The Net in Manassas: High-Speed Access

Accessing High Speed Internet in Manassas: Gigabit Internet, Company Broadband and Metro Ethernet Access

The lifeblood of Manassas, Virginia companies doing organization in the current environment depends on reliable Internet access. All companies, from Fortune 500 to small businesses, have functions that rely on easy, dependable and quick Internet access.

access to The Internet will become increasingly important to us in the coming months and years. Our dependence on Internet access will only grow as time goes on.

From email messaging to information sharing, e-commerce to archiving data, and voice over IP to video chat, the net is omnipresent. What is the right solution to meet your requirements? Maybe a cable modem is a sufficient solution. Do you need Metro Ethernet? Gigabit Internet may satisfy your needs. Will your Manassas, Virginia organization needs be met with a 50 Meg circuit, a 5 Meg circuit, 10 Meg access to The web or 100 Meg access to The web point?

Accessing the net: Ascertaining Your Company Need

The needs of your particular organization must be determined before you can select an appropriate service. Is Internet use limited to website surfing or emailing only? Will real-time data connection with servers in the cloud be the primary use of the net? Are you hosting data in Manassas, Virginia? Do remote places rely on you?

What will happen to your organization if your high-speed Internet experiences an outage? How might the downtime cause problems for your company? Is the absence of uptime detrimental? Before you buy anything, you must answer these questions.

Analyzing Assorted High-Speed Internet Solutions in Manassas, Virginia

It is no secret that all companies need high-speed access to the web. Deciding on the right broadband internet is not easy. It requires a thorough cost-benefit analysis. While various providers will throw around terminology like:

• Fastest Internet access
• Business Internet or commercial Internet
• Broadband cable modems are our specialty
• Metropolitan-area Ethernet provider
• Provider of Gigabit Internet service
• MPLS protocol
• Point-to-point circuit services
• Internet access circuits-five megabyte
• Internet access circuits-10 Meg
• We provide access to The net circuits-50 Meg
• One hundred megabytes- fast Internet access circuits
• Session Initiation Protocol/ Sip trunk
• Dedicated Internet line
• … and countless others

… do not stray from the real issues. Focus on what your company’s needs are and what capabilities and technical solutions will help satisfy them.

Business Internet access for Website Surfing

Companies in Manassas, Virginia need access to the web for their employees. Some companies may need it only for a few people and others may need it for the entire workforce. There are countless reasons to need access to the net. Perhaps it is to order materials, to conduct company research or talk to clients.

The number of workers you employ, may be the most important factor in your decision making process. An Internet circuit of 5 -10 megabytes might be enough for your company if you only have a few people working for you. If you have 50 employees who are using the net simultaneously, you may need more.

Do your employees primarily use an intranet system? If so, you may not need much high-speed Internet service. On the other hand, if your company requires that its employees download many documents or images and videos, Internet speed becomes more important.

Do you perform backups at your company? When you do remote backups from every workstation, which you should, you must support multiple and simultaneous connections to the web in order to sync your backup data.

Does your company require employees to share files using a service like Google drive or DropBox? When people save a file, it gets pushed to the cloud. The file is then synched with other people’s computers. In order to ensure that all of your functions work properly, in addition to file sharing, you must have sufficient bandwidth.

You may consider high-speed organization access to The net if you location warrants it. Gigabit Internet and Metro Ethernet may be viable options for you. “Lit buildings” that have already been wired by a carrier, are commonly the site for these. Choosing to add high-speed Internet to your office is a tough decision but it can be less expensive and easier than you think.

The introduction of Metro Ethernet into a new building can be quite costly. However, bringing that connection into office space within that building is usually less so. Also, securing high-speed Internet access using gigabit Internet or Metro Ethernet often takes less than 30 days, depending on its availability.

Internet-based Applications That Need Access to High-Speed Internet

Does your company host its own servers to run information feeds, websites or application program interfaces (APIs) with companies or offices located outside of your four walls? Is your main company office with a hosted application accessed by 40 or even 50 branch office sites? Are you a retail company hosting the POS system for thousands of chain stores? Does your legal practice host all of the data for 3, 4 or 5 offices in different sites?

If your company hosts its programs and information at a central location, people outside of that location need to have access in order to conduct business. People can’t work if you have no Internet connection. Make sure that when you choose your intranet solution it is reliable enough to support your need for multiple and simultaneous connections for many different places.

A cable modem or fairly cheap 10-megabyte circuit may be enough in certain scenarios. For example, these may meet the needs of a single office surfing the web. High-speed Internet access is advisable for the headquarters. Gigabit Ethernet, Metro Ethernet or some other high-speed dedicated circuit is recommended. High speed is important but they also must be able to support multiple distinct connections. This could probably not be accomplished with a cable modem.

Dedicated Internet Bandwidth in Manassas, Virginia V. Shared Cable Circuits

Utilizing a cable modem or other less expensive circuit may seem like a good option but can result in unexpected cost. Even though you pay less money per month you must consider that the bandwidth you receive may be shared and used by multiple parties in the building. During peak hours, your connection may slow down, even though you subscribe to a cable modem with a thirty-megabyte connection. Cable operators differ but many have prescribed limits on the bandwidth amount that they can deliver within a set community. That bandwidth branches off to different buildings and then to various tenants within those buildings. With a 30-megabyte connection, you may not get to that speed during the working day. Is this a problem for you if you expect 30 and get 6?

You can find a carrier who can provide dedicated and guaranteed bandwidth. If you want your very own bandwidth that is not used by anyone else, you should consider this. You should receive full capacity of your circuits during all hours. This is true even though you may have many buildings, businesses and tenants nearby.

Metro Ethernet provides guaranteed bandwidth in increments as follows: 5, 10, 50 and 100 Meg circuits. With gigabit Internet providers, you can reach gigabit speeds in your office out to the internet.

Carriers in these situations deliver enough to cover everyone’s needs. The providers divide their circuit to various tenants while guaranteeing that everyone gets their contracted speed.

Redundant High Speed Company Internet in Manassas, Virginia: Why More Circuits?

Circuits can go down in Manassas even though certain providers offer superior Internet bandwidth products. How can you lower the chances that you will experience some kind of outage?

Try using redundant circuits.

Essentially, there are two different ways to look at redundancy.

The first type exists when the same carrier gives you multiple circuits. This provides some protection when there are certain failures. Multiple circuits can help for example, when there is a physical line issue or a problem with a router port. If that carrier has a wide reaching outage or there is a line broken or damaged outside of your building, both circuits may go down. This is not foolproof, but does offer some protection.

Circuit redundancy can also be achieved in the following way: Import circuits using two different and distinct carriers. These connections can be bound together so they act and appear to the public as a single circuit. Using particular routers and IP address allocations, no one would be able to tell that you have multiple carriers or circuits. Truthfully, they are entirely separate. They are redundant and exist in case one of them fails. Diversity redundancy offers far greater protection. When one carrier has a problem like an outage or some other failure, you have another one that works.

If you want to maximize redundancy in Manassas please consider the following question: Do the carriers I am considering use the same physical geographic pathways? If at all possible, you want to obtain circuits entering the premises on different sides. They would be on outside phone poles or underground conduits in different directions and leading to different places. In this way you have redundancy in different physical directions. If there is an event that causes a regional circuit problem, you have an alternative that is unaffected.

What Will Not Having Enough Protection for Your Organization Class High Speed Internet Cost You?

The cost of dependable access to The web pales in comparison to the cost of unreliable access. Please consider these situations:

The phone service in your office relies on Voice-over Internet Protocol (VoIP)

Are you on a cable modem and your carrier is providing circuits to dozens of other office suites in your building? During the course of a regular work day, any or all of these other businesses might be performing massive file downloads. Tenants might be taking a large volume of calls or be regularly streaming video. How will less available bandwidth affect your telephone calls? How will the caliber of the call be affected? Maybe calls will randomly drop? Will your voice be inaudible? Will you have difficulty hearing the other end?

Your business functions as the primary data center for multiple external locations

Your office is the hub of your enterprise: You might be a law practice that shares files, a retail operation that utilizes POS systems or a large accounting firm that needs to share databases. All of your sites, you may have 2, you may have 500, you may have 4, 000, count on your main Internet connection to access and receive data. Your circuit goes down, now what happens? Is it just irritating? Is it going to cause tremendous problems? Can your satellite offices perform any work at all? What will happen to new orders? Can they be taken or processed? Circulate necessary data? It is important that prior to choosing a solution, you understand the true needs and requirements of your particular company. Perhaps you are a software company, running a hosted solution used by hundreds of customers. Maybe you offer a service that allows other systems use an application program interface (API) to talk to you to collect information and data. It is possible they will not be able to connect to your servers. Customers do not enjoy repeated outages. How long with they put up with them before looking to take their organization elsewhere?

You have a large call center that is completely reliant on voice over Internet protocol

Your business is 100% reliant on the net to properly function. Your employees or representatives will not be able to make outgoing phone calls if your circuits go down. No calls could be answered either. You are now officially out of business. Even for the most reputable call centers that already know of and use redundancy, is it sufficient? Make sure your carriers are as reliable as possible. Is the quality of service sufficient? Are your calls clear and reliable?

Choosing the Right Manassas, Virginia High-Speed Business Access Circuits for Your Company

You clearly have several choices. Your organization needs and budgets will drive your decisions. In review:

Your Small Company and Access to the Internet

Sometimes redundancy is not vital to you. For example, If you are a small company, with just one office location, a single access to The web circuit may be sufficient. You may get by with one 50, 10 or even 5 megabyte circuit. Is your building lit? If so, find out about gigabit or Metro Ethernet services. They may be reasonably priced options. The availability of circuits and your location determine prices; speak with one of our engineers to learn what your best options are.

Mid-Sized Businesses Internet access – One Location

You have a midsized company in Manassas; you will surely need higher-speed Internet. Higher-speed circuits like Metro Ethernet, gigabit Internet or others may be your best options. Using different circuits and different providers will, if you choose, provide you with redundancy. Achieving this may not be as costly as you first thought. For instance, it may be cheaper to utilize two 50 meg circuits in place of one 100 meg circuit. Remember, costs vary. So does availability. You need to speak with one of our experts to determine your options in your specific location.

Internet Access for the Medium Sized Company with Multiple Offices

Any company with more than one location suffers the greatest risk of problems. Redundant circuits are a necessity. Varied providers are optimal. Additionally, you should consider redundant equipment (routers and switches) in your facility to minimize the risk of downtime. Here too, take a careful look and choose the right Ethernet access services, Metro Ethernet providers, gigabit Internet providers and other high-speed Internet access circuit providers. Your business can benefit from finding the right mix of services and providers.

Larger corporations, enterprising clients and clients who provide services that are delivered via the Internet

Gigabit Internet circuits, point-to-point high-speed Internet circuits are essential and Metro Ethernet Internet circuits must be utilized by companies in any of these categories. You will want to have the greatest protection of your uptime. To accomplish this you must have redundancy: redundant circuits from multiple carriers and redundant hardware for your system. You need to provide sufficient bandwidth to handle usage spikes without slowdowns or interruptions. The hardware and circuits you choose must both be able to support the following: a great number of concurrent, speedy connections.

Free Internet Demand and Need Analysis

Insufficient bandwidth and failing circuits are present tremendous risk to your organization. The right circuits must meet your demand while keeping you within your budget. It is essential to choose the correct mix of hardware and circuits. Figuring out exactly what to put in the mix, can be a daunting task.

Our engineers can analyze your needs and create a free action plan for you. We will examine your demand levels and current usage. We will then design a plan that keeps your costs reasonable while meeting your demand for a smoothly run business.

You can complete the contact form on the right side of this page by clicking here. If you would prefer, please call our office to set up an appointment for an assessment. Assessments are completed in as little as 48 hours.