A Comprehensive Guide To Point To Point Leased Line | Wan.io
A point to point leased line provides direct secure connectivity between two sites. If your business runs on more than one site, then it is necessary for you to transfer data between them reliably. It can also happen that you have a single data center that needs to be connected to several other sites.
However, business broadband can be one option in such situations. But most businesses need a more secure and reliable connectivity solution, Such as Point to Point Leased Line to operate a vast area network across multiple locations without any loss in performance caused by distance or any other factor. Moreover, you may also want to avoid security risks associated with using public networks. Point to Point Leased line help you to extend.
The solution to this problem is to install a private connection, also known as an internet leased line which provides your business with a point-to-point connection between two sites. It allows companies to provide seamless networking across all their locations. You may have a lot of questions before purchasing such a connection, such as what is a point-to-point leased line, how it works, and how it can benefit your business.
Here we are providing answers to all these questions so that you can easily decide whether you should consider this type of connectivity solution for your business or not.
What Is A Point To Point Leased Line?
A point-to-point Leased Line is a private circuit that allows you to connect two different sites through a dedicated line. It helps your businesses extend the business network across two locations and transfer data in a secure, fast, and reliable way. It is a private connection and can be a connection from a data center to your business site.
Usually, it is used to connect to locations that are in close proximity to each other. Although you can transfer data between two different locations by using your standard internet connection, most businesses want to use a point-to-point Leased Line because it is highly secure compared to the shared internet connection. Another difference is that it is delivered over fibre optic cables, unlike standard internet connection, making it more reliable.
A point-to-point connection is delivered using fiber optic cable; it is a reason that it offers a symmetrical speed to both locations instead of one.
How Does Point To Point Leased Line Work?
Appoint to point leased line connection is delivered almost the same way as an internet-connected dedicated leased line or business broadband connection. However, one thing that makes it different is that a private internet line connection is always provided through an all-fibre circuit, and there is no copper cable involved.
Most often, a dedicated leased line connection arrives at the user’s via street cabinets, which are large green colour boxes that you may often see at the side of roads or corners of the streets. A fibre optic cable runs from the exchange to the cabinet, from where a further fibre optic cable brings the internet connection to your premises. It is usually delivered via underground duct from the local telephone exchange to your building.
Point to point leased lines that take a longer time in installation compared to the installation of business broadband connection. It is also a bit more expensive, but the benefits of point to point leased lines are worth the money you spend in getting this connection.
Installation Of Point To Point Leased Line
The cost of installation of point to point leased lines vary depending on the required engineering work. It is determined when an engineer visits your premises to get an estimate of the work needed.
If no additional excess construction work is needed, usually the lead installation time is 30 working days. You must keep in mind that this service does not include any telephone number and can not be migrated to any other provider.
The provider you choose will install its own broadband and monitoring line at point A. And a fibre terminating equipment is mounted either on the wall or a rack at the users’ premises. Leased line providers offer you the option to choose the connection speed and a single-mode fibre or multi-mode fibre according to your business requirements.
Point To Point Vs Broadcast Networks
Point to point and broadcast links are two different transmission technologies that are being widely used by businesses. A point to point is a link that is basically a connection between two individual sites. The data is transferred in the form of light signals, also called data packets. It may pass from different intermediate equipment before reaching the destination.
It is a unicasting transmission with one sender and one receiver. On the other hand, the broadcast link is a communication channel that is shared among all the machines in the network. The difference is that all the other machines receive the message sent by a single machine.
Advantages Of Point To Point Leased Line
- Fast Data Transfer
- Increased Security
- Symmetric Speed
- Maintains Communication
- Ultra-Low Latency
- Reliable Data Backup
1. Fast Data Transfer
A point to point leased line is delivered over fibre optic cable. That is why there is no dread buffering symbol or slow down of speed. It provides you with the required bandwidth because you are not sharing your connection with any other local business. You can transfer data or large files to your clients or team members in no time. Moreover, it reduces the lag time in VoIP technologies and video conferencing.
2. Increased Security
With a point to point leased line, your connection is totally private, and it is also called personal lines for this reason. It is dedicated, which means you do not share your connection with anyone else. You can even get them in the way that they don’t touch the provider’s network.
However, in doing so, you have to do much work to monitor your own network, and you must also have the proper infrastructure and IT experts. As the connection is only for the use of your company and staff and there is no public traffic, so the risks of malicious attacks are reduced. Therefore, you can keep your data secure.
3. Symmetric Speed
Another significant advantage of point to point leased line is that it offers symmetrical speeds. It means that you can get the same upload and download speed. With traditional business broadband, you will receive a download speed that is faster than the upload speed.
If your business is internet critical and you have to send large files or heavy data to your clients or team members, you must have a fast upload speed. A dedicated internet line provides you with a synchronous speed so you can upload data without wasting your time. Thus, it can help you in improving your business productivity.
4. Maintains Communication
Do you notice that your workplace is getting quieter day by day? It is because flexible working is becoming popular now, allowing employees to work from other offices if they wish. Flexible working is helping companies to keep up the morale of the employees and improve their satisfaction in the workplace.
Thus, people working from all over the place are vital for businesses to have a good connection between different sites that have to work together as a team. A point to point leased line is helping companies to create a private and seamless connection and remove geography boundaries.
It is also an ideal connectivity solution for video conferencing, transferring data between two sites and VoIP calls. You can also create a wide area network to communicate between data centers or multiple sites.
5. Ultra-Low Latency
A point to point leased line connection is completely uncontended. That is why there are minimum delays when you are communicating through this internet line. In addition, it enables you to get real-time access to any rapidly changing data your business may have. Thus, there is ultra-low latency with such a connection, and you can perform your day-to-day business tasks efficiently.
6. Reliable Data Backup
With a point to point internet line, you can transfer data between multiple sites in a reliable way. In addition, its fast connection speed and guaranteed uptime allow you to run data backup between two locations. If reliable data transfer is one of your primary objectives, it is worth considering managed data services for your business.
We can see from all these benefits that a point-to-point leased line connection is excellent for a fast and reliable connection between two sites, but it is essential to keep a balanced approach.
Disadvantages Of Point To Point Leased Line
- Complex Scalability
- Addition Of Other Services
- Less Visibility From Network Provider
- Not Always Point To Point
1. Complex Scalability
Point to point leased lines are specifically designed for connecting two sites, so it isn’t easy to upgrade or add new locations. If you want to add more than two sites, it can be costly and longer. Your leased line provider may ask you to consider the WAN solution when you need to connect more than two sites.
2. Addition Of other Services
If your point-to-point leased line connection does not touch your internet service provider’s network, you can find it challenging to add popular services such as SIP phones and the internet.
3. Less Visibility From Network Provider
Most point-to-point networks use a topology, which means that the point-to-point will not touch your service provider’s network. So, in this case, your provider does not have or have limited visibility of your connection. It will be your responsibility to monitor the internet line and fix the issues if the connection goes down due to any reason.
4. Not Always Point To Point
The idea that point A connects directly to point B seems good, but in reality, most of the time, point A connects to point C and D or even more points before it gets to your point B. It is just that you are invisible to other sites or other sites are invisible to you.
The reality of this type of leased line is that when you do not know about it, the chances are that your business does not need them. Instead, they need extra resources, and you have to employ experts with high-level IT skills that will cost more.
Why Choose Point To Point Leased Line
Now that you know how a point to point leased line works and what is the technology behind it. Now let us take a look at what it can do for your business. There are several things that you can consider. We have already discussed the advantage of symmetrical speed and high security. What all these benefits add to your business is a seamless user experience across all of your locations and staff wherever they are located.
In addition, it enables you to transmit data reliably and help you to make use of VoIP technology and video conferencing. You can see that with the use of this service, you are able to run these applications smoothly. Moreover, it can help you to lower your communication cost by eliminating the phone calls between different sites. Of course, all of this depends on a reliable connectivity solution that comes with a service level agreement (SLA), and point to point lines have all these features.
Point to point leased lines come with a guaranteed uptime level which is higher than the business broadband. It ensures 99.99% availability, and SLA also guarantees a better fix time. When your business is internet critical, downtime is equal to losing money. So you must have an internet connection that comes with better robust SLAs so that if there is an issue, it can be fixed within no time.
Over time the businesses are becoming more diverse, and business owners are giving chances to their employees to work from different locations. It helps them to work from a place that is near to their home. With the help of a point to point leased line, you can provide each of them with the same level of service and access to corporate data and systems.
Final Words
Therefore, if your business operates across more than one location, you should consider having a point to point leased line connection. There are many business leased line providers in the UK, so it can be challenging for you to find the best one. You should shop around and make price comparisons to find the right provider.
However, if you do not have time to go to the market and search for a provider, you can use online comparison sites. With the help of these sites, you can find the best deals without wasting your energy and time.
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