With the amount of information that is available on the internet today, it can easily feel a little overwhelming. In order to help as much as we can, we have created a comprehensive section dedicated to answering the most frequently asked questions that our customers ask us.
Here you will find valuable information to help you make the best use of Vital's services and technologies.
What is a leased line?
Leased lines provide a permanent connection (copper or fibre-optic cable) between two locations, either a customer's premises to our network node or between two customer sites. Communications services such as voice, data and video can be delivered via the leased line.
Who uses leased lines?
Leased lines are normally used by businesses who require high quality, 24/7 access to the internet.
Can anyone have a leased line?
Leased lines work in conjunction with the existing telephone network infrastructure, so offer a wide variety of geographical coverage. This is unlike other connectivity solutions such as broadband, which are only available in certain parts of the country.
Is a leased line cost effective?
Yes - when you require 24/7 connectivity or if you use the internet for 4 hours a day or more, a leased line is cost effective.
What speeds are available with a leased line?
A leased line starts at 64Kbps and goes all the way up to 155Mbps.
Can mail be used with a leased line?
POP and SMTP mail can be used with a leased line.
What is the difference between a leased line and a broadband connection such as ADSL?
There are many broadband connections and ADSL is just one of them, but they are all based on the premise of providing a cheap solution for high speed downloads from the internet. This is why broadband has contention, a lower upload speed to its download speed and is not recommended for companies that deem internet access important to their business. This is why even the smallest leased line at 64K is superior to a business class 2Mbps ADSL connection.
What is a VPN (Virtual Private Network)?
A virtual private network is essentially a system that allows two or more private networks to be connected over a publicly accessible network, such as the Internet. It usually consists of an encrypted tunnel of some kind, although a VPN can take several forms, using different combinations of hardware and software technologies. They can exist between an individual machine and a private network, or a remote LAN and a private network.
How can a VPN solution benefit my business?
The idea of the VPN is to give the company the same capabilities at much lower costs, by using the shared public infrastructure rather than a private one. Communication companies have provided secure shared resources for voice messages. A virtual private network makes it possible to have the same secure sharing of public resources for data. Companies today are looking at using a virtual private virtual network for both extranets and wide area intranets.
How much does a secure VPN solution cost my business?
If your business data is valuable to you, then the cost of the secure VPN solution is a great deal cheaper than the loss of your valuable data in all cases. Talk to us for more information!
What are Data Encryption Services (IPSec, DES, 3DES)?
Data Encryption is the manipulation of a packet's data in order to prevent anyone, but the intended recipient, from reading that data.
- IPSec (Internet Protocol Security) is commonly misunderstood to be a protocol itself, which, technically, isn't true. The Internet Engineering Task Force developed a framework of standards designed to secure communications over both public and private networks. These standards are collectively referred to as IPSec.
- DES (or single DES) is a popular, standard encryption scheme; DES applies a 56-bit key to each 64-bit block of data.
- 3DES (or Triple DES) is a stronger encryption scheme then a single DES. The key difference between DES and 3DES is the size of the key used to encrypt. The larger the key, the harder it is to "crack". DES uses a 56-bit key while 3DES can use a 168-bit key. In practise this makes 3DES incredibly more secure than DES.
Am I covered by a Service Level Agreement?
Vital's leased line customers are covered by a Service Level Agreement. If your service is unavailable for longer than the time agreed, you will receive service credits as compensation, according to your contract agreement.
What is Metro Ethernet?
In enterprise networks, Metro Ethernet is used primarily for two purposes: connectivity to the public internet and connectivity between geographically separate corporate sites - an application that extends the functionality and reachability of corporate networks.
What is LES 10?
LAN Extension Service, running at 10 M/Bits per second.
What is LES 100?
LAN Extension Service, running at 100 M/Bits per second.