What are the challenges to evaluating new WAN networks?
Companies move to MPLS networks, in part, for cost reduction and manageability for their wide area network. You cannot count on such cost reduction unless you manage the process properly. Underestimating the internal project resources can increase your costs. For instance, RFP creation and analysis is often delayed, due to lack of focus. This delay means that […]
AT&T expands global Ethernet VPLS Service
AT&T now is offering its Ethernet based virtual private local area network service (VPLS) in 14 countries across Europe and the Asia Pacific region. First offered in the United States, AT&T’s service now is available in Germany, the U.K., Belgium, France, Netherlands, Sweden, Ireland, Italy, Spain, Switzerland, Hong Kong, Australia, Singapore and Japan. AT&T’s VPLS service, called […]
Visit to the China Telecom VIP Customer Meeting in Nanjing
I just returned from a trip to Shanghai and Nanjing to attend the annual VIP customer meeting for China Telecom. Many reputable carriers hold meetings of this nature to allow their senior executives to meet important customers. This allows a two-way discussion about service quality, future plans, what needs improvement, etc. This was an excellent […]
Reduce your domestic MPLS network cost by 60%
If you have an MPLS network today that uses dedicated T1 access loops, you may have the opportunity to reduce your network cost by 60%. While this might not be for everyone, read on. The qualifications are as follows: Most of your offices require more download speed than upload speed Upload speed of 384K is adequate A […]
WAN Accelerators and MPLS – Important Facts
WAN Accelerators are wonderful tools in improving your network performance, provided your traffic can benefit from this technology. If you obtain an MPLS network, your network performance will be better than a VPN over the internet. But you need to select your Classes of Service appropriately. Different CoS levels have different packet loss SLAs. On a simple […]
Making a router choice: Cisco 1841 or Cisco 2811
When you are deciding on an MPLS network carrier, an important thing to consider is the router that will be provided, assuming that you want fully managed services. This is a subject that many people are unclear on. Many carriers will provide a Cisco 1841 in their quotation. The primary reason being cost. Some carriers will quote […]
Video Conferencing – how to dial from MPLS network to Internet?
If you use video conferencing, an MPLS network with improve the quality of your performance enormously. If you use Telepresence, then MPLS or VPLS is a requirement, when you consider what you spent on the hardware. Since an MPLS network has Quality of Service, you will eliminate freeze frame, blur and disconnects that running video over the […]
Do you need MPLS or will an IPL suffice?
MPLS networks have become quite the buzz word, these days. Recognition for manageability of MPLS networks is well deserved. But if you have only one or two remote locations across the globe, is MPLS the best solution? In a word (two?): perhaps not. MPLS networks make the most economic sense with networks with more than two nodes. […]
Forrester Research and International MPLS Carriers
As experts in MPLS procurement, SD-WAN-Experts needs to stay on top of what the industry experiences with various MPLS carriers globally. One useful source of data are research reports from Forrester Research. While these reports may be very costly to obtain, they provide useful information on some carriers. Where they are very weak is the lack of coverage […]
Network Backbones – A question of security
When procuring an MPLS network for mission critical applications, many people tend to focus on Service Level Agreements. SLA’s address compensation for performance shortcomings. But take a serious look at the network provider’s backbone. The network backbone is critical to performance. The best performance will come from a dedicated MPLS backbone with a minimal number of AS […]
