Point to Point Fiber Optic Connections

By: John Shepler

Say you want to link two business locations securely and with medium to high bandwidth. Do you use the Internet for this or…

The Advantage of Private Lines
The Internet has two big advantages: It goes almost everywhere on Earth and access is relatively cheap. Unfortunately, the Public Internet also has a couple of big limitations: Performance is iffy and security is genuine worry.

What’s better? Private lines. Particularly, dedicated point to point private lines. They’re called private because they really are.

Security is ratcheted up orders of magnitude because it’s really hard to hack into something where you have no access. Remember the old spy shows where someone surreptitiously taps into a phone line by connecting directly to the wires? That’s what it takes to get into a private line. You need access to the physical connections themselves. There’s none of this packet snooping on an Internet connection or, worse, over WiFi.

Want to make it even harder to get into your network? Go with fiber optics instead of wires. Even harder? Encrypt your data too. That’ll stop the little snoops in their tracks. Now they’ve got to get physically into your connection somewhere along the line and then break your encryption before they get caught. Good luck with that.

Security is Great. How About Performance?
You really can’t improve over private line performance unless you actually own the network from end to end. That’s actually a possibility. Of course, your LAN is limited to your building or campus. You’ll likely not be able to afford to string wires or trench fiber across town to link separate locations. But you may very well be able to lease dark fiber. If you install your own termination equipment, you pretty much have control over the entire link.

Most of us don’t need to go to that extent. We can lease point to point private line connections at just about any bandwidth we need. As long as you acquire enough bandwidth, network congestion should never be a problem. Packet loss, jitter and latency are minimized with dedicated private lines. There’s no traffic on the link other than yours.

You won’t get that performance consistently on the Internet. The Internet was designed to be robust in the face of line cuts and equipment failure. That’s a great goal, except you may find that your packets take varying routes even between two fixed end points. The packets will almost always get there with TCP/IP… eventually. That’s why real-time applications like VoIP telephone and video conferencing perform much better over private lines.

What Private Line Services are Available?
The two big contenders are SONET and Carrier Ethernet over Fiber. Yes, you can still get T1 lines and they work great. Bandwidth is a limitation, however, T1 is 1.5 Mbps. Bonding T1 lines will get you up to 10 or 12 Mbps, but that’s it. Even at 10 Mbps, fiber is a better deal if available. Fiber bandwidth start at around 10 Mbps and go up to at least 10 Gbps in most areas. For multiple locations or international connections, MPLS networks are an excellent choice.

About SONET Fiber Optic Bandwidth
SONET is the original switched circuit technology used for fiber optic transmissions. It’s implemented on a pair of fibers with a ring topology. That’s for reliability. If one fiber gets cut, the other picks up the load within 50 mSec and keeps going.

SONET is at the core of many networks, especially the legacy telco networks. The most basic service available is OC-3 at 155 Mbps. Other popular levels are OC-12 at 622 Mbps and OC-48 at 2.4 Gbps. Even T-Carrier DS3 service at 45 Mbps that is delivered on coaxial cables travels most of the way multiplexed over OC-3 fiber service.

SONET is a very mature and reliable technology. It’s the way most companies moved into fiber optic bandwidth when copper wireline just couldn’t cut it anymore. Prices have dropped dramatically over the last few years. Even so, there is a more flexible and cost effective solution available today. That is Carrier Ethernet.

Ethernet over Fiber Bandwidth Advantages
If you are wondering why Ethernet over Fiber is taking over the world, you need look no further than you own LAN. Ethernet is the dominant, pretty much universal, protocol used for computer networks. Electronic communications once was analog phone calls. Now the lion’s share of the traffic is digital data and the majority of that is IP video.

Carrier Ethernet, also called Ethernet over Fiber or EoF, is an extension of the LAN standards to make them work over long distances on common carriers. Ethernet has the advantage of directly interfacing to LANs with no protocol conversions required. Unlike SONET, it was designed to be highly scalable. You can get just about any bandwidth you want and upgrade or downgrade it quickly and easily.

Ethernet is also generally less expensive, Mbps per Mbps, than SONET or even the lower speed wireline services. Nearly all businesses can afford 10 Mbps EoF. Most go for 100 Mbps Fast Ethernet. Both GigE and 10 GigE are popular with more demanding applications and larger companies.

How do MPLS Networks Provide Private Lines?
MPLS or Multi-Protocol Label Switching networks are Wide Area Networks that are based on a propriety routing technology called label switching. It’s unique to these networks and hard to hack. That’s why MPLS is also known as MPLS VPN or virtually private networking.

Yes, MPLS is a multi-tenant network and not strictly a private line. However, MPLS networks serve a limited number of paying customers and are carefully managed to ensure that each customer has the resources committed to it at all times. You often even have the advantage or “burst” or use more resources than you have committed to as long as excess capacity is available.

Why MPLS? As large private networks, MPLS offers the opportunity to connect many locations at a lower cost than using multiple private lines. The cost advantage is such that it’s often better to use MPLS rather than dedicated private lines for even two internationally separated locations.

Your Best Bandwidth Option
Which bandwidth solution is right for your business? Before you choose, compare performance commitments and prices for SONET, Ethernet over Fiber and MPLS private line solutions


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Ethernet Over Copper Companies Expand Services

Ethernet over Copper (EoC) has been the David to the T1 Goliath. That’s changing fast. While T1 lines won’t be knocked out anytime soon, the expansion of EoC by Ethernet over Copper companies is bringing more options to more service areas every day.

An example is the aggressive buildout by Integra Telecom into 120 telephone company central offices (COs) serving more than 400,000 businesses. Why colocate in telco offices instead of just building your own points of presence?

The answer has to do with the copper. Copper is gold in the telecom world. He who has the gold, and to some extent makes the rules, is by law the Incumbent Local Exchange Carriers (ILECs), also known as the local telephone companies. All that twisted pair copper in the ground and flying overhead was put there by the ILECs for their own use. Under deregulation, they lease it out to competing carriers, like Integra, who install their own equipment to access that copper within the ILEC COs.

It’s only the last mile that Integra and other carriers lease. The rest of the signal path is through their own proprietary networks. By using that last mile of twisted pair copper wires, EoC providers can provision anywhere from 2 to 45 Mbps of Carrier Ethernet bandwidth and services. That’s faster than even bonded T1 lines can go and competes with low end fiber optic services. That makes connectivity available in the two-thirds of business buildings that aren’t yet lit for fiber.

So, what can you expect from Ethernet over Copper? First of all, it’s Ethernet. This is the same protocol that runs on your network. When adapted to run on telecom services, it’s called Carrier Ethernet. This makes the interface to your network as simple as plugging into a standard RJ-45 Ethernet connector installed by the carrier.

Even more important, your traffic stays on Ethernet as it traverses the path between company locations. The Metro Ethernet Forum (MEF), an industry standards group, has created several Carrier Ethernet services that support business connections. The first is Ethernet Private Line (EPL). This is similar to the point to point T1 service you may have now. It connects two locations with a Ethernet Virtual Circuit (EVC) for the exclusive use of your traffic.

One difference is that you have a wider range of bandwidth choices available. The other very noticeable difference is that Ethernet services tends to be considerably more cost effective than T1. You can typically get 3 Mbps EoC for the same price as 1.5 Mbps T1. As you increase bandwidth, the cost savings get even more attractive.

A related service is Ethernet Virtual Private Line (EVPL). This is a point to multipoint connection. You could use EVPL to establish a star network with your headquarters location in the center, connecting many other business locations.

Another service gaining popularity is E-LAN or Ethernet LAN service. This is an Ethernet based cloud networking service that connects multiple locations in a meshed arrangement. Because it is Ethernet, you can use it as a bridged network connection to join the LANs at all of your diverse business locations so that they operate as one very large company network.

Ethernet over Copper offers you an expanded range of services than what you have now with an expanded bandwidth selection that is easily scalable and less costly than traditional telecom services. The one question is whether you can get EoC yet? With the rapid deployment by many carriers, the answer is probably YES. Want to find out? Get availability and pricing for Ethernet over Copper services suitable for your business locations.

MPLS Point to Point Alternative

The traditional way to connect two business locations to send files back and forth is with a point to point data connection. T1 lines have been perfect for this at modest bandwidth levels. DS3 and OCx SONET services work the same way when higher speeds are needed. Ethernet line service is the latest entry into the Point to Point bandwidth space. But have you considered MPLS networks as your best value for the money?

MPLS may seem like an odd choice, since MPLS networks are really targeted for multi-point connectivity in place of older technologies like Frame Relay. MPLS networks are organized as clouds with multiple access points over the service footprint. If you have a dozen or a hundred locations to network, an MPLS solution is likely the best solution by a mile. Yet, there’s no reason you can’t just specify connecting point A to point B as your only connection.

The one possible downside might be cost. Whether a dedicated point to point line service or an MPLS network service makes sense for any given application depends a lot on the distance between locations and whether you intend to order more than one line. Why multiple lines? While some businesses have only two locations to connect, many others have three or more. The most expensive way to make multiple connections is by running point to point lines from each location to the others. A more cost effective approach is to set up a star network with the routing equipment at headquarters and point to point lines fanning out from there to each satellite location. The least cost most flexible solution is often to simply connect every location to a regional or national MPLS network and specify the connectivity within the cloud.

T1 point to point lines became popular because they are relatively inexpensive and offer the security and performance of a dedicated line. You have exclusive use of the 1.5 Mbps bandwidth in both directions. Since the line is “nailed up” to interconnect two locations, security is high. It’s difficult to impossible for snoops and troublemakers to gain access to your private line.

One disadvantage of using dedicated T1 lines is that you are limited to 1.5 Mbps per line, although you can often bond T1 lines together to multiply the bandwidth up to a maximum of 10 or 12 Mbps. Another drawback is that there is no economy of scale. Two lines cost twice as much as one line. They also tend to be priced by distance. A point to point line in town costs much less than a connection from coast to coast. If you need to cross an ocean or international border the cost goes up significantly.

Everything that has been said about T1 lines also goes for higher bandwidth options, such as DS3, OC3, and so on. The cost increases along with bandwidth. Ethernet over Copper or Ethernet over Fiber offers higher bandwidth at lower prices, but is also a dedicated line service. It’s the protocol that’s different between T1 or SONET and Ethernet services.

MPLS networks have a different cost model. The network is based on a privately owned high speed national or international fiber optic network. None of the core network is dedicated to a single customer. It is intended to be shared among many customers to amortize the cost. As such, the cost of a point to point or multipoint connection is more attractive than for a dedicated line service. In-town or close by, the dedicated line may be the cheaper solution. But for locations spaced thousands of miles apart or overseas, MPLS networks have the advantage.

What makes MPLS networks a good substitute for dedicated point to point lines is that the network offers security and guaranteed performance as well as a cost savings. The proprietary nature of the label switching protocol and the fact that access is limited to customers of the network make security much higher than on a public network like the Internet. The network operators establish the virtual paths through the network on a case by case basis. You may be sharing the fiber strands, but you can’t access another customer’s data and they can’t see yours.

Do you have a requirement to link business locations? Be sure to get MPLS network service pricing as well as dedicated line pricing for even a two location hookup to make sure you have the best deal.

Metro Ethernet vs T1 Lines

Small and medium size businesses typically use T1 lines or multiple T1 lines to provide reliable broadband connectivity. But now there’s another option that you should consider for higher bandwidth at lower prices. That’s Metro Ethernet.

Metro Ethernet service is available in most metropolitan areas. Hence, the name “metro.” Also, like the name implies, this is a switched Ethernet protocol compatible with what you are running on your local area network. That makes it easy to connect from your network to your Metro Ethernet connection. You simply plug into the Ethernet jack from the service provider and you are connected to the wide area network. With T1 lines, you need a special interface card that contains the CSU/DSU circuitry to connect with that technology or a stand-alone T1 CSU/DSU with an RJ-45 network output.

Both T1 lines and Metro Ethernet services can be configured to provide point to point private lines between business locations. They can also be used as access network connections to the Internet. Both give you dedicated Internet access with assured bandwidth and availability.

In addition, Metro Ethernet can be set up as a multi-point service to connect several business locations on the same network. This can be a level 2 switched Ethernet service that ties your branch office and main office LANs together in one larger bridged network. You can create larger networks using T1 lines, but they are inherently connections from one location to another. You’ll have to build a star or mesh network yourself.

What about bandwidth? T1 lines are inherently fixed at 1.5 Mbps each. The way to get higher levels of bandwidth is to incrementally add more lines through a process called bonding. For instance, 2 T1 lines gives you 3 Mbps, 4 lines will provide 6 Mbps, 6 lines gives 9 Mbps, and so on.

Ethernet services are also available in a variety of bandwidth options from 1 Mbps through 10 Gbps. Small and medium size businesses will typically opt for 3 to 10 Mbps options. An advantage of Ethernet is that it is scalable up to the fastest speed the connection will handle. You can start out with 3 Mbps bandwidth and upgrade to 10 Mbps or 20 Mbps, often with only a phone call to your provider.

T1 is a wireline service. It is based on two sets of twisted pair copper telco wires. That makes T1 available nearly everywhere you can get phone service. At the lower bandwidths, Ethernet is also provisioned over twisted pair copper wire. A different modulation scheme is used to gain higher bandwidths using multiple copper pair. You may be able to get up to 50 Mbps Ethernet over Copper. The upper limit is distance sensitive, so the closer you are to a carrier’s nearest point of presence, the higher bandwidths you can get.

When fiber optic connections are available, the higher Ethernet bandwidths are readily available. Medium size businesses commonly use 10 Mbps to 100 Mbps connections, with larger corporations installing 1 Gbps to 10 Gbps fiber optic Ethernet services.

How do prices compare? The price of T1 lines has dropped dramatically in recent years and can be had for under $400 per month in many areas. For about the same cost, you can get twice the bandwidth with 3 Mbps Ethernet. For what you may be paying on an older T1 line contract, you may be able to upgrade to 10 Mbps Ethernet and get the bandwidth you need for today’s demanding business applications.

Ethernet sounds good, but how can you find out which Ethernet bandwidth services are available for your location or locations? The easy way is use the quick Metro Ethernet Service finder at Ethernet Today. See if nearby buildings are already lit for Metro Ethernet service and get quotes for competing service providers. You may be surprised how affordable the new Ethernet services really are.

Fixed Wireless Broadband Services For Business

We’ve come to think of business grade telecom services and copper wireline and fiber optic services. That’s why IT managers may cringe when someone says they’ve got to have new high bandwidth Internet access, point to point transmission or VoIP telephone service right this minute. We all know that there is no such thing in WAN networking as right this minute. Or is there?

An option that’s becoming increasingly available is fixed wireless service. Think of getting the same bandwidth services you have now delivered without the wires. This is quite different from cell phone service designed for mobile use or wireless access points that have a range of only a few hundred feet. It’s also not satellite broadband, which has such long latencies and limited bandwidth that you can’t really use it for any but the most limited applications.

This fixed wireless service uses outside antennas that communicate over a range of some miles. Airband, a leader in this field, has installed base stations in 14 major cities. Each base station can communicate with customers up to 5 miles away, forming a service footprint of 78 square miles. Each customer has a subscriber unit (SU) that provides a two-way radio connection with the base station and a simple Ethernet connection to the LAN.

What services can Airband offer? Broadband Internet is a popular choice. You can get speeds from 2 Mbps to Gigabit Ethernet. Yes, you can get replacement service for T1 lines and DS3 connections. But there is also the standard Ethernet speeds of 10 Mbps, 100 Mbps and 1000 Mbps. Plus you can choose any bandwidth in-between to scale your service to exactly what you need. Don’t worry about picking the wrong bandwidth level and needing an upgrade quickly. Upgrades are made by network software changes and can be accomplished in hours. Installation itself can be completed in just days. What’s that quote you got to bring in fiber? Six months? Outrageous!

Being wireless, can’t anyone just stick up an antenna and intercept your datastream? They won’t have much luck. Airband uses 128 bit AES encryption to keep your data safe. They also offer a 100% uptime guarantee, with service level guarantees on jitter, latency and packet loss.

With such tight control on network parameters, this fixed wireless solution can be used with confidence for VoIP as well as point to point data, business Internet and private IP VPN. There are several options available. You can simply replace your existing ISDN PRI trunk lines (or add new ones) using a SIP trunk with PRI interface. The newer IP PBX systems can often connect directly to a SIP trunk. Or let Airband own and manage the hosted PBX system and just have telephone sets at your location. This is all done on a private IP network so that the quality of your voice communication is assured.

Does this sound like the quality of service you need with the speed of installation and avoidance of copper and fiber line construction costs you require? If so, you may be delighted with how little you have to pay to enjoy fixed wireless services from Airband and other providers. Get details on fixed wireless costs and availability now.

My MPLS Network Can Beat Up Your Frame Relay Network

When it comes to interconnecting multiple business sites, you have a choice in technologies. Popular options include point to point dedicated T1 lines with corporate headquarters in the center of a star network, VPN over dedicated Internet connections, Frame Relay networks or the newer MPLS networks. Now, how to choose?

The Internet VPN approach is popular because of its relatively low cost, especially when you need to connect to many traveling or working from home employees. You implement it with a software application that encodes your data while it traverses the Internet. Performance is hit and miss, as is the Internet. Even with encoded packets, the lack of security on the Internet makes IT managers a bit squeamish when it comes to sending the most sensitive company data through these connections.

Point to point T1 or DS3 connections are inherently more secure, as you lease the entire capacity of the channel for your exclusive use. These are nailed up connections that simply idle when you are not sending data. You can also encode your data with a VPN solution for the ultimate in security. But there’s a price to be paid, and that is one of higher cost.

Cost is what Frame Relay networks were designed to address. A Frame Relay network is a privately run network that only serves its clients. There’s no access for the general public. You access the network through a FRAD or Frame Relay Access Device. This specialized hardware sends your data through PVCs or permanent virtual circuits. These are assigned paths through the network cloud that only connect endpoints you specify. In addition to limited access, the assignment of PVCs creates a level of security well beyond what you have in a piblic network. You can also encrypt your data to make it extra secure.

Frame Relay networks were designed to interconnect computing centers before the age of the Internet. The frame takes the place of the Ethernet packet. Network speed is typically in the range of 56 Kbps to T1 speeds of 1.5 Mbps.

An upgrade to the Frame Relay concept is MPLS or Multi-Protocol Label Switching. Like Frame Relay, an MPLS network is privately run and serves only subscribing customers. Also like Frame Relay, access is through a specialized piece of equipment known as a Tag Router. Your packets, which can be data, voice, or video, have “tag” attached to them as they enter the network. All routing is done using the tags. Just about any protocol may be transported on this tagging system. Class of service can be specified through the tags to ensure that real time protocols avoid any delays. You may also choose to encrypt your packets for extra security.

MPLS networks can run at any network speed and are being adopted by major carriers as the multipoint to multipoint technology of choice. For this reason, MPLS is fast replacing Frame Relay. For new applications in connecting multiple sites nationwide or even worldwide, MPLS is generally your best choice. With competition in the carrier market for this business, prices may be more attractive than you would expect. How good are they? Find out with an MPLS Network price and availability check now.

Point to Point Lines Connect Dealerships

Car dealerships, real estate companies, medical centers, radio stations and fine restaurants all have something in common. They're often big enough and successful enough to have more than one physical location. What they need is a way to tie two or more locations together as if they are one company. That's what point to point lines and MPLS networks do.

A common scenario is the successful car dealership that has an opportunity to buy out another dealership with similar or competing vehicles. Common ownership has strategic advantages, but consolidation of common functions offers an opportunity for cost savings. Back office operations such as accounting, marketing, IT, and so on are ripe for centralizing and right sizing to a level that can efficiently serve all locations. But this only works if each location can be served as well or better than with an on-site staff.

With so many functions now electronically data driven, there is real opportunity to standardize on computer based systems for everything from sales to accounting to inventory management to maintenance records to Web sites to telecommunications. You can set up similar networks and workstations at each location. But how to you tie everything together?

Chances are that you already use T1 lines for PBX telephone service and/or dedicated Internet access now. There is another type of T1 line, called a point to point T1 line, that is perfect for connecting two locations. As you may have guessed, the point to point T1 line is a direct connection from one location to another. Usually, these locations are in the same town or geographical area. But they don't have to be. You can have one point in New York and another in Los Angeles and it works the same way.

What's important about point to point T1 lines is that they are a dedicated service. In other words, you have exclusive and private use of the connection. It's as if there is a wire stretched between your locations, and in a way there is. Because there is no bandwidth sharing, point to point links are inherently more secure than just connecting two places over the Internet. For really sensitive data, such as your customer or business records, you can choose to encrypt the data during its transit from point to point.

Point to point T1 lines can be used for more than just data exchange. Radio stations use these as program lines between their studio and transmitter. They can also be used to transfer programs and commercials between stations with common ownership.

Can point to point lines be used to connect more than one location? Sure. You can connect a P2P (Point to Point) T1 line from every location to every other location. As you get more locations, this can get rather expensive. You are probably better served to organize your WAN (Wide Area Network) in a hub and spoke arrangement with headquarters acting as the hub to provide connectivity to all the branch offices or other locations.

For mesh connectivity to many locations, another popular service is MPLS or Multi Protocol Label Switching. This is a private shared network that guarantees bandwidth and connectivity. You typically use a T1 line at each location to provide access to the network. The MPLS provider then sets up paths that define which locations can talk to which other locations. There are other users on the network also, but you will not be impacted by them the way you can be on the Internet.

Is Point to Point T1 or MPLS service right for your operation? The best way to find out is to compare service options and prices and then select the connection scheme that gives you the right connectivity, bandwidth, privacy and cost.