Re: Connecting satellite locations via the Internet -- MIDRANGE-L

Lurton,

Not to refute your decision, just tossing in my 2 cents....

Lurton Keel wrote:
> <<snip>>
  This was a big deal since we
> got a 24X7 monitored frame relay network for less money than 2 of the VPN
> quotes.

Here in the Pacific NW, a 56k frame only guarantees 28.8
Frame installation is $1,000 at each end. Basic 2 channel, with a POTS,
ISDN is $125 install and, well it 2 channels at 64k, period.  The POTS
can work as a single FAX/Voice line.  The per month charge is
comparable.

> 3       Managing the network is a real pill if you are having response time
> problems over the Internet.  With our frame relay network, we have abilities
> to monitor network traffic and reconfigure on the fly.  Lucent's NetCare
> center in Tampa is watching our network even while I am asleep

This may be symptomatic of using a frame relay service.  ISDN has
consistent throughput.  How much per month does Lucent charge to "watch"
your line/their service?

> 4       We needed redundancy for our stores.  With the frame network we have
> automatic dial backup into our LAN.  The users don't even know it happens.
> With VPN we would have to have 2 paths active all of the time or at least an
> account with 2 different ISP's with a dial up solution.

The ISDN/POTS would provide a dialup backup at no additional cost. 
Personally, the POTS that comes with ISDN is, at best 9.6k and best
suited for fax/voice.  Just about any and all ISP's offer 56k dialup for
$19.95/month. Now that's cheap insurance.


> 5       Security was an issue a year ago.  I think IBM and others have done
> a great job of making VPN a viable alternative, in some cases, by removing
> the security issue.

Alternative to what? VPN are as tappable as any communication line. 
Locks keep honest people honest. If they want in, they'll get in. Get
over it.

> 6       Control of network structure.  We control the IP addresses, we don't
> use public IP addresses.  We don't have to worry about firewalls (except on
> the back side of the WAN to provide email and Internet access to our
> clients).

Now that's a no brainer.  Your internal IP address is always hidden from
public view under any router/gateway.  This is not a plus provided
exclusively by your choice. Sorry, don't mean to be harsh, but this is a
given.

> 7       With our network, we can prioritize traffic.  Telnet has first
> priority, SMTP second and HTML last.  This keeps our pipes open for business
> traffic and doesn't clutter the bandwidth with people browsing the WWW.

Sure you can prioritize, but what about the 20 hops in between?

> 8       There are about 50 more reasons but I am getting tired of typing.

You just gave me 50 more reasons to stay awake! :-)

Regards,
James W. Kilgore
email@James-W-Kilgore.com
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