Leased Line Suitability

[Antyn]

Hi all, bit of a work related problem any help gratefully received.

At work we have 2 sites on there own broadband connections, site 1 is 2meg sdsl and site 2 is 1mb adsl(256k upload). Our invoicing system is based at site 1 and we have a proxy server on site 1 that connects to a motor manufacturer secure website for ordering and technical information. All users must route through the proxy to connect to the secure site. Our problem is that if anybody downloads a file, or if the servers begin replicating, then the invoicing sytems slows down that much it is unuseable. If you stop the file transfer then the speed picks up. There is no way to increase site 2 broadband speed because of its location.
We have been told that a point to point leased line could improve this situation but its about £6000 per year for 2mb and i dont want to pay this unless it really would cure the problem. Any ideas on wether it would be an improvement would be appreciated.

 

[riser]

Any chance of replicating during off-hours? At night?
There is no option of upgrading Site 1 to a faster connection?

The problem is that your broadband connections aren't cutting it for what you need. You can either replicate at night, limit downloading, or try installing two more broadband connections at each location used for downloading and replicating.

 

[Antyn]

We can restrict replication to the off hours which does solve that side of the problem, however it is sometimes necessary to transfer files between the sites during the day and that slows the link. I could look at limiting downloads but that would intefere with site 2's access to the secure web site and i can't do that, as they need the information as quickly as possible. On site 1 the download speeds from the internet are really good it is just transferring between the two sites that causes the problem. Do you think 2mb point to point between them would improve this?

 

[riser]

One is uploading, one is downloading.. Site 1 to Site 2..Site 1 is uploading, site 2 is downloading. You need to increase your upload from Site1..

You might want to call in to ask if your ISP provides Work broadband.. instead of home user.. it'll cost more, but they should have better repair and support times..

Point to point would be good, but expensive and probably not worth the money.

I would check to see if your ISP will upgrade you to something with a higher upload speed for work related activities and not home use.

 

[Antyn]

Thanks for the advice. The upload speed from from site 1 is 2mb because its an SDSL line. We are on business broadband with contention ratio of 5:1 and unfortunately we cant get better than that.

 

[riser]

How many people are on each site's network and what network equipment do you have in place to support them?
If you have a small office, 10-15 people, using SOHO equipment, that could cause the slow down. The problem might not be your connection speeds, but your equipment....