Written by - Andrew Sinkowski, Staff Writer
Ever used a t1 internet connection? Upgrading to this level of service is like going from an old used car to a new sports car. You'll feel the speed imediately! While both T1 and DSL connections claim to have a speed of 1.5Mbps, the former actually delivers it's claim. DSL and cable connections are severely oversubcribed and cannot always deliver the bandwidht they project expecially at peak hours. Ready to feel the difference? You may have already if your office has critical applications that use the web. If your office hosts e-mail, webservers or more than 20 people on internet access you most likely already have a dedicated T1 connection. If not, get one fast!!
A T1 internet connection is ideal because of it's reliability. Not only is it not oversubscribed, it also has low latency which mean fewer delays. Latency becomes critical in applicaions like video on demand, webconferencing, and gaming. While the latter may not seem so important, gamers require some of the best internet connections and are a good source for information on the top internet products available.
If you're ready to move into the fast lane or to put your office on a reliable connection that you should have anyway, get some advise from a broker that deals in T1 services. Brokers don't mark up the price of services. They offer the same price you would get if you did go direct to the company. The advantage of ordering through a broker is that you will get a second channel of customer service. If the company is not performing to expectation you will always be able to go back to your broker who puts a significant volume through the carrier. A broker is much more likely to get the companies attention and have your problem solved. In our opinion, a broker is the only way to go!
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Written by - Wyman Little, Staff Writer
Frame Relay was developed to solve communication problems that other protocols could not: the increased need for higher speeds, an increased need for large bandwidth efficiency, particularly for clumping ("bursty" traffic), an increase in intelligent network devices that lower protocol processing, and the need to connect LANs and WANs. Like X.25, Frame Relay is a packet-switched protocol. But the Frame-Relay process is streamlined. There are significant differences that make Frame Relay a faster, more efficient form of networking. A Frame-Relay network doesn't perform error detection, which results in a considerably smaller amount of overhead and faster processing than X.25. Frame Relay is also protocol independent-it accepts data from many different protocols. This data is encapsulated by the Frame-Relay equipment, not the network.
'Today's LANs and computing equipment have the potential to run at much higher speeds and transfer very large quantities of data. With the diversity and complexity of today's networks, management can be a mammoth task if you don't have the proper tools. Each environment is a unique combination of equipment from different vendors. Frame Relay uses a packet-switching technology, similar to X.25, but is more efficient. As a result, it can make your networking quicker, simpler, and less costly.
Frame Relay sends information in packets called frames through a shared Frame-Relay network. Each frame contains all the information necessary to route it to the correct destination. So in effect, each endpoint can communicate with many destinations over one access link to the network. And instead of being allocated a fixed amount of bandwidth, Frame-Relay services offer a CIR (committed information rate) at which data is transmitted. But if traffic and your service agreement allow, data can burst above your committed rate. Since Frame Relay has a low overhead, it's a perfect fit for today's complex networks. You get several clear benefits: First, multiple logical connections can be sent over a single physical connection, reducing your internetworking costs. By reducing the amount of processing required, you get improved performance and response time. And because Frame Relay uses a simple link layer protocol, your equipment usually requires only software changes or simple hardware modifications, so you don't
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