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Enough Bandwidth

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PCQ Bureau
New Update

It is indeed the rare organization that can afford to not have an Internet connection. Then again, it is the rare organization that can say that it has enough bandwidth! We will leave the larger organizations with large budgets and fat pipes to consider how to manage their bandwidth better, and instead focus on what sort of Internet connectivity a smallish organization should have



Connectivity options start with dial-up. But, if your connectivity needs are to send more than a few mail every day, and if alternate choices are available, then you should seriously consider them. If you do not have alternate choices, then tying up two or three dial-up lines using a hardware router will give you better performance.

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Two of the most promising candidates are cable Internet and DSL. Cable may be cheaper, but may not be suitable for organizations, particularly since it is notoriously weak when it comes to security of computers connected to the network. Of these two, DSL is the better option.

At this point, there is one significant point to be considered. The type of Internet traffic you have. Dial-up, DSL and cable are designed for situations where the traffic is downstream, like when you are downloading information. They are relatively poor performers when it comes to upstream traffic. So, if you need to send heavy files out in a consistent manner, these may not be the best choices for you.

CONNECTIVITY CHOICES
l Dial-up is avoidable as the primary connectivity choice
l DSL may be more effective in performance and costs for businesses
l If you need to upload large amounts of data, then leased lines offer the best solution
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ISDN is the next option. Like with cable and DSL, you have different bandwidth choices (64 kb, 128 kb, 256 kb, 384 kb or 512 kb) in ISDN. It is also similar to dial up in the sense that the connect is not always on. You dial up when needed, but are instantly connected.

At the highest end of the spectrum is the leased line, which is always on, permanent connectivity like DSL, but affords both upstream and downstream traffic.

Krishna Kumar

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