IT Connection Newsletter: Issue 5

Internet access technologies and ISP service plans are changing fast, making it difficult for IT managers to stay up to date. Progent can help you evaluate the options available to your company and can help you set up an optimal Internet connectivity solution.

Internet access technologies and service plans are evolving quickly, making it ever more challenging for IT managers to keep up. As a result, many companies still use legacy Internet connections even though faster, more reliable, and less expensive options are readily available.

Besides the direct impact outdated ISP service plans have on your bottom line, other factors can make them even more costly. Slow bandwidth, high latency, poor Quality of Service, and marginal availability can result in lost productivity, low customer satisfaction, and over-worked network managers. All this reduces the business value of your information network.

Picking the Right ISP Connection
The Internet access options available to you depend on your location. The Gold Standard is optical fiber, which offers the highest reliability and speed. If your office or data center is "on net" with a fiber provider (such as TW Telecom or Cogent Communications), you may be able to sign up for an unlimited-use 100 mbps fiber connection for as little as $700 per month.

If you're "off net" you still might be able to access a 100 mbps connection via AT&T custom installed fiber, but your monthly fee could be triple what you would pay if you were on net. If optical fiber is either unavailable or too expensive, you may be able to get Business Class Cable Internet from Comcast, offering speeds up to 50mbps. Another alternative is to aggregate voice-grade copper-wire for a 10 mbps symmetrical connection. This offering is often called Metro Ethernet.

Even the legacy ADSL standard has been upgraded with ADSL2+ offering up to 20 mbps speeds if you are located close to a central office. In some areas, line-of-site microwave or WiMax wireless connections can be your best option. In most cases, there are better choices available than sticking with DS3, bonded T1s, or other legacy connections.

An important consideration is whether your ISP has good sharing arrangements with other carriers worldwide, known as "peering." Cogent is an excellent choice for small businesses, having attained the position as the top peered network globally with very aggressive pricing. By connecting to a well peered tier 1 provider, you can make sure you have low latency connections almost everywhere. This is a great advantage when you run real-time applications such as Voice-over-IP telephony or video conferencing.

Progent's Internet connection experts can help you evaluate alternatives and select an ISP and a service plan that makes the most sense for your business.

Progent's ISP Selection Consulting Services
Progent is a pioneer in designing and maintaining virtual business networks that rely on reliable, fast, and economical Internet connections. Progent has worked with all major carriers and has helped many smaller ISPs to optimize the performance, availability, and security of their commercial infrastructure. Progent's consultants can provide valuable insight into how to cut through the hype and jargon to build a budget-friendly Internet connectivity solution that aligns with your business needs and allows you to adopt new IP technology quickly so you can stay competitive.

Progent can work with your ISP to coordinate deployment and can help you provision your network infrastructure so you benefit fully from new services, manage the transition process to minimize or avoid business disruption, monitor the performance of your new connections, and troubleshoot access issues.

Consider Colocation
Colocation sites offer affordable hosting services in world-class facilities that feature power backup, physical security, fire suppression, and tight HVAC controls. These sites also offer access to multiple 'on net' fiber providers, which makes it possible to have fast Internet connections with failover redundancy at very low prices.

If you are considering transferring your data center to a colocation site, Progent offers a full range of support services to make sure you take advantage of the latest Internet connectivity technologies and service plans. Progent's colocation support experts address key issues such as security and compliance, high availability, VPN configuration, traffic engineering, network monitoring, management automation, disaster recovery planning, and server virtualization. Progent can help you transition from your current environment to a colocation site with minimal disruption of your network operations.

For additional information about Progent's consulting services for selecting an ISP service plan and provisioning your network for secure and reliable Internet access, see Internet Connectivity Consulting Services.

Ask About Progent's Internet Access Consulting
To ask about Progent's Internet connectivity consulting services, call Progent at 1-800-993-9400 or visit Contact Progent.

Click here to go to the table of contents of the IT Connection newsletter.