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Lesson 1
Planning an Internet Connectivity Infrastructure
3-11
telephone companies can provide the Internet access as well as the leased
line, elimi-
nating the need to involve a third party in the negotiations. These
providers often have
package deals available that provide an array of Internet access services at
an attractive
price.
Workstation
Workstation
Router
Router
Leased
Hub
Hub
CSU/DSU
CSU/DSU
line
Workstation
Workstation
Workstation
Workstation
Service provider
Subscriber
F03pm01
Figure 3-1
A leased line connection
When creating an Internet access plan, you must understand that leased lines
represent
a different world from most of the low-end Internet access solutions
described earlier
in this lesson. Installing a leased line for Internet access represents a
significant invest-
ment in time and money. In addition to the monthly fees for the leased line
itself and
for the ISP’s services, the cost of the installation and the CSU/DSU at both
ends is sub-
stantial, and once the line is in place, it is permanent. You cannot change
ISPs without
having another line installed to the new destination. Before actually
installing a leased
line, you should discuss your needs with several telephone carriers and ISPs
to get a
feel for their services and obtain competitive bids.
As an Internet access solution, leased lines are best suited to networks
that require large
amounts of bandwidth around the clock. When you install a leased line, you
are paying for
a given amount of bandwidth 24 hours a day. An organization that completely
shuts down
and requires no Internet access for a portion of the day is wasting a lot of
money. However,
for some organizations, the money lost in this way more than offsets the
cost of obtaining
the bandwidth they need during business hours by some other means.
Frame Relay
Frame relay is a WAN technology designed to provide a variable amount of
bandwidth
and enable you to pay only for the bandwidth you use. To set up a frame
relay WAN con-
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