Mbps and 1000 Mbps. Plus you can choose any bandwidth in-between to scale your service to exactly what you need. Don’t worry about picking the wrong bandwidth level and needing an upgrade quickly. Upgrades are made by network software changes and can be accomplished in hours. Installation itself can be completed in just days. What’s that quote you got to bring in fiber? Six months? Outrageous!

Being wireless, can’t anyone just stick up an antenna and intercept your datastream? They won’t have much luck. Airband uses 128 bit AES encryption to keep your data safe. They also offer a 100% uptime guarantee, with service level guarantees on jitter, latency and packet loss.

With such tight control on network parameters, this fixed wireless solution can be used with confidence for VoIP as well as point to point data, business Internet and private IP VPN. There are several options available. You can simply replace your existing ISDN PRI trunk lines (or add new ones) using a SIP trunk with PRI interface. The newer IP PBX systems can often connect directly to a SIP trunk. Or let Airband own and manage the hosted PBX system and just have telephone sets at your location. This is all done on a private IP network so that the quality of your voice communication is assured.

Does this sound like the quality of service you need with the speed of installation and avoidance of copper and fiber line construction costs you require? If so, you may be delighted with how little you have to pay to enjoy fixed wireless services from Airband and other providers. Get details on fixed wireless costs and availability now.