By: John Shepler

Your company’s Local Area Network (LAN) likely operates at blazing speeds of 1 Gbps or more, making internal network operations seem almost instantaneous. However, accessing resources outside your physical location can feel painstakingly slow. Wouldn’t it be convenient if your LAN could extend across cities or even to remote offices? You might be surprised to learn that this is a possibility.

Yes, The WAN is Ethernet Networks can be broadly categorized as either owned or leased. Your company’s LAN, which you manage directly, falls under the owned category. When you need to connect beyond your premises, you utilize a leased network, known as a WAN or Wide Area Network. This WAN was traditionally owned and operated by telephone companies, utilizing their proprietary standards, such as phone lines, ISDN dial-up, T1, DS3, and SONET fiber optic. Connecting to these standards often requires specialized equipment to translate between the WAN protocols and the Ethernet used on your LAN.

Currently, most external connections utilize Ethernet directly, bypassing the need for protocol conversion. These connections can be facilitated by telephone companies or competing carriers operating their own fiber optic networks. The MEF (Metro Ethernet Forum) industry consortium ensures seamless interoperability through established Carrier Ethernet Standards.

Ethernet WAN Services When exploring Ethernet services, you’ll encounter three primary offerings from providers:

• E-Line (Ethernet Virtual Private Line): This point-to-point service links two locations, essentially acting as an exceptionally long Ethernet cable.

• E-LAN (Ethernet Virtual Private LAN): Designed for connecting multiple locations, E-LAN allows them to communicate as if they were on a single, private Ethernet network.

• E-Tree (Ethernet Virtual Private Tree): Also a multipoint service, E-Tree is particularly suited for broadcasting, streaming, or content distribution. It operates on a one-to-many model with a central root and multiple branches.

Getting Ethernet WAN Service Within a metropolitan region, this service is referred to as Ethernet MAN (Metropolitan Area Network). When spanning larger distances beyond a city, it’s called Ethernet WAN (Wide Area Network).

To obtain this service, you’d engage with a service provider or carrier with a presence in the locations you intend to connect. You’ll likely have multiple providers to choose from.

The equipment installed at your location will typically consist of a terminal device with an Ethernet port that supports your desired network speed. Unlike older systems requiring hardware changes for each service level adjustment, modern Ethernet services allow you to modify your speed up to the port’s limit with ease. This often involves a simple change through an online portal or a phone call.

Ethernet to the Internet The Internet can be viewed as the ultimate WAN, connecting users globally. You can obtain an Ethernet Dedicated Internet Access service to connect your company to the internet at your desired bandwidth. A dedicated connection guarantees the full bandwidth exclusively for your use, unaffected by other customers on the provider’s network. Such connections are generally symmetrical, providing equal upload and download speeds.

You might wonder, why not simply use the internet to connect both remote locations and customers? Many companies opt for this cost-effective approach. However, it comes with trade-offs. You relinquish the ability to prioritize critical applications like VoIP calls and video conferencing over less time-sensitive tasks such as file transfers. Internet performance can also be unpredictable due to factors like congestion, variable routing, latency, and packet loss.

For companies with multiple sites, a hybrid approach often proves ideal. Dedicated Ethernet services can interconnect business locations, while the internet handles communication with suppliers and customers.

If Ethernet WAN sounds like the right fit for your needs, obtain a suite of competitive quotes for Ethernet WAN or MAN services with a single inquiry.