Flexibility for Future Ethernet and Voice Over IP Service
With most Ethernet and Voice over IP service, the access circuit is usually the highest cost component, while the shared resources, such as the service provider core network significant economies of scale, and a small fraction of the cost of the service. The shorter the access circuit, the more likely the service will be able to maintain a low cost circuit. Therefore, a large number of PoPs is a strong indication that the service will be able to provide an economic solution. When it comes to network performance, for all their limitations, ATM and Leased Lines Directive do reasonably high performance, measured in terms of latency, packet delivery and jitter. When replacing the inter-site networks that use technologies such as ATM and Leased Lines Directive, it is important that the new network matches the performance of the former, not least because users do not appreciate savings at the expense of network performance. When considering Ethernet services, you should be aware of the following: Voice, Voice over IP service and Video.
Voice over IP service requires low latency, low jitter and moderate levels of packet loss, and a network that can manage a large number of small voice packets (40bytes usually). If the Voice over IP service traffic go across your network more than once, as in a “hub and spoke” network, traffic can be routed to a hub site and back to a branch (or spoke) site. In this case the latency, jitter and packet loss that your traffic will experience will be twice that quoted by your service. In video, “Real-time, two-way” Voice over IP service and video IP, such as video conferencing applications require low latency, that streaming video or Closed Circuit Television (CCTV) is no place for such high demands on the package delivery system. In data, data backup and recovery requires low packet loss. Take this good rule of thumb: The lower the latency and jitter figures quoted by a supplier, the better they will serve. Also worthwhile to consider is whether a provider can support “one-on-one” connection between your sites. Thus, voice over IP service is important.
Moreover, take into consideration the flexibility it has to add for future services. An inter-site service that is future-proof will be able to create new applications as they are introduced later in the line. Even if applications such as Voice over IP service and multimedia applications are not the current requirements, it is important to your business to have the flexibility to quickly and easily cope with these technologies, which are likely needs in the future. Able to take advantage of these new technologies without reinvesting in your inter-site connections is an important requirement in view of the providers. A future-proof inter-site service also gives you the option of agreeing a long term contract and benefit from discounts term, safe in the knowledge that there is no need for expensive upgrades or new applications that are eventually needed in the future such as the voice over IP service.
Not all Ethernet inter-site services are based on state-of-the-art technology such as MPLS and voice over IP service, some are based on ATM. While presenting Ethernet ATM services produce the actual services provided by switched Ethernet services, it suffers significant drawbacks, thus the need for Virtual Private LAN Services support. The fixed size of ATM cells means that small packages (e.g. VoIP packets) are implemented in two ATM cells with most of the second cell “padded” to make the required ATM cell size. The effect of this padding is that the throughput of an access circuit may be reduced to 35%, with a 100Mbps service that can only support 65Mbps traffic. MPLS-based services or were switched Ethernet-based services, by contrast, do not suffer from this restriction, so there is no need for the packet size of your existing network traffic. MPLS-based core networks make it possible to potentially beneficial services such as Virtual Private LAN Service. VPLS permits national end-to-end Ethernet (Layer 2) services in support of one-on-one or peer-to-peer traffic, making the network management easier and new applications can be connected as when required at much lower cost than in a more coupling device network such as the voice over IP service.
Based on a heavy survey, companies assessed VPLS and voice over IP service as a key requirement in the future prosperity of their business. Because of its current and future growing importance, it is worthwhile to ensure that the long-haul Ethernet services offered by your chosen service provider know all technology barriers that prevent them unable to support VPLS and voice over IP service.
Many SLAs and voice over IP service implement only part of the service, and are often excluded from access circuits as they are delivered by a local wholesale access, and are therefore outside the control of the overall inter-site service. So look for providers that have all elements of the service, including access circuits. Make sure it examines the conditions imposed by the provider to debt resolution. For debt servicing, warranties are usually measured in hours and / or annual availability, and it is vital to check that the provider believes that the failure started at the customer or the service detects the problem especially on voice over IP service.
Safety is of course a major concern to a network especially on voice over IP service. Fortunately, most of the technologies underlying Intersite Ethernet products are generally considered safe and where there are risks, they are well understood. None of the Inter-site Ethernet products on the market today rely on the Internet as a backbone network. However, if one of your sites has internet access, sufficient inter-site and Internet security solutions must be set by the service. This will usually have firewalls at the gateway to the Internet and the restrictions on access to different parts of the internal network for multiple users, using methods such as virtual LANs or VLAN and voice over IP service.
Integrated T1 and Voice over IP Service: The Perfect Solutions
Voice and PRI T1 lines are very common in businesses and call centers with multiple telephone lines and large call volumes. They are much cheaper and more efficient than installing dozens of POTS (Plain Old Telephone Service) lines. Each of the 24 channels on a T1 line is versatile, allowing it to be used for either bandwidth or for a single phone line. So, a pure voice T1 line has 24 telephone lines with reliable service, good reception, good long distance rates (depending on the carrier), and a wide selection of calling features. Voice T1 lines use digital or analog broadcast, so it’s an excellent choice in situations where a company’s equipment is not suitable for the use of a PRI line, which is always digital.
Integrated T1 line: An integrated T1 line is one of the most popular T1 solutions for small businesses because it provides local telephone, long distance, and bandwidth all on a link and an invoice. The consolidation of these services with one company is much more practical and cost effective than purchasing them from different suppliers. Just as with a fractional T1 line that runs only a portion of a T1 line for internet access and special equipment, some of the T1 channels are allocated for telephone lines, while others are used for data transmission and Internet access. For example, a fully integrated T1 line be cut in half using special equipment, providing high quality 12 phone lines and use the other 12 channels for 768K of bandwidth.
Fractional Integrated T1 lines are also available, but most companies have minimum levels such as 4 phone lines and 512k of Internet access, which only uses 12 channels combined. Many offers include even “blocks” of free long distance, usually based on the number of telephone lines installed. A typical offer includes six phone lines (6 channels), 512k (8 channels), and 600 minutes of free LD each month (100 per telephone line). This whole track is a total cost of as low as $400 to $500 per month, which is a tremendous “all inclusive” bargain for small businesses. This is a perfect total solution for literally thousands, if not millions, of small companies across the nation. One thing to keep in mind is that not all providers can offer integrated T1 lines, and those who generally do, do not focus much of their sales efforts on the service.
Voice over IP (VoIP): Voice over IP service is considered the “next big thing” in the telecommunications industry. It has already started the vigorous growth that was anticipated for many years by experts and early adopters. Although VoIP services can and will handle all types of high bandwidth connections, the business class services is initially offered on T1 lines. This is extremely important in the world of bandwidth and telecommunications because it again validates the T1 line as the most cost effective method to deliver the most reliable bandwidth. In other words, a company cannot afford a volatile Internet connection like DSL or Cable to carry VOIP confidence, because they risk losing 100% of their communication.
Voice over IP is revolutionizing telecommunications because it is cheaper for the user, and the infrastructure requirements are better for the providers. Rather than requiring a telephone line and all of the switching on the back end to complete a call, VoIP uses equipment to break into a phone call into packets of data, and then sends these packets over the internet to be decoded when the recipient answers the call. This drastically reduces the bandwidth required to complete a call because it eliminates “dead” times when no one speaks into the receiver. Every major provider and most small providers begin with residential and business class VoIP services to offer.
Point to Point T1: Key Ingredient To The Success of Telecommunication Companies
Point to point T1 lines do not provide T1 Internet access or phone lines, but act as a “transport” for either or both. A point of point T1, often referred to as a “P2P”, provides a highly secure and reliable connection, usually of headquarters for a number of branches called. Although not really a P2P anticipated Internet access or phone lines, corporations use P2P T1s to share these services. For example, a company home office in Los Angeles has hundreds of telephone lines and huge Internet pipes installed at one location to get the best available rates. This company may use a P2P T1 to a combination of telephone and Internet access to send data between the offices of software systems, and provide in-office dialing from locations across the country.
The variables are endless because there are no restrictions on how a point to point T1 can be used, provided that you have the right equipment and a source at one end of the P2P. This is a great way to save money, because a satellite or office might have to pay high prices for telephone and broadband services installed directly, whereas the home office can get better rates as a result of buying and location. Although it can sometimes be used to save money, a P2P network is usually not very cost effective compared to other options. Frame Relay WAN and MPLS VPN (Virtual Private Network) are other options to consider, depending on a company’s needs and business applications. The main advantage of a P2P line is that it is truly private, making it a top choice for this demanding circuit with a dedicated connection only to the business, and therefore offers the highest security available.
There is no doubt that the same type of T1 line, which was used again in 1984 by the leading technology companies like IBM is still the best source of reliable bandwidth for all sizes of companies today. Despite competition from newer technologies, the price reductions on T1′s plus the fact that these circuits are as reliable as possible, the number of T1 lines are used in the United States and continue to grow at a rate of 15% per year, even in the past years. Because there are so many uses for the T1 line, including the explosion of new technologies like VoIP, these circuits are destined to become a key ingredient to the success of companies that are on the Internet and Telecommunications industry and data connectivity for the next years.
