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 for and against each bandwidth type in a business setting?

In general .....

The answer to these questions is truly related to your application requirements. If you run applications that are latency or Jitter impacted, then DSL may not provide you with the service levels you need.

An additional extension of that would be your requirements for uptime. MTTR (Mean Time to Repair) is typically greatly improved with DS1 and DS3 circuits.

The size of the business is not nearly as important as your application requirements. Many large organizations can survive with DSL or in some cases dial-up, but a small organization that has streaming application traffic, mission critical traffic, or small latency or jitter requirements then DS1 or greater connectivity would be required.

Lastly, though often primarily, cost helps determine your choices.

To be more specific ....

T1s and DS-3s give the same offering except for capacity. T1s give 1.5Mbps upload and download speeds per line. DS3s give 32-45mbps upload and download speeds.

ADSL typically give asymmetric upload and download speeds (ADSL) typically 1.5, 3.0 and 6.0 Mbps download speeds and somewhere between 128 -768Mbps upload speeds.

Symmetrical DSL (SDSL) gives the same upload and download speeds, typically 384, 512 or 786Mbps upload and download.

Cable offerings vary with providers and location. Doing a comparison with cable would be impossible without knowing your provider and market. Not who your provider is and your location .... but knowing how your provider is in that particular market. Ask a local expert for that detail.

T1 and DS3 are very reliable with high MTBF (mean time between failure) 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 do not have a need for high upload speeds, (VPN, VoIP, high Data transfer for backup/co-location, ftp streaming media or other high bandwidth services hosted in-house, etc) then an asymmetric connection is not evil. DSL/Cable may be a good choice in that case.

If you need high speed upload then T1/DS3 is needed.

Fro growing needs, T1 or fractional T3 is a good choice. After some point in growth, a full T3/DS3 becomes more economical.

For mission critical networks, two providers from two different physical points-of-entry may be necessary depending on the natural disasters you are likely to face.

Case study one: a company had a fractional T3 coming in from the East and another fractional T3 coming in from the West. Flooding and a sinkhole cut one T3. The network slowed down but stayed up.

Case study two: a company in South Florida lost its T1s and failed over to a Satellite link. Certain services were crippled by the latency of the system but their mission-critical applications kept running.

Which brings us to Satellite: usually asymmetric with extremely fast downloads (depending on service level) but typically slow uploads (but varies depending on service level). Has an intrinsic latency due to the speed of light and the distance of satellites. Advantage: natural disaster resistant, reliable, available everywhere and no last-mile issues.

In short...here's the 3 most important factors to consider.....

1- Link Speed and Committed Rate

T1 or DS3 can be purchased as dedicated point to point bandwidth. You will get the advertised speed guaranteed from point a to point b. KEY POINT if you are purchasing access to the internet and using the Internet to provide connectivity (VPN etc) then you are buying an on-ramp, the traffic on the "highway" after you get on could slow you down. Just because you bought a DS3 to the Internet doesn't mean that you will have DS3 access to everything onthe Internet.

2- Link Symmetry

T1 and DS3 give the same bandwidth in both directions when configured as point to point. Different flavors of DSL provide different up and downlink speeds.

3- QOS

T1 and DS3 are configurable to support TDM voice (straight out of your PBX). They can also support VoIP. If you are doing everything with VoIP it may not matter. If you are keeping some TDM voice it matters a lot.

For more help to find EXACTLY the right solution for your business network .... take advantage of the free services provided through DS3-Bandwidth.com. This comes in pretty handy considering how complicated evaluating your options could be. Plus using a free service such as this maximizes your resources .... time, effort, and manpower.

According to statistics released by the BBC during the summer of last year, nine out of ten users connect to the internet using a broadband connection.

The simple reason for this is that over the year's broadband has gotten cheaper and faster. Exactly how fast and how cheap your broadband package will be is influenced by a number of factors.

Availability and how exactly the broadband reaches your home will play a large role, with ADSL and cable being the most established methods of connection within the UK.

ADSL has proven considerably popular for home users and small businesses as it allows for far faster download speeds when compared to traditional dial-up services; ADSL is also "always on", meaning users don't need to dial in.

As its popularity has grown, so has the demand for faster download speeds, in response to this various new technologies are emerging such as ADSL2 and ADSL2+. These technological advancements will allow providers to offer download speeds of up to 24Mbps.

The other gripe users have with ADSL is the slow uploading speed, which is where SDSL comes in; as this allows for much faster upload speeds. This is particularly useful for businesses or those hosting websites; however, it does require a separate line.

The second major broadband technology is cable, with an estimated 45% of broadband users connecting to the internet this way. Its popularity is likely to be linked with its convenience, as providers often bundle broadband, TV and telephone services into one package.

The difference with cable is that it does not make use of your telephone line, but a cable and modem that is provided as part of package. Also, availability depends on whether or not a provider has cabled your street.

Considering the wealth of methods that malicious users employ to gain access to other people's machines, you would expect the general public to be better protected while online.

However, a survey conducted in 2004 found that even though 63% of respondents thought they had a firewall protecting their system, only 33% actually had a live firewall. Moreover, 77% of respondents had the general thought that their computers were safe.

It would seem that the general public are aware of the threats of the internet, but not as clued up as they should be on how to prevent any malicious attacks. For instance, 67% of the respondents either, did not have a virus checker or had not updated it recently.

The first and most commonly overlooked step when securing ones PC is the physical aspect. For instance, at work, you should always lock your workstation so that no one else can gain access to your information.

At home, younger members of the family are often prone to installing generally useless pieces of software which may be "piggybacked" with malicious spyware or malware. It is therefore, important to educate your family on what to look out for when downloading.

Most users are now aware that having both firewall and antivirus software is vital if they are going to be using the internet. What is often overlooked though is the requirement to keep both of these applications up-to-date, as new viruses are being released daily.

There is a myriad of internet security packages available, some free, some not, and each have their pro's and con's. Consumer reviews are probably the best way to determine which company has the right package for you.

Since the advent and wide-spread acceptance of "always on" broadband internet connections, online criminals are finding it easier than ever to gain access to sensitive and personal information.

In 2007, 61% of Britain was connected to the internet, that's around 15m homes. For the majority of those with broadband connections, their computer becomes connected to the internet as soon as it is turned on.

This has essentially made us very vulnerable to online hackers and fraudsters. Such people use a wide range of motives, methods and techniques to obtain our personal information (namely bank details, and other "secure" information)

It's important to note that the purpose of this article is not to make you fearful of the internet, but educate you on the methods that hackers use, so you can be more aware on how to protect your information.

Put simply, there are two ways in which hackers can attack your computer; these are discussed in more detail below.

Externally

This involves the attacker "probing" your computer, in the hopes of exposing any weaknesses in which they can gain access to your information.

Typical methods include; subnet scanning, port scanning, packet sniffing, e-mail eaves dropping, DOS attacks and "Phishing".

Internally

This method often involves users' unknowingly downloading malicious programs, sometimes referred to as "malware" to their computer systems. Malware often appears harmless software, and is usually transferred via email or downloaded from what appear legitimate sites.

The most common bandwidth solutions business choose today center around DSL, T1, and DS3 bandwidth. But to make the right choice for your business there's a few facts you must get straight.

"T1" is a telephone company term that describes a 1.54 Mbps capacity Internet connection. It also implies that the connection is "business class," and includes a guarantee.

The term "DS3" is also a "business class" guaranteed Internet connection. It should not be put together with "DSL," because in general they are not similar. However. many business customers confuse the 2 leading to some avoidable mistakes during the quote and purchase process.

Years ago, a business class T1 connection was very expensive, in excess of $1000 per month, and was designed to provide reliability to businesses whose use of the Internet was critical (they were willing to pay more for guaranteed reliability). Back in the early days, the alternative was dial-up. T1 prices have come down to the $400 per month range today.

Most other connection "speeds" (more accurately, capacity) offered by the telephone company are a "bundle" of 1.54 Mbps lines. A 3 Mbps link is also referred to as a "bundle" of 2 T1's. Similarly, DS3 is a nickname for a 45 Mbps connection, and is simply a bundle of 30 T1's. Since the cable TV companies began retrofitting their systems to deliver Internet access, these nicknames (T1, DS3, and others) have been borrowed, although the "speeds" originally were derived as a function of the limitations of the telephone company copper wires. Cable company equipment on the other hand can be throttled to any speed for the end user.

Around 2000 companies like TowerStream (beginning in New England, and now nationwide) began deploying business class Internet connections using equipment that, for the first time, was not retrofitted, but designed for the purpose of bidirectional data delivery. These systems also have infinitely variable throttles. TowerStream, for example, delivers a guaranteed T1 speed connection, but they also offer a 2 Mbps, 3 Mbps, 8 Mbps, and other ranges of speeds not offered by the phone companies, and their "DS3," instead of being throttled at 45 Mbps, is rounded off to 50. These connections are also unique because they completely bypass the phone and cable "copper" infrastructure.

It is confusing to many folks why someone would pay $400 per month for a business class link. The answer is in the small print.

I've heard Verizon on the radio offering "up to 8 Mbps" for twenty dollars a month. At the end of the ad, the guy with the really fast voice came on and stated "speed and uptime not guaranteed." That's the small print, radio version.

What this means is, exactly what it says ... "up to 8 Mbps." Maybe, maybe not. Maybe it'll crawl along at a terribly slow speed. Maybe it'll stop working completely. Maybe it'll go 8 Mbps. Maybe. They provide no guarantee. You certainly can not call and complain if it goes slow. They only said it might go 8 Mbps.

Less expensive connections, like DSL and cable modem, usually residential (and often small busines too), are not guaranteed. It's important to know. Usually the more expensive connections do provide an "SLA," or Service Level Agreement, which spells out the minimum speed, latency, uptime, and other measures of performance, which are guaranteed.

In addition, business class links (like T1's) usually allow the customer to host a server inside his location, and he gets public IP addresses, as well as other means of support, which are generally required for Internet intensive and Internet commerce-based businesses, and businesses which have outside users working from remote locations who need to be able to access the office. Residential type services (the less expensive services) will not provide business support, and often will cut off a customer who attempts to circumvent the basics.

It's all in the small print. Is it guaranteed? Are public IP addresses provided? Is there an SLA? Are these things important to you? They may or may not be ... but the business class of service is the lifeblood of businesses of all sizes these days, and should be expected to be for many years to come.