Distance Restriction Issue For Rural Bandwidth

Here's an oft asked question .... If you wanted to have a T-1 line (or any other level bandwidth circuit) installed in a very rural location, is the T1 subject to the same distance restrictions as a DSL line is?

The general answer is no. T1 lines do not have a maximum distance "limitation" as does DSL. Network carriers can use multiple T1 repeaters to regenerate (not just amplify) the T1 signal.

However, 2 distance "sensitive" components can increase T1 cost.

First, the T1 access loop. Most local exchange carriers (LECs .... e.g., AT&T/SBC/BellSouth, Qwest and Verizon) charge the ISP for T1 access based on distance between the ISP's router (Internet POP) and the customer's local serving exchange (LEC Central Office). That is why most ISP's T1 quote tools require the customers local phone number, or at least the 1st 6-digits (NPA-NXX) which identify the local CO exchange, in order to caculate the distance to the ISP's closest IP POP (Internet router).

Second, extrordinary construction costs. If the customer location is a great distance from the closest T1-equipped LEC central office, then the LEC must install additional T1 repeaters and possibly incur other transmission equipment / construction costs to reach the customer. In this case, the LEC has 2 options to deal with construction cost: either absorb cost themselves, or pass it on to the ISP who then pass it on to the end-user customer.

Assuming no extrordinary construction cost, there are ISPs that offer flat rate Internet T1s in the $100-400 range per month, anywhere in US, with no distance limitations between ISP POP and customer's serving CO. The flat rate cost includes T1 access loop and 1.5 Mbps Internet port. This can vary though so shop around. Also, don't get enamored with cost over performance and reliability. Cheapest isn't always best. In other words ... be careful of buying from "K-Mart" providers. Always go with reputable carriers (name brand) if the cost is reasonable (they all are coming down in price so this shouldn't be a big issue).

However, for most locations that are under 25 miles to the ISP POP, we are seeing Internet T1 bandwidth prices in the general range of $100-$300 per month +/-.

If you are looking for a T1 in a rural area I strongly suggest using the free search and rate quote support offered by FreedomFire Communications. They'll find you a solution that makes the most business sense ... and their services are no cost to you.

Keep in mind that in some cases a business may need more than a T1 for a bandwidth solution ... such as maybe a Business Ethernet line. The same type of concerns and solutions above for T1 also apply.

OC3, OC12 & OC48 Bandwidth (Fiber Optics)....Ideal Solution For High End Users

The ideal solution for high end bandwidth users where connectivity is essential for operations isn't a simple T1 or DS3 dedicated line...you need an "OC" fiber optic network. So just what is OCx, what can it do for you, and what do you need to know?

What is an OCx Circuit?

'OC' stands for Optical Carrier and is used to specify the speed of fiber optic networks conforming to the SONET standard. SONET, (Synchronous Optical Networks), includes a set of signal rate multiples for transmitting digital signals on optical fiber. The base rate (OC-1) is 51.84 Mbps. Certain multiples of the base rate are provided below with bandwidth amounts. Asynchronous transfer mode (ATM) makes use of some of the Optical Carrier levels.

Optical Carrier lines provide content providers, ASP's, ISP's & large enterprises with dedicated Internet connectivity. These Optical Carrier Level circuits are an ideal solution for high end bandwidth users where connectivity is essential for operations. Some examples are large data centers, high tech research facilities, university infrastructure, airport complex, and casino video security and data systems.

What is an OC3?

An OC3 can be three DS3s (T3s) or as one 155M pipe. The benefit in using DS3s is that each can be separated back out as individual T1s (each with 24 channels). To put it into perspective, the speed of an OC3 connection is 155Mbps. This is equivalent to 3 T3 lines or 100 T1 lines. An OC12 connection is 622Mbps, equivalent to 14 T3 lines or approx. 414 T1 lines.

What is an OC12?

An OC12 is approximately equal to 4 OC3s and runs at 622 Mbps. which makes it an excellent point-to-point IP delivery connection. The greatest benefit to an OC-12 is that bandwidth can be added to a business as it grows without any major system overhauls. An OC12 can also allow a business to have unlimited IP addresses which insures that growth is never limited...

What is an OC48?

An OC48 works as a reliable fiber optic backbone for large networks which require volume extensive voice/data/video traffic. It is a long-haul backbone fibre connection capable of transmitting data at 2.45 Gbps. To put it into perspective the speed of an OC48 is the equivalent of having 48 T3's OR 1,344 T1 lines

The pricing for these type of connections can vary widely depending on the carrier, location of service and the exact application for which the connection is being used. Due to this complexity it is suggested to use the services of a consultant such as FreedomFire Communications to research available providers and find the best fit to meet a specific requirement.

Tip....How To Determine Network/Bandwidth Requirements For Supply Chain Management Systems

Following is a list of information packed articles to help you solve your bandwidth issues with a supply chain management system network design and installation. You'll get tips on what to look for, what to ensure is part of any design package, how to compare providers for any solution you decide upon, and where to find the best deals so you have the best chance at the most cost effective solution.

* What Bandwidth Solution (T1, DS3, OC3) Makes Sense For A Supply Chain Network?

“A company's supply chain network can be a complicated animal. To service this network of constant data sharing and storage requires a high performing reliable network backbone. An important part of the design is the right level of bandwidth support .... T1, DS3, or OC3 bandwidth circuits to be exact. Making the right decision on what circuit to choose means navigating a number of issues.”

* Meeting Your Bandwidth Requirements For Supply Chain Management Applications

"Deploying an Supply Chain Management (SCM) solution that provides the intended return on investment requires that the applications, servers, and enterprise network infrastructure work together seamlessly. This is easier said than done and will necessitate a thorough evaluation of your bandwidth needs to meet the demand."

* More On Meeting Your Bandwidth Requirements For Supply Chain Management Applications

"The key to a successful SCM implementation is a clear understanding of the business objectives and business requirements of the company the SCM primarily supports. This often includes a number of legacy systems which need to be integrated into the solution. From this will come the technical objectives to be met and the technical requirements that frame the solution. Only then will the communication requirements for bandwidth capacity, reliability, resiliency, latency, security, and expandability be meaningful."

More On....Meeting Your Bandwidth Requirements For Supply Chain Management Applications

As I pointed out in a previous article, Supply Chain Management (SCM) is a complex animal. The key to a successful SCM implementation is a clear understanding of the business objectives and business requirements of the company the SCM primarily supports. This often includes a number of legacy systems which need to be integrated into the solution. From this will come the technical objectives to be met and the technical requirements that frame the solution. Only then will the commmunication requirements for bandwidth capacity, reliability, resiliancy, latency, security, and expandability be meaningful.

Here's just 2 such technical aspects.....

Frame Relay

Frame relay initially had several advantages over the alternative solutions for SCM and other multi site and multi company communications networks.

The first advantage was with circuit costs. For a multi site network, the traditional approach was a large number of point to point circuits. Each circuit required a router port, a CSU, and often a circuit monitoring module. With milage based pricing, each circuit represented a significant recurring cost on top of the initial hardware costs. Router sizing was often a factor of ports supported rather than performance capability.

Frame relay exchanged the point to point circuit costs with an access circuit, typically at less than 1/10th of the cost. With port speeds from DS0 to DS3, multiple sites could be connected with a single port at each site. A partial or full mesh, even with full redundancy, could be accomplished with very few router ports and CSU at each site. This represented significant capital savings.

Using fractional T1 and T3 on the access circuits, frame relay made expanding capacity between sites relatively painless. Port changes within the frame relay provider's network was often a configuration change. Expanding the actual circuits was typically a configuration change on the CSU and DACS.

Adding new sites was often accomplished with physical changes at the new site only. The new PVC across the frame relay network and at the existing site(s) was a configuration change. Depending on the routers used and the routing protocol implemented, this might be accomplished without a maintenance window.

The PVC approach allowed for additional security. A given location could be directed to a specific port within the DMZ, limiting the exposure of one's own network to other vendors within the SCM network. Firewalls at each end allowed each company to control its own security. The frame relay network was vulnerable to external monitoring at very few points, and the relationship of PVC traffic to specific customer required specific network design information.

Frame relay offered the ability to have a disaster recovery site support multiple locations. PVC between the disaster location and other locations could be defined in the configuration, allowing dynamic implementation of the disaster recovery network.

As a circuit protocol, frame relay functions independent of other protocols. This segmentation allowed IPX, IP, SNA, and other system communications protocols to be implemented over the same paths. If desired, each of these could have its own PVC and bandwidth, or they could all operate over a common path. Finally, the bandwidth and performance could be established specifically to site pairs on a PVC basis.

For a vendor that participated in multiple SCM networks, frame relay represented real cost savings. Instead of a new circuit for each network, a PVC could be established. Instead of 6 week circuit installation delays, service could be established in hours.

----

So why the past tense? The advantages of frame relay are now achieved via the Internet. The timeframes for implementation have been reduced from hours to minutes. Encryption has advanced beyond the security offered by isolated paths. Advances in application based routing can achieve availablity assurances. Legacy protocols have been largely replaced by IP.

There are still times when frame relay is the best choice based on business requirements or technical constraints. But a robust bandwidth network (e.g. OC3 or OC12 bandwidth....perhaps with GigE connectivity) applying IP protocols will enable a seemless flow of information without risking security concerns.

Emerging Technologies

The most notable is Radio Frequency Identification, or RFID. RFID tags are essentially barcodes on steroids. Whereas barcodes only identify the product, RFID tags can tell what the product is, where it has been, when it expires, whatever information someone wishes to program it with. RFID technology is going to generate mountains of data about the location of pallets, cases, cartons, totes and individual products in the supply chain. It's going to produce oceans of information about when and where merchandise is manufactured, picked, packed and shipped. It's going to create rivers of numbers telling retailers about the expiration dates of their perishable items—numbers that will have to be stored, transmitted in real-time and shared with warehouse management, inventory management, financial and other enterprise systems. In other words, it is going to have a really big impact.

Another benefit of RFIDs is that, unlike barcodes, RFID tags can be read automatically by electronic readers. Imagine a truck carrying a container full of widgets entering a shipping terminal in China. If the container is equipped with an RFID tag, and the terminal has an RFID sensor network, that container’s whereabouts can be automatically sent to Widget Co. without the truck ever slowing down. It has the potential to add a substantial amount of visibility into the extended supply chain.

Right now the two biggest hurdles to widespread RFID adoption are the cost of building the infrastructure and the lack of agreed-upon industry standards. But regardless...RFID implementation will be bandwidth intensive to retrieve and disseminate the mountain of information such a tool will provide.

Summary

The answer to how to meet bandwidth requirements for SCM applications is as complex as ever. The addition of emerging technologies like RFID into the mix of legacy point-to-point approaches, the frame relay darling, and the simplification afforded by OCx backed IP protocols....means your IT staff will be pegging their stress meter trying to make a decision. To navigate the aspect involving researching and acquiring the right bandwidth solution....do yourself a favor. Use the services of an independent unbiased consultant such as FreedomFire Communications to navigate the minefield for you. Your IT staff will love you for it.

What Bandwidth Backbone Makes The Most Sense For Networks In Africa, Middle East, And Latin America?

Given network infrastructure available in each region ... what bandwidth solution make the most sense (and why) for designing network solutions to meet business voice/data needs?

This is a difficult question to answer given the challenges faced by each region. The reality may be there is no easy answer. There is no "one size fits all" that covers all of these regions at once. So each must be treated seperately and distinctly to have any chance of success.

Some of the factors to consider likely deemed important would include business (e.g. type of business, number of locations in the network) technology (e.g. copper, fiber, wireless backhaul) economic (financing, ROI of implementation, budget), political (e.g. stable government, nationalized services, free market encouraged entrepreneurship), and regulatory (e.g. internal government restrictions, international connectivity limitations).

For example .... is a DS3 based solution viable for a multi-site WAN network in Nigeria? T1 for a single location in Brazil? Ethernet for a campus LAN in Bahrain?

These regions of the world are also commonly referred to as "developing nations", which is usually true of their infrastructure, and communications infrastructure included.

Persian gulf emirates ..... and to some extent Brazil (in the big metro areas) .... are well developed and you can expect the same telecom services to some extent as in the USA and Europe.

Elsewhere, availability is scarce and inconsistent.

For this reason many developing nations are focusing on cellular communications intending to "skip" the development of wireline infrastructure altogether. For example basing it on direct satellite service, like VSAT. There is of course the issue of delay with this approach that will effect voice and high-interactivity, so if delay is an important factor you may need to consider use of Iridium (not sure what's became of them ) or some other low-orbit satellites.

Before digging into the technical aspects for a Middle East or African network infrastructure one should look into the political situation. Most of these countries still have their local phone companies government owned. At best they are a monopoly directed by political powers and local rich people. Once you tap into the right people, these countries are more adopting of leading and bleeding edge technologies. Customers in these regions are more prone to using the "latest-&-greatest" mostly for novelty reasons. In the end, it does not matter why customers subscribe as long as the business is there!

In Africa there have been some improvements in the terrestrial subsea connectivity but that doesn't help much in reaching specific locations and providing backhaul. Similarly VSAT has been the traditional solution in Africa and some other remote regions but the proliferation of WiMax is generating increasing problems of interference. This is compounded by the unpredictable nature of licensing and controls. In my view Latin America has improved quite significantly in general access provision but quality and cost is still difficult to predict and manage. In the Middle East a lot of investment has and is taking place .... but here the biggest hurdle tends to be regulatory and the lack of an open market for supply.

A true "answer" can only be achieved by detailed study of IT and telecom prospects and existing infrastructure availability in each region. To this end the following factors should be considered;

Technology .....

This type of pursuit all depends upon types of services to be offered (like voice “Fixed or cellular”, leased circuits for WAN, broadband, Triple Play, IPTV, etc), users (e.g number of users, individual or corporate, scattered or concentrated), service coverage and existing available backbone network infrastructure (e.g. OFC network with PDH, SDH, DWDM or MW via PDH, SDH) .... then we could be able to forecast backbone bandwidth, evaluate existing available infrastructure, plan enhancements if required, select technology, and estimate the investment. The short answer is that T1, DS3, and OC3 bandwidth make sense if line infrastructure is readily available for tie in. Fiber makes better sense (ethernet) if grid is readily available and supported. If none of these are reasonably available in quantity than VSAT will continue as solution of choice with tie in to minimal hard line structure "nodes" where present.

Business/Economic ....

To prepare a business model, the factors would include by neccessity CAPEX, OPEX, NPV, IRR, revenue based on ARPU for a specific offered service, taxes, licensing fees, Inflation rate, decline in ARPU due to expected competition, last mile connectivity for corporate customer, and unforeseen costs in licensing/approvals and project rollout. This category seems the most self limiting over any technology challenges.

Regulatory / Administrative (Political) .....

The administrative factors involved would be different for each region ..... like monopolized regime and political situations in Africa and partially de-regulated environment in most of the countries in the Middle East ..... normally getting a license is a tricky job in many countries.

For each of the regions cited (Africa, Middle East, Latin America) .... depending upon your analysis per the above factors .... you may find that a realistic solution may be that a hybrid of technologies would be needed. For example, VSAT can offer a worldwide network and be integrated into terrestrial networks (T1, DS3, OCx, fast ethernet) where feasible and available. In the end there is no single solution that fits every scenario ... you must be flexible and innovative to target the right solution for each situation on it's own merits.

Who Is The Best Business Broadband Provider?

This question is often asked by IT staff at any given business …. but what they really mean is “who is the best business broadband provider …. for ME?” Even more specifically … “who can give me exactly what I need ….. where I need it …. to do what I have to do with my data/voice network?”

If you ask this ….. read on so you’ll be better positioned to ask the question in a more meaningful way; and get a response that makes the most business sense for your specific situation.

Most importantly ….. to get a complete and worthwhile answer ... there really needs to be more information provided which better describes exactly what your requirements are.

What is the exact location or locations? What is your budget? What applications must your network support (voice, data, multi-media, conferencing, number of users, 1 or more locations - single building or campus, etc.). What's your current usage? What’s your projected future usage? What do you have now (T1, DS3, etherent, etc.)? What’s your current uptime, latency, SLA, and QoS? Who's your current provider? Are you currently under a contract and when does it run out?

Don’t focus solely on speed … or price either. You also need to consider uptime, latency, packet forwarding, and other issues. Both in analyzing your current “state” …. and estimating your future “grow to”.

First start by asking yourself which applications you need to run over the link. People don't buy networks, they buy access to applications.

Then you need to look at the expected usage over the link. The profile of the applications is also important -- are they latency constrained? Are they bandwidth hogs? Is it sporadic access or sustained? Are you bringing Internet over the link?

How far apart are your sites (if this is a multi-site install)? Will that introduce latency? Is that latency going to be a problem?

You also have to look at what you can get. Maybe all you can get is a T1.

Depending on the answers above, you might also need to look at WAN acceleration, Citrix, or other such technologies to get around application limitations. Some applications just don't work well when they're separated by their users by more than a few milliseconds.

That said .... initially I'd lean toward a T1; probably integrated (voice and data). But that will depend on number of users and load (video conferencing, large multi-media file sharing, etc.) and so forth. You might need to go bonded T1 or DS3 (T3) bandwidth if your load/usage is large. If available, ethernet should be an option at least from a cost effectiveness standpoint.

As for a provider .... shop around. Remember that location is key when buying broadband. Use a consultant who can talk the language and negotiate for you. If you do this yourself you'll get frustrated, spend a lot of time and effort, and likely be talked into something you really don't need ... at a cost more than you should pay. If you’d like free help with this …. I strongly recommend the no cost services at:

Compare Business Broadband Providers

What You Need To Know About A MPLS Network

There's no one "MPLS Service". A lot of what you get will depend how the service provider has Engineered and built their core network. Bear in mind that many carriers don't own the whole network, but will piece together a service from other carriers networks, or will interconnect with other carriers to extend their reach.

Cell-mode MPLS was mentioned: basically this is ATM which has been retro-fitted with MPLS. Be careful with this for VoIP applications because it can use bandwidth very inefficiently.

MPLS can support QoS, but many services aren't engineered with this, or only with very basic prioritisation. Also the services are very often structured to reduce the potential complexity and to ensure the network can cope. Bear in mind a typical MPLS router can only carry a percentage of "high-priority, realtime" traffic. If everyone sends all their data as high priority then the benefit is lost, and the network may suffer. Usually QoS is provided as a small number of service classes, typically 3 or 4.

The biggest bottleneck in any such service is normally the tail circuit to each of your premises. If you move from a T1 mesh to a MPLS service then you will likely find that some sites need more bandwidth than others. Tracking the requirement for this bandwidth is usually your problem, although the service provides may give you some reporting tools to assist with this. I would avoid service providers who cannot offer this as it will make it very difficult for you to manage your bandwidths.

If you factor in multiple service classes then your management of these tail circuits gets more complex as you no only have to work out how much bandwidth is required for each tail circuit, but how much of it should be reserved for each service class.

Regarding resilience, within the service providers core, the service is normally highly resilient to failures. However, when failures do occur, very often (depending on how the service is engineered) the rerouting can take a second or two. During this network reconvergance you will lose packets. Depending on the protocol your traffic uses this can be unimportant or devastating. For instance, some VPN and VoIP services don't survive this well.

Normally resilience is not automatically provided all the way to the customer. Typically you will have one tail circuit and one router at each site. If either fails (or if the Service provider's PE router has problems) you will lose service to the site, totally.

If this is an issue, you need to factor in dual connections. There's multiple ways of doing this, and different service providers will offer different options. Make sure you get your Network Engineer involved as the devil is in the detail here, and some options which sound like they provide a fantastic level of resilience may not be as good as they sound, depending on how your internal network is configured.

And, of course, the key to all of this is SLAs: what do they offer? What happens if they break them? How do they report them to you?

Generally speaking, MPLS services are a great way to run a multi-site data network including VoIP services. I have seen many carriers and their customers doing this successfully for years.

Strictly speaking MPLS does not provide QoS. QoS is done by prioritising traffic, and most IP routers, even those on the backbone of the Internet, can do this. The difference is whether they are configured to do this or not. In an MPLS network MPLS is provided by standard router features. MPLS technology (specifically Traffic Engineering) gives the carrier better control over how this traffic is prioritised and routed (and restored in case of network fault). All this does is give them the confidence to support SLAs.

As I mentioned, "QoS" is provided as a set of "service classes". Typically these are things like "real-time", "high-priority" and "everything else". Mapping actual traffic into these classes can be done in a few different ways, but this is largely up to you to control. For instance, you could quite easily put web-browsing traffic into "real time" although this would normally be a dumb thing to do.

I would suggest the case for MPLS in terms of performance, cost and continuity against 'traditional' or 'legacy' data networks is now pretty robust, i.e. MPLS provides significant advantages in all 3 areas.

The key considerations when migrating include provider selection, access media (e.g. using Ethernet rather than SDH/SONET), the decision on procuring a managed or unmanaged service (often called wires-only) and the providers ability to map their CoS/QoS to the applications you need to support. This is especially important if you are operating any proprietary applications.

There is also an increasing trend to use WAN Optimisation/application management solutions either as a value added service from the provider or from an alternative integrator or indeed doing it in house. This is important say for voice or applications such as CITRIX.

MPLS providers also now offer a whole suite of value added services such as integrated internet, managed network based firewalls and remote user support. If these are important to you make sure the providers demonstrate how this is achieved.

In selecting your provider ensure they have good geographic coverage in your areas and experience within you market segment. I always recommend taking up 3 references. Equally I think it is wise to understand how important a client you will be to the provider; it's all well and good using the market leader (say according to Gartner) but you'll often get a better service from a provider who values and really wants your business.

For FREE assistance designing the right MPLS configuration for your network .... AND sourcing the most cost effective provider ..... take advantage of the help available via:

MPLS Networks