Networking Remote Sites and Wide Area Networks

[flyinghaggis]

We have playingfields that are away from our main campus site which are primarily used by the PE department and the admin staff there who maintain the place. At the moment the only IT kit up there is a couple of laptops and a printer which are netorked together using a slowish (3-4 Meg) BT ADSL Router. At the moment the laptops are setup to connect to our main site and log on in the same way that staff would at home (via Microsoft TMG/UAG).

 

There's been talks of expanding the amount of IT kit there so I've been contemplating what would be involved in setting up the site with direct access to the network here. This obviously raises the question as to whether the ADSL line would be fast enough , should we have some kind of server/domain controller at the site and what other hardware will be required?

 

What kind of setups are others here on the site running in terms of wide area networks?

[glennda]

How far are you talking - direct line of site? Could point to point be good?

 

airFiber | Ubiquiti Networks, Inc.

[flyinghaggis]

How far are you talking - direct line of site? Could point to point be good?

 

The site's about 5 miles away and there's no line of sight unfortunately.

Edited May 3, 2012 by flyinghaggis

[MatthewL]

I wouldn't dream of doing this over ADSL, we have tried and tested this and it get's to the point where it is unguessable unless you are using thin clients. I would look at getting a fixed line in, a 10Mb would be more than adequate.

[plexer]

The site's about 5 miles away and there's no line of sight unfortunately.

 

If you go high enough I bet there is

 

Ben

[flyinghaggis]

I would look at getting a fixed line in, a 10Mb would be more than adequate.

 

Off-hand do you know what sort of price we'd be looking at annually for a 10Mb leased line or would it vary wildly depending on the area/distance? Even a ball park figure would be handy for reference.

 

I'm suspecting that even though they might not be thrilled with the current ADSL remote access setup they'll quickly lower their expectations if it costs the earth to get something substantially better!

Edited May 4, 2012 by flyinghaggis

[bossman]

@flyinghaggis:

 

We have a dedicated 10Mb leased line from BT for approx £8k per annum on a 100Mb bearer which includes Cisco router and firewall. If you ask they will setup all the config you will need to connect the 2 sites together.

 

Give them a ring

[MatthewL]

Ours is on a MPLS with Virgin. Looking at around £3k recuring plus install cost and I think that was around £5k off the top of my head.