Question

Follow Up to How Much Bandwidth

Internet, Bandwidth, Network design, Capacity planning, Ethernet, SDSL, ADSL, Bandwidth management

We are a small organization (15+/- full time employees). We currently have a T-1 line, no VPN. Last week, we experienced 100% usage of our T-1 line - first time ever. I've explored every alternative including bonded T-1, ADSL, SDSL, Ethernet (10 Mbps up and down). The Ethernet solution would be great but is costly (we're a non-profit); however, the best I can do for ADSL is 10 down and 1 up. The upload speed is less than what we have now and my concern is that it will be insufficient as we are email intensive and upload data into our website on a regular basis. If I could find a 10 down and 2 or 3 up, that would be the best for us, in my opinion. I've checked XO, Covad, and Speakeasy. Other suggestions? Other thoughts?

Thanks!

Before spending money on additional connectivity, it would be in your organization's best interest to understand what traffic is using the current connection and maybe control it if necessary. By this I am saying, if the 15+ users are using internet radio, they are going to chew up the bandwidth and not leave any available for other business purposes. You need to understand what the network is being used for and then evaluate what connection type would best service those services. One tool for watching what is using the connection is ntop. You could also use a transparent proxy like Smoothwall and see what sites are being visited.