Chapter 14: Transferring Data, Not JustVoice Content

In This Chapter

• Transferring data with modems

• Understanding the benefits and drawbacks of private lines

• Pricing a private line

• Using frame relay

• Understanding how a typical PVC is partitioned

• Using MPLS and its advantages over frame relay

Relaying information is the basis of all business. You have to manage your inventory coming and going, your cash flow, and all the fine details to prevent vital information from falling through the cracks. Fifty years ago, most information was passed along over a phone conversation or sent as a handwritten ledger through the U.S. postal service. At that time, high-speed data transfer would have meant sending mimeographed (or carbon-paper) copies of spreadsheets across town with your accountant.

Every company has data it needs to send within its company. The Internet offers more options for data transfer and greater access to information for customers and vendors. You can now make data downloadable in a PDF document, create interactive customer Web sites, and transfer large files quickly by using FTP sites. Of course, whenever data is being transferred, security is a huge priority and should always be factored into your data decisions.

This chapter covers the main forms of data transfer you will encounter, from modems to private lines, frame relay to MPLS. As you go through the options, you discover how each type of data transfer has its niche.