Deploying Multi-WAN in a Slowing Economy By XRoads Networks

This white paper demonstrates how to reduce costs and improve productivity when budgets get tight. The last thing a network administrator wants to hear in a slow economy is… “the network is down”.

Cost Reductions w/Improved Performance

Utilizing two (or more) inexpensive broadband connections instead of a single T1/Frame link not only delivers improved reliability, but as offers a substantial reduction in reoccurring circuit costs. The reality is that having two broadband connections vs. a single T1 connection delivers:
- More Bandwidth - Lower Overall Cost - Significantly Increased Reliability
More Bandwidth A standard T1 link delivers 1.5Mbps, while the average broadband link (DSL, Cable, and Wireless) delivers around 1Mbps. Thus two average broadband links deliver 1½ times the bandwidth of a T1 link at a lower cost, with similar packet loss and latency as found on the average T1 connection.

Lower Overall Cost The average cost of a T1 circuit is $500-700 per month, while the average business class broadband link is $100-200 per month. Even with two broadband links the cost savings could be $600 per month or $7200 per year; equal to a cost savings of over $20,000 over the course of a three year period.

Significantly Increased Reliability On average a T1 link is down over 8 hours per year and depending on the size of your business that could easily translate to thousands if not tens of thousands of dollars in lost productivity, not to mention the potential for substantial revenue losses. When considering whether to implement a network reliability solution it is important to realize how such a decision could affect the company and those responsible for its network.
A study conducted by Infonetics Research found that 1 in 4 mid-sized organizations were no longer viable as an ongoing concern after a significant network outage occurred which affected daily operations.

When attempting to determine whether the costs justify the deployment of a multi-WAN solution, one must consider that an XRoads Networks’ solution can not only substantially lower operational costs but also significantly improve overall productivity through increased performance.

Additional Benefits

Improved Utilization of Bandwidth

Beyond network reliability and the addition bandwidth provided by our EdgeXOS platform, customers are also able to utilize its built-in traffic shaping and bandwidth management capabilities. Network administrators can improve end-user responsiveness through application prioritization and by throttling heavy network users. All of these capabilities are included in each of the EdgeXOS appliances.

Greater Understanding of the Network

A key factor towards controlling an organizations bandwidth is understanding how that bandwidth is being used. To that end, the EdgeXOS platform includes a number of reporting capabilities which provide detailed reporting as to who and what is utilizing the bandwidth. Our top ten graphs show who the heavy users are and which applications are taking the most network resources.

Peace of Mind

Every network administrator wants to know that their network is solid and that in the event of a failure, that they have taken the proper precautions to ensure that the network stays up and running 24/7.

The EdgeXOS platform helps to provide this assurance through its built-in network redundancy and bandwidth management capabilities. Every feature built-in to the EdgeXOS platform is designed for this purpose and XRoads Networks has a long track record of delivering reliable bandwidth management solution for Fortune 500 companies, educational institutions, as well as small to mid-sized businesses.

Summary

In a slowing economy the one thing you can't afford is network downtime. The EdgeXOS platform helps administrators maintain confidence in the reliability of their network and understand how the network is being utilized.

For more information, please visit http://www.xroadsnetworks.com/