The Many Faces of Data Communication | Network in Austin

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From the outside it may appear that every service provider?s data communications are the same.? A modem is a modem, or a T1 is a T1, after all.? In practice, though, customers soon realize that not all data networks are created equal.? How a service provider interfaces with customer equipment, what architecture they use to pass data, what infrastructure they have in place to manage that data flow, and how that service provider engineers and monitors their networks all have a profound impact on the end user?s data experience.? With today?s ever increasing reliance on data communications, choosing the right price for the right ?type? of data becomes the driving factor for many customers.

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Broadband versus Dedicated

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Broadband data connections such as cable and DSL modems aggregate traffic and are generally designed for downstream traffic from the Internet to an end user.? While offering great connections to download content, their allocation of bandwidth is on-request, based on availability, which pose problems for maintaining private network networks or for providing content upstream to the Internet.? The intermittent nature of the Broadband network adversely impact the effective throughput, latency and jitter between packet deliveries.? The architecture of a broadband network is an aggregation router to a shared pool of end user modems, much like an extended Local Area Network (LAN).? The result is that all data packets are forwarded to a gateway router.? For most broadband networks ,this results in all traffic going to the Internet to be routed even if the destination IP address is within the same broadband domain.? Broadband data connections are designed for a single user per modem with traffic patterns predominately downstream from the Internet.

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Dedicated data connections such as T1s or Metro Ethernet reserve capacity for the end user and are designed for symmetrical traffic both to and from the Internet, or between end user locations.? This dedication of bandwidth ensures bandwidth is always available when needed, greatly reducing the impacts of latency and jitter.? Consistent bandwidth availability also increases the effective throughput of the data connection enabling a two or three fold improvement over a broadband network connection.? The architecture of a dedicated network is router-to-router (or NAT firewall) much like a Metropolitan or Wide Area Network (MAN, WAN).? The result is that data packets are routed with the shortest link to their destination IP address.? For dedicated networks, this results in many ?zero transit? connections where the data is delivered without going to the Internet.? Dedicated data connections are designed for large numbers of users per connection with symmetrical traffic patterns.

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Layer 2, Layer 3 and PPPoE

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Metro Ethernet networks are Layer 2 switched connections to an end user location.? These connections offer native Ethernet interfaces to customer equipment, allow the full MTU packet size to transit end to end, and do not interfere with customer VLAN tags or IP addresses.? Bridging between multiple end user locations with Layer 2 VLAN tags is known as Transparent LAN Service (TLS) and is unique to native Ethernet networks.? Simple and transparent, Metro Ethernet networks separate the service provider?s network operations from the end user?s traffic.? Layer 2 networks, however, are limited in the number of MAC addresses that can be supported in a designated switched domain, which limits the geographical coverage and number of end users on a network.? Layer 2 network connections are ideal for a Metropolitan Area Network (MAN) connection between a service provider and an end user or to bridge networks between end user locations.

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Layer 3 routed connections are IP routed connections synonymous with a Wide Area Network (WAN) connection.? Internet Access is based upon establishing a Layer 3 connection between an end user and a service provider?s router.? These connections are not limited in geographic scope or the numbers of end users supported and are ideally suited for statewide, national or World Wide Web data communications.? Layer 3 connections require interaction between a service provider?s network and the end user to coordinate IP address and sub net assignments, domain name services and any priority or Quality of Service parameters which may be offered.

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From a service provider to end user perspective, Point-to-Point Protocol over Ethernet (PPPoE) is used when converting data traffic into the Time Division Multiplexing (TDM) format of traditional telephony networks such as DSL or T1 networks.? Coordination is required between the service provider and the end user?s modem or Wide area Interface Card (WIC) for T1s.? The primary impact of a PPPoE connection versus a native Ethernet connection as Layer 2 or Layer 3 is a decrease in effective throughput, an increase in the latency caused by buffering, and the difficult coordination necessary in the LAN environment to compensate for PPPoE encapsulation.? Many limitations and restrictions on data networks have been imposed by the need for PPPoE to transit between an end user and a WAN service provider.

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Keys to look for when selecting a data service provider

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One of the first decisions is to know what is the data being used for.? Is it for occasional access to Internet content?? Will it be used for sharing files and a regular basis?? Is there a need to bridge office LANs together?? Are Voice over IP or streaming Video applications being used?? These types questions are invaluable in determining which product and which service provider architecture best meets your data communication needs.? Here are a few pointers:

• If your primary use is to access content on the Internet, use of email as the primary form of interactive data communications and an occasional VPN, then a Broadband wireless or copper data connection is the most economical and functional product for your needs.? Size the connection for the performance you desire with only 3-4 simultaneous end users, if more than increase your bandwidth proportionately.
• If your location provides content to the Internet such as e-commerce, company web or email servers, if you require sustained VPN or bridging between LANs, or if your applications include VoIP services for more than a few users, then a Dedicated data connection is required to maintain performance.? Select between copper and fiber based solutions depending upon availability.
• If you need to bridge multiple LANs in the same geographical city or state, try to find a Metro Ethernet service with TLS.? Save Layer 3 VPNs or MPLS for non-dedicated connections access across the Internet.
• If you are using IP-to-IP routing such as VPNs or peer-to-peer, try to use the same service provider on both ends whose data architecture routes to the IP versus forwarding to a gateway.? Minimizing your transits across service providers will improve your effective throughput and latency.

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Knowing how the data connection is going to be used is the key to selecting the right product and service provider.? Speed needs to be matched with availability.? Latency, jitter and effective throughput matched with desired performance.? Data architecture matched to the application.? Value extends from combining the best performance, function and price.

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Tags: Business, Data, FIber, Jon Almond, Phones, PRI, revenue, Savings, T1, Telecom, voice

Source: http://www.networkinaustin.com/austin-business/many-faces-data-communication

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