Networking has emerged as a potent force in a business environment, which allows businesses to perform Web-based applications, data sharing, wireless communications, and numerous other functions. Wide Area Network (WAN), as a widely distributed data communications network, has reached the corners of the globe disseminating information and enabling communications. The largest and most popular WAN by far is the Internet. The most common communication links that are used by WANs to transmit data are telephone lines, microwave links, and satellite channels.
A majority of businesses are reliant on the Internet/WAN for conducting business operations daily. Depending on the extent of usage, applications, and purpose, Corporate organizations of varying sizes may employ single Internet connections or Multiple data lines. WAN connections may be generally categorized as: Dedicated circuit switched connection (Leased lines), On-demand circuit switched connection, Packet-switched virtual circuit, and Broadband connection. These WAN connections vary in speed, connection modes, and protocol-specific characteristics. Organizations with multiple data lines are those that use a more than one WAN connection type or multiples of the same type.
Large-scale use of networks for data sharing and other critical business applications has increased data traffic on networks. Network congestion slows down the flow of inbound and outbound Internet Protocol (IP) traffic, thereby affecting the overall network performance and commerce. Another impediment for smooth operations is that business organizations cannot afford to have WAN downtime as they will have a major impact on their network-based business functions. High availability and throughput are imperative for Business Continuity, which is the backbone of businesses. Network outages can have serious consequences to businesses that require continuous uptime and high availability. Instead of relying on a single WAN connection that will ultimately decelerate with network load, companies have diligently started utilizing multiple data lines in order to have continuing operation amidst WAN failures.
Multiple data lines can be called as WAN aggregation, which is advantageous since the work load can be balanced across the network, preventing network traffic congestion. In the event of any line failure, data communications are not interrupted since other datalines are still up and running. Thus, due to connectivity, redundancy and reliability increase rendering enhanced WAN performance. The different types of data lines are a major determining factor for speed and performance of the network.
A point-to-point link is where one WAN connection is established between the user and the remote network through a carrier network (such as a Telephone Company). Often referred to as leased lines, this type of data line is leased from a carrier, and is expensive when compared to shared services. Switched Circuits, such as Integrated Services Digital Network (ISDN), provides data connectivity that can be initiated when required and terminated on completion of communication. A call is made to the remote ISDN circuit by the device, and connection is established between the two networks. After authentication data transfer can be carried out and then the call can be terminated when the transmission is completed. In packet switching technology, the provider or carrier’s network is shared. A virtual circuit is established by the provider between the users’ sites and data packets are delivered from one end to the other over the network. Common packet-switching networks include Asynchronous Transfer Mode (ATM), Frame Relay, Switched Multimegabit Data Services (SMDS), and X.25.
Combining multiple lines and applying them in a business environment increases the performance of the network and enables business continuity. WAN aggregation is an important component that facilitates optimal WAN performance. Analog and ISDN links are economical, but they are slow and cumbersome. Data lines such as T1, T3, Broadband DSL and cable modem links are very fast and reliable based on the service. Large enterprises and businesses, which have wide area communication networks, prefer the much faster DSL connection or multiple data lines. Small businesses that used to employ the dial-up access, have moved to faster dataline as pricing has come down steadily.
The speed and efficiency of networks is determined by the type of connections employed in organizations. Multiple data lines or Multiple Internet/WAN connections prove to be an effective solution to connect, and maintain connectivity without disruption of links. They are extensively used by corporate companies, and Small and Medium-size Businesses (SMBs) that seek uninterrupted access to the Internet. Many leading technology providers are offering solutions to enhance the speed and performance of multiple data lines. FatPipe Networks (www.fatpipe.com) is the patents holder of technology that is highly flexible, enabling businesses to deploy multiple data lines while effectively load balancing both outbound and inbound traffic across connections. This technology is independent of the service provider and the type of dataline. It can dynamically load balance multiple lines from any combination of Internet Service Providers (ISPs), thereby yielding an unparalleled level of WAN connectivity and redundancy.
FatPipe’s universal and open Ethernet connectivity facilitate networking appliances to be agnostic to the provider or facilities. Therefore, Fatpipe can connect an array of various network access facilities through router devices, allowing the FatPipe appliance to configure a multi-carrier, fault tolerant, redundant and seamless high-speed data connection. FatPipe combines multiple access services and speeds to various data networks or ISPs for increased redundancy, reliability, and accessibility.
