The below tips and information are to help you choose and implement a high speed Internet connection. There are five main types of high speed Internet access: xDSL, Cable, T1 & T3, SMDS and ISDN. Each of the high speed lines will give you far greater connection speeds than your 28.8k or even 56.6K modem which uses standard voice grade telephone lines. Each of the high speed lines give you High Speed Internet access 24 hours per day with their "always on" connection. Speeds vary according to which service you subscribe, from 128K for ISDN (2.25 times the speed of a 56.6K modem) to 45M for T3 (786 times the speed of a 56K modem). The faster the speed the more expensive the connection. While you may be getting excited about dramatically improving the speed of your Internet access don't run out to get that T3 line just yet because it's going to cost you from $2,000 to install it, from $2,000 for the equipment to use it, and from $2,000 to $6,000 per month to have it. Cable or xDSL access costs from $100 to install it, from $100 for the equipment to use it, and from between $40 to $50 and up per month to have it. With the use of a dedicated high speed Internet connection security concerns for your computers and/or computer network become significantly heightened. Not only do you have access to the Internet on a 24x7 (24 hours a day, 7 days per week) basis, but so do hackers who wish to foul you up. It will not be a threat that this will happen. You will be attacked. Consult with a computer expert who can then steer you to the appropriate hardware and software to accomplish your near term and long term High Speed Internet connection goals. NSL Associates would be pleased to assist you at this point in your deliberations and plan implementation. Contact us via Email at sales@nslassociates.com, by telephone at (215) 732-6311, or fill out our Information Request Form. Please take special note below on our section discussing security musts when you utilize a high speed Internet connection.

Click on the choices directly below to read specific tips about High Speed Internet Connection:
	High Speed Connection Types		High Speed Connections for Small Businesses		High Speed Connection Equipment
	Putting your Network Online		LAN Connection Hardware & Software		Security

High Speed Connection Types
There are five main types of high speed Internet access: xDSL, Cable, T1 & T3, SMDS and ISDN, each with different speed potential and each with very different costs for installation and use. All free your phone line for the voice transmission you don't have when using the standard 56K modem. Clearly, for most homes, small businesses, and even medium to larger businesses, T1, T3, and SMDS connections are beyond the budget.

ISDN connections run at speeds at either 64K (slightly faster than 56K modems) or 128K, about 2.25 times faster than a 56K modem using both channels on the line simultaneously. Installation of ISDN lines costs start at about $125. Monthly fees run from about $125 to $250 per month including the ISP and according to connection time. ISDN is the only service listed here that varies costs with connection time. The equipment necessary to run the ISDN line costs start at about $350.

Cable connections run at speeds of about 1.5M, about 26 times faster than a 56K modem. Upload speeds differ from the download speeds. Upload speeds of cable connections run at about 90K. Installation of Cable connections costs start at about $125. Monthly fees run from about $40 including the ISP for home or home office connections, with standard business connections costing more. The equipment necessary to run the Cable line costs start at about $100 with the remaining equipment rented per month with costs starting at about $10 per month.

xDSL or ADSL connections run at a speeds ranging from 640K, about 11 times faster than a 56K modem to 7.1M, about 125 times faster than a 56K modem. Upload speeds differ from the download speeds. Upload speeds for the 640K and 1.7M line run about 90K while for the 7.1M line at about 680K. Installation of Cable connections costs start at about $100. Monthly fees including the ISP run from about $50 for a 640K speed, to $99 for a 1.7M speed, to $190 for a 7.1M speed for home or home office connections, with standard business connections costing more. The equipment necessary to run the xDSL line cost starts at about $175. There is no equipment rental fee with xDSL

T1 connections run at a speed of about 1.6M, about 27 times faster than a 56K modem. Installation of T1 connections costs start at about $1,000. Monthly fees start at about $565 for a fractional connection, going up to about $1,145 for full channel including the ISP, loop and port. The equipment necessary to run the T1 line start at about $2,000.

T3 connections run at a speed of about 45M, about 786 times faster than a 56K modem. Installation of T3 connections costs start at about $2,000. Monthly fees start at about $3,200 to $6,000. The equipment necessary to run the T3 line starts at about $2,000.

SMDS connections run on dedicated lines at speeds of 56K, 1.17M, 4M, 10M, 16M, 25M, and 34M. Installation costs run from $600 to $2,000. Monthly fees start from $225 to $5,800 according the the speed of the line. The equipment necessary to run SMDS costs start from $600 to $2,000.

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High Speed Connections for Small Business

Small businesses today can obtain high speed Internet access within a reasonable budget with Cable or xDSL connections. The highest speed xDSL line offered today even significantly exceeds download T1 speed 7.1M versus 1.6M. while upload speeds are within about 43%, fine for most any service except for Web Hosting, including Virtual Private Networking (VPN).

In fact, for most small businesses, who for the most part obtain information from the Internet and send email, some information and file uploads through the Internet, the low speed xDSL connection of 640K is more than adequate.

In choosing between Cable and xDSL beyond the obvious considerations the method used to physically connect users to the Internet is important as it affects the speed of your connection. Cable connections are through a loop where a significant number of users share a cable and its bandwidth (the amount of activity which can pass through the cable at any particular moment). As the number of users on the loop increases or the activity from the users on the loop increases the speed of the connection drops. The number of users the cable operator allows on each loop will determine just how far the speed can drop. One cable company in the Northeast was apparently greedy enough that they put so many users on there loops that at times users reported speed dropped below that of a 56K modem. This is not typical, but cable users complaining about periodic speed degradation is not unusual. It is important to state here that most Cable Internet providers are cognizant of this problem, and limit the number of users on each loop to prevent speed degredation.

On the other hand, xDSL users have their cable go directly to the xDSL provider. This line is not shared by any other user. At the provider the xDSL lines are interconnected, but on a loop with significantly more bandwidth that the cable loop discussed in the paragraph above. In general xDSL users report little if any period speed drops in there service.

For sporadic file uploading and email the slower upload speeds, as compared to the download speeds are more than adequate. The fact that the download (in to the user) and upload (out from the user) speeds are different generally only comes into play if the user is considering hosting their own web site or using virtual private networking. In both these cases data is to be retrieved out from the user and the upload speed limitation comes into play. Generally if you want to host a web site you need at least a T1 line to get the 1.6M output as well as input. If you're interested in having a connection from a salesman or alike through the Internet into your office through Virtual Private Networking (a secure way of connecting to the office computer or computer network) then the amount of traffic that will generate will determine whether the high speed xDSL line is adequate or whether a T1 line or higher speed line is needed. At 680K though, you'd be surprised just how fast that is. It's generally more than adequate for most small business VPNs.

Another important consideration in choosing which type of high speed connection is whether you will have a static or dynamic address. A static address is one which is permanently assigned to your computer with the high speed connection on the Internet. If you have a dynamic address it is assigned and reassigned periodically by your ISP's DHCP computer server. If you are interested in using Virtual Private Networking (VPN) to allow connection through the Internet to your computer or LAN you would be better off with a static address as it facilitates making setting up your VPN easier. For general Internet access a dynamic address will suffice, but if you can, and if it's in your budget opt for a static address as it will give you greater flexibility at this time.

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High Speed Connection Equipment
We will only discuss here the equipment necessary for xDSL and Cable connections. Both of these connection use similar equipment, a high speed modem (router) and a network card to connect the modem to the computer. The modem is best supplied by your service provider. In the case of xDSL you generally buy it from them and in the case of Cable you usually rent it from them. Most users supply their own network card (nic for network interface card) because it generally costs more to buy it from your provider. Get a high quality card which is specifically approved by your supplier. Even though the xDSL or Cable connection from the modem to your computer is a 10MB Base T Connection with an RJ45 jack interface for the cable between the two, we recommend a PNP (plug and play) 10/100MB NIC for your PCI bus, as it's generally less expensive these days compared to the 10MB card.

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Putting your Network Online
Putting you network online with an xDSL or Cable connection is as easy a putting a single computer online. The major differences are that the computer which will have the high speed connection into it will have two Network Interface Cards (NICs) instead of one and will have software running on it to distribute the Internet connection to the rest of the network. Such software is Proxy Server software.

It is important to understand here that while the high speed connection provider will help you connect a single computer to the Internet they will not take any responsibility for connecting a network to the Internet. That's up to you and your business. NSL Associates can certainly help you with your setup.

We can call the computer on the Network with the high speed Internet connection the Internet or Proxy Server as it serves the Internet to the Network. On a typical Microsoft Windows NT® network the Microsoft Windows NT Server® is usually designated the Proxy Server as well. On a peer to peer network the peer with the high speed connection becomes the Proxy Server. This computer will have one NIC for its connection to the Network (LAN) and one for its connection to the Internet which frankly is really just a huge, world wide network (LAN). The LAN will have to run at least in part on the TCP/IP protocol which is the protocol of the Internet. Other protocols such as IPX and SPX can run side by side with the TCP/IP.

The NIC for the LAN will continue to connect the computer to the others in the LAN and will continue to have its settings as they are plus TCP/IP settings if not already in use. The second NIC for the high speed connection will bring the Internet to the Server and will have settings for it according to the specifications supplied by the ISP (Internet Service Provider). The proxy server software will enable the Server to distribute the TCP/IP Internet connection to the rest of the computers on the network (LAN).

That's all there is to it, but it does take some knowledge of LANs, TCP/IP and the Internet to set it up properly.

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LAN Connection Hardware and Software

If you already have a LAN (network) then you already have a head start with the equipment you will need, but, according to your projected network usage you may need to change some of it. If you expect to be downloading a significant amount of information from the Internet and you are already using client-server type software on your LAN or have significant database usage, and your network uses a Hub to connect your computers together you might find it necessary to exchange the hub for a switch to gain LAN bandwidth to prevent network slowdown.

Your server will need a Network Interface Card for its high speed connection. NSL Associates generally recommends 3COM® brand NICs due to their high quality for this NIC. 3COM® NICs are certified for use with virtually every high speed modem (router) for both xDSL and Cable connections.

Your server will need Proxy Server Software. NSL Associates generally recommends WinProxy 3.0® by Ositis for your Proxy Server Software. WinProxy® is of high quality and Ositis provides excellent technical support. WinProxy 3.0® includes firewall software which is discussed in our security section below and antivirus protection. The one caveat we add in our recommendation of WinProxy 3.0® is that you will still need separate antivirus software on your Proxy Server and each workstation on your LAN to give you adequate antivirus protection.

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Security

With the addition of a high speed connection comes a heightened need to improve your computer's and/or LAN's security on the Internet. Now that you will have a "permanent" connection to the Internet your computer and/or LAN will be connected to the Internet 24 hours a day, even when you're not using it or when you're asleep for that matter. This increases the likelihood of hacker attack greater than ever as the hacker can sit back and try to attack you at any time for whatever reason or joy the hacker gets from it. Should this stop you from using a high speed connection? We don't think so. You can get adequate protection from using good security products, good security practices and common sense.

We can tell you that most everyone who has connected through a high speed connection has been attacked within the first hours of having the connection established, and they don't even know it. Most of the time the attacker doesn't get in, but you need to protect your computer or LAN from that hacker and that time they would get in if you didn't protect yourself. You can get smurfed, teardropped, synflooded and much more. You even be attacked in such a way that you can't get on to the Internet at all through your high speed connection.

Before going further we will tell you that you should reexamine your security regularly as hacker techniques evolve all the time and thereby raise the stakes.

Your digital identity is important to protect. If you read your online agreements for banking, trading, travel reservations and other agreements they will state that they are not responsible for unauthorized use of your account. You need to protect yourself and your company from this threat as well as from the havoc a hacker can wreck on you computer and/or LAN as well as protect yourself from what the hacker can steal from you.

The first line of security defense is common sense and good security practices. Turn off file sharing on the NIC which interfaces with the Internet. This isn't a cure all but it will keep most intruders out. Use strong passwords such as ones which contain letters, numbers, and special characters and which are eight or more characters long in hard to decrypt lengths. If you're using Microsoft Windows NT Server® or Windows NT Workstation® there are many other system settings which you can use to improve security. They are too numerous to list here but NSL Associates would be pleased to discuss your security concerns at such time as you are ready to move to a high speed Internet connection.

In addition follow these common sense rules:

	Never give out a password, account number, credit card number or other sensitive information via email.
	If you post messages on newsgroups be careful about what you reveal about yourself.
	If someone calls or emails claiming to be your ISP and asks you to verify your password tell them you'll call back with the information.
	Keep your operating system and Internet software up to date, especially with regard to security patches.
	Use a high quality antivirus program such as Norton Antivirus® on all your computers and update its virus definitions regularly.
	If you use chat rooms beware of what personal information you reveal there as it's a favorite place for hackers to pickup information.
	Never reveal your IP address or the name of your computer. With that information a hacker can specifically target your computer.
	Never submit sensitive information via a web page unless it uses secure connections.
	Be careful of files (attachments) that are emailed to you from strangers. Never execute a program attached to an email from someone you don't know.
	If your high speed Internet connection becomes very slow or you cannot connect to any web sites disconnect from the Internet immediately as a hacker might be download from your computer.
	If you use a computer to purchase anything your might want to clear your browser's cache after visiting these sites to eliminate residual personal information from your computer.
	You may want to consider encrypting your email if you must send sensitive information in a message.

The next line of defense is to install a firewall between your connection and the computer to which your high speed connection goes. This can be in the form of a hardware firewall or a software firewall. The proxy server we recommend contains an excellent software firewall which should be adequate for most small business and home users. Set the protection level to the highest possible which would still give you the access you need. If you require lower protection for specific activities raise it anytime you're not involved with those activities. Some online gaming requires lower protection levels. In general firewalls let you get outside to the Internet while stopping others from getting through to the inside of your LAN or computer.

The next line of defense for any high speed Internet connection user is to use an Intruder Detection System. This is software or a combination of hardware and software which detects unauthorized intrusions on your computer or network. It can gather information about your attacker and the better systems repel the attack as well.

NSL Associates would be please to discuss you network security options at any time.

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