When would YOU choose DSL, T1 or DS3 Bandwidth as the network solution for your business…and why/why not? What are the pros and cons of each type of bandwidth in a business environment?
Generally…..
The answer to these questions is really related to your application requirements. If you run applications that are affected by latency or jitter, DSL may not provide the service levels you need.
A further extension of that would be your uptime requirements. The MTTR (Mean Time To Repair) is usually greatly improved with the DS1 and DS3 circuits.
The size of the company is not as important as the requirements of your application. Many large organizations can get by with DSL or, in some cases, dial-up, but a small organization that has broadcast application traffic, mission-critical traffic, or small latency or jitter requirements, then DS1 or higher connectivity would be required.
Last, but often primarily, cost helps determine your options.
To be more specific….
The T1 and DS-3 provide the same offering except for capacity. T1s offer upload and download speeds of 1.5 Mbps per line. DS3s offer upload and download speeds of 32 to 45 Mbps.
ADSL typically provides asymmetric upload and download speeds (ADSL), typically download speeds of 1.5, 3.0 and 6.0 Mbps and upload speeds between 128 and 768 Mbps.
Symmetrical DSL (SDSL) provides the same upload and download speeds, typically 384, 512, or 786 Mbps upload and download.
Cable offerings vary by providers and locations. Making a comparison with cable would be impossible without knowing your provider and market. Not who your supplier is and your location…but how your supplier is doing in that particular market. Ask a local expert for that detail.
T1 and DS3 are very reliable with high MTBF (mean time between failures) and low MTTR (mean time to repair). Cable and DSL on the other side.
T1 and DS3 expensive, Cable and DSL more affordable.
If you don’t need high upload speeds (VPN, VoIP, high data rates for backup/collocation, ftp streaming media or other high-bandwidth services hosted internally, etc.), then an asymmetric connection isn’t bad. . DSL/Cable may be a good option in that case.
If you need high-speed charging, T1/DS3 is needed.
For growing needs, fractionated T1 or T3 is a good option. After a certain growth point, a full T3/DS3 becomes cheaper.
For mission-critical networks, two providers from two different physical entry points may be required depending on the natural disasters you are likely to face.
Case study one: a company had a split T3 entering from the East and another split T3 entering from the West. A flood and a sinkhole cut through a T3. The network slowed down but remained active.
Case Study Two: A business in South Florida lost their T1s and failed a satellite link. Certain services were paralyzed by system latency, but your mission-critical applications kept running.
Which brings us to Satellite: Generally asymmetric with extremely fast downloads (depending on service level) but typically slow uploads (but varies by service level). It has intrinsic latency due to the speed of light and the distance from the satellites. Advantage: resistant to natural disasters, reliable, available everywhere and without last mile problems.
In short… here are the 3 most important factors to consider…
1- Link speed and committed rate
T1 or DS3 can be purchased as point-to-point dedicated bandwidth. You will get the guaranteed advertised speed from point a to point b. KEY POINT If you are buying internet access and using the internet to provide connectivity (VPN etc) then you are buying an access road, traffic on the “highway” after going up could slow you down. Just because you bought an Internet DS3 doesn’t mean you’ll have DS3 access to everything on the Internet.
2- Link symmetry
T1 and DS3 provide the same bandwidth in both directions when configured as point-to-point. Different flavors of DSL provide different uplink and downlink speeds.
3- QOS
T1 and DS3 can be configured to support TDM voice (directly from your PBX). They can also support VoIP. If you’re doing everything with VoIP, it might not matter. If you keep some TDM voice, it is very important.
For more help finding EXACTLY the right solution for your business network… take advantage of the free services provided through DS3-Bandwidth.com. This is very useful considering how complicated it could be to evaluate your options. Plus, using a free service like this maximizes your resources…time, effort, and manpower.
