WAN techs

[mammador]

I may be assisting in setting up a WAN soon.

Basic needs are high-bandwidth services, and strong QoS. The number of users will not be that high, as it's mainly streaming video and not Web/e-mail as such.

How much bandwidth do SONET and MPLS provide? Is 10 Gig Ethernet WAN common?

[theevilsharpie]

SONET provides varying amounts of bandwidth depending on the type of connection.

MPLS is an abstraction layer that runs on top of lower-level link protocols. Ethernet is a common link protocol for higher bandwidth connections.

10GbE WAN links are not common outside of backbone providers and large companies like Google. Smaller companies can get a 10GbE WAN link, but if you're asking about it on this forum, I doubt you'd be able to afford it.

[drebo]

Wants are great, but you know what they say about them, right? Want in one hand, shit in the other.

Most important thing is budget, followed closely by location.

How many sites? What are the topology needs? How many users at each site? Do you have any sites in carrier hotels or other colo facilities?

If your budget isn't $100k for equipment alone, you can forget about 10gige. The costs for routers and firewalls that can operate at those speeds are pretty outrageous.

Basically, need more info.

Specifically, SONET can operate at 10+ gbps. In fact, early 10Gig-E implementations were based on OC192 specs, which was essentially four 2.5gbps channels (OC48 operates at ~2.5gbps.) And 40 Gig-E is based largely on OC768 specs.

MPLS is not a connection type. It's a protocol that's used to facilitate the routing of packets independent of their L3 addresses. As such, MPLS is typically used to build VPNs across a service provider's shared resources. The cost savings in not having to build circuits end-to-end are huge. It's also used within a SP network to enable faster, potentially more efficient, routing.

10 GigE WAN connections are not common outside of colocation facilities. Even then, you'll pay out the ass for them. The cheaper ones (Hurricane Electric, etc) are probably still on the order of $10k/mo for Internet access. Private line/virtual private line will be significantly more expensive than that. As an organization, you'll never get neutral peering.

Judging by your questions, it's unlikely that you need or can afford those kinds of speeds.

[Cable God]

Mammador, it all depends on your location. 10Gig for not many users? Nah, don't even think about it unless you're ready to spend $5k/month or more. Look into what providers are available in your area. If your building is already "on-net", your costs will be drastically lower.

[mammador]

Originally Posted by theevilsharpie

SONET provides varying amounts of bandwidth depending on the type of connection.

MPLS is an abstraction layer that runs on top of lower-level link protocols. Ethernet is a common link protocol for higher bandwidth connections.

10GbE WAN links are not common outside of backbone providers and large companies like Google. Smaller companies can get a 10GbE WAN link, but if you're asking about it on this forum, I doubt you'd be able to afford it.

The main consideration at this point is bandwidth, since the number of users will be small. Essentially, the firm in question has 4 sites, of which they want to link all TCP/IP nodes into the WAN. This isn't just laptops, desktops, etc. but cameras, door locks, speakers and other stuff.

[theevilsharpie]

Originally Posted by mammador

The main consideration at this point is bandwidth, since the number of users will be small. Essentially, the firm in question has 4 sites, of which they want to link all TCP/IP nodes into the WAN. This isn't just laptops, desktops, etc. but cameras, door locks, speakers and other stuff.

I don't know what your requirements are, but none of what you mentioned sounds so bandwidth intensive that it would require a 10GbE connection.