WAN Sourcing Tips: When a Gig isn’t a Gig
The term “Gig network” is often used by service providers to describe their Ethernet service offering. But what that term means exactly can differ between providers. Things you should consider when sourcing a wide area network (WAN) include:
Understanding exactly what the provider means with the term “Gig”
Is it a Gigabit interface/port or will they be providing a Gigabit of bandwidth?
Interface/port versus provisioned bandwidth: If the term refers to the interface/port, then you need to know how much bandwidth will be provisioned across that interface/port. The amount of bandwidth available will determine the performance of your network.
Guaranteed Bandwidth versus “Best Efforts”: If the provider is proposing a gigabit of bandwidth, is that bandwidth guaranteed, or will it be delivered on a best-effort basis? If it will be delivered on a best- effort basis, then your network can be negatively impacted during peak usage times, leaving your organization with less than sufficient bandwidth when you need it most.
Bandwidth available at the remote locations: If the provider is proposing a gigabit of dedicated bandwidth, then you need to determine if that is just to your main office or will each of your schools have a gigabit of bandwidth dedicated to its use as well. Bear in mind that the overall performance of the network is likely to be impacted most by the remote users’ ability to perform their daily functions rather than the users at your district office or main location.
In conclusion, there are many factors when sourcing a WAN. Understanding your network’s requirements in advance will help you implement a solution that will support your organization today and in the future. Being knowledgeable of your options will help you select a cost-effective solution from a reliable service provider.
WAN Sourcing Tips: Switched vs. Dedicated Networks
When sourcing a WAN, it is important to understand the type of network you are selecting. Is the provider proposing a dedicated network or a switched network? Your network’s performance could dramatically differ based on the answer to that question.
Dedicated Networks
- Are custom designed to meet your organization’s requirements.
- Are not shared networks. Therefore, your data doesn’t traverse shared network elements or travel through the cloud.
- Because the network is dedicated to your organization’s use, the bandwidth and your network’s performance will not be negatively impacted by other organizations’ traffic.
Switched Networks
Often provided by the local telephone/cable companies, switched networks leverage common equipment/network elements to deliver services to end-users.
- With a switched network, the service provider estimates both the average and peak usage to determine how much capacity to make available to all subscribers on its network.
- Switched networks are oversubscribed — meaning that if all users max out their bandwidth, packets will be dropped.
- Each provider has its own oversubscription rate and is often playing catch-up to stay ahead of demand.
As this paper demonstrates, there are clear differences between Switched and Dedicated networks that need to be considered, and while many service providers often focus on bandwidth when proposing a solution, that number alone doesn’t tell the full story as it relates to network performance.
In conclusion, there are many factors when sourcing a WAN. Understanding your network’s requirements in advance will help you implement a solution that will support your organization today and in the future. Being knowledgeable of your options will help you select a cost-effective solution from a reliable service provider.
