I asked for recommendations about how to set up a TCP/IP WAN link between the USand the UK. Although we have not implemented the link, I want to summarise the
information I have gleaned so far.
Most people recommended connecting both ends to a public Internet provider. This
is by far the cheapest solution. The draw back, of course, is security. Several
people indicated they were successfully using this means.
You can lease a line between the two offices and run PPP between them. This
basically means paying two phone companies (one US and one UK) some huge amount
of money each month. N.B. BT and AT&T are currently wrangling over whether they
can provide end-to-end services between the UK and the US. This would mean
paying only one phone company. Does it mean it will be cheaper?
When going this route, I was advised to talk about what the line will be used
for, rather than specifying underlying technologies. It is also useful to
calculate what sort of line speed you require and ask for quotes for a small
range of speeds. One person advised using hardware-compressing routers.
Another possibilty is some sort of dial-on-demand service. This is effectively
what we are doing now, but I had not considered using ISDN before. In the US,
contact AT&T or your local Bell. But be warned: not everywhere in the US is
"ISDN-ready" (nor are all vendors). Those who use ISDN (either locally or long
haul) rave about its price and reliability.
Almost everybody warned me to stay away from X.25. We already use X.25 for a
link to Tokyo, and have few problems with it. One person recommended IPSS from
BT, which is an X.25 PDN.
One thing it is important to consider is the usage pattern for your link. Do
you need 24 hour connectivity, or will the link be idle for any period of time?
If the latter, then dial-on-demand could well work out cheaper.
I have yet to compile pricing information for these various alternatives. Some
people did mention numbers, however. Connection to public Internet providers
costs around $6K per annum at each end, plus the costs of leased lines. A
private leased line costs around $60K - $70K per annum.
Feel free to contact me if you have any questions or comments, and I'd like to
thank the following for responding:
Jose A. Fernandez
Marvin Tay Eng Sin
Piete.Brooks@cl.cam.ac.uk
Paul Begley
Peter.Houlder@uknet.ac.uk
Andrew Watson
John Howie
Dave Doherty
Joel Shandelman
Robert Andersson
Gordon Lentz
vasey@issi.com
sysadmin@toshiba.tic.oz.au
Mike Raffety
Stuart.
Stuart Myles,
Systems Administrator, Phone: (215) 995 1457
3 Radnor Corporate Centre, Fax: (215) 995 1451
Radnor, PA 19087. Internet: stuart@mop.com
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