CHAPTER 7: WANs

LESSON 1 : POINT-TO-POINT WANS

LESSON 2: SWITCHED WAN SERVICES
LESSON 3: CHOOSING WAN PRODUCTS AND SERVICES
Lesson 1 – Point-to-Point WAN Services
● A point-to-point link is a physical connection between two separated LANs or
stations. An organization can create a point-to point link by simply installing
its own physical link (cable, fiber, or radio) between its sites. This approach
is commonly used to connect buildings within an office park or campus;
however, it is expensive over a metropolitan area or wider region.

● Thus, when companies need to connect two or more sites over a wide area,
they typically use the previously installed facilities of the public-switched
telephone network (PSTN). These links come in a variety of data rates, at
costs that correspond to their speed and capability.
COMMON POINT-TO-POINT SERVICES
● Point-to-Point links come in a wide variety of data rates and costs, as
summarized in the Point-to-Point Link Options Table.
POTS ANALOG CONNECTIONS

● Plain Old Telephone Service (POTS) was originally designed for

analog voice transmission, not binary data.

● Although most of the telephone network is now digital, most of its local
loops, that is, the wires that connect homes to the telephone
company, are still analog.
 MODEMS
● We can transmit computer data over
analog local loops, by using a modem
to convert (modulate) data signals to
analog signals. The terms “modem” is
a contraction of
modulator/demodulator.
● Modems are used in pairs, one at each
end of a telephone line, as shown on
the Modems and Dial-Up Networking
Diagram. Each modem attaches to a
computer or terminal by means of an
RS-232 cable, the input/output (I/O)
bus, or Universal Serial Bus (USB).
 DIAL-UP LINES
● A dial-up line is a temporary point-to-point circuit
between two nodes, set up across the switched
telephone network. For example, remote
workers who need access to a corporate LAN
often use a dial-up connection to the company’s
modem. The Modem Dial-Up Networking
Diagram illustrates dial-up connections
● Dial-up lines have the following characteristic:
● 2.4 to 56-kbps transfer rates
● Any-to-any connectivity (one circuit at a time)
● Compatible modems at each end
● Transmission only after call initialization occurs
● Inexpensive
LEASED LINES
● Leased lines are also set up through the telephone network; however,
these circuits are set up on a permanent basis. Leased lines are most
appropriately used when traffic requirements are steady and
uninterrupted service is important.
● Advantages of leased lines over private lines include:
● Security information
● Constant quality of service (QoS)
● Control of circuit

● Disadvantages of leased lines are:

● Expense
● Increased equipment needs and costs associated with increased connections.
 DSL
● Digital Subscriber Line (DSL) is a Physical Layer
technology that provides high-speed service over the
local loop. Telephone companies are using DSL to
provide high-speed Internet access to homes and
business, in competition with cable television
operators.

● A DSL line is a dial-up analog connection with a

special DSL modem on each and of a twisted pair
telephone line: one DSL modem at the subscriber’s
end, and one at the telephone company central office
(CO). The DSL Connectivity Diagram illustrates this
type of setup.
DSL – Cont.
● A DSL connection creates three information channels:
● Downstream digital channel (carrying data from the CO to the customer).
● Upstream digital channel (carrying data from the customer to the CO).
● Analog POTS channel, separate from the two digital channels. Analog telephone
service is uninterrupted even if DSL falls.

● DSL has the potential to deliver data at 160 times the speed of the 56-Kbps
modems currently used for Internet access over POTS lines.
● The speed of a particular DSL installation depends on the type of DSL in
use, thickness and condition of the copper wire, and user’s distance from the
telephone company’s CO.
● Generally speaking, higher speeds are possible at shorter distances;
however, performance is lower as the distance between the user and CO
DSL TYPES
● Asymmetric DSL (ADSL) – ADSL provides downstream transmission rates of 1.544 megabits
per second (Mbps) across up to 18,000 feet of twisted copper wire. ADSL is “asymmetric”
because its downstream data rates are much faster than its upstream data rates.
● ADSL Lite – This is a slightly slower version of ADSL, that requires simpler equipment.
● Rate Adaptive DSL (RADSL) – RADSL overcomes the varying conditions and lengths of
copper cable. RADSL has the same maximum data rates as ADSL; however, both
downstream and upstream rates are adjusted to the physical wire conditions at the time of
transmission.
● High Bit Rate DSL (HDSL) –HDSL offers both upstream and downstream speeds up to 1.544
Mbps, without the POTS line, over two wire pairs.
● Symmetrical DSL, or Single Line DSL (SDSL) – SDSL offers both upstream and downstream
speed of 384 to 784 Kbps, over one wire pair, including a POTS line.
● Integrated Services Digital Network (ISDN) DSL (IDSL) – This new hybrid technology uses
ISDN technology to deliver 128 Kbps. Unlike ISDN, which supports both voice and data, IDSL
ISDN
● ISDN is a circuit-switched digital service that offers all the capabilities
of a voice telephone line, as well as data features. Although ISDN has
been around for a while, it is finally taking off as customers increase
their demand for fast access to the Internet, desktop video, home
office connections, and links between LANs.

● Another key to ISDN’s popularity is that it is an international standard.

Therefore, digital telephone calls and data transmissions can be made
more countries across the globe when using ISDN.
SONET
● Synchronous Optical Network (SONET) is a Physical Layer standard that
provides rules for converting electrical signals to pulses of light, moving the
light signals over fiber optic cable, and converting the signals back to
electrical form at their destination.
● SONET is a ring network technology. It can built as a true ring, using two
parallel rings that carry signals in opposite directions. The same signal is
sent simultaneously over both rings, thus both rings carry identical traffic.
This is redundancy ensures that if one ring fails, s signal will still get through.
● A SONET network can also use a point-to-point physical topology. However,
signals still flow in a logical ring.