Networks

Ask something
Discussion Locked

Remote DSL and ISDN

0 helpful
7 replies

by tommymcbrayer

Closed to new repliesThis discussion is closed. It stays readable, but it takes no new replies.
I have a site with 2-3 users about 5 miles away. I am looking for the cheapest way to increase there bandwith to our core site. They currently dialin via a 56k modem to a Citrix 1.8 server. I have a Cisco 3661 Core router with 2 open slots, the others have T1 interface cards in them already at my main site. The T1 is too expensive for just a couple of users. My question is what equipment and how do I connect them to our network using DSL and ISDN?

7 replies

by timwalsh

A little depends on what you are using for your base NOS.
If DSL is available, you will (generally) get more bandwidth for less money than with ISDN. From there you will probably want to implement a VPN between your remote and core sites. How you implement the VPN depends on your NOS. If you are using Win2K, VPN functionality is built in. If you are using Netware or Unix, you have other routes you must use.
The equipment at your core site should be sufficient. At your remote site, you will need either a DSL modem (usually provided by the DSL provider) or some type of ISDN terminal adapter (i.e. DSU or NT1 box) (usually provided by the end user). Your service provider should be able to help you with recommendations on equipment needed for their particular solutions.

by tommymcbrayer

Core NOS is Netware 5.0 sp6a. We have NDS4NT on the PDC and BDC. We also have a citrix server. Currently users dialin to a citrix terminal server and they get their Novell login and access the network resources through their NAL window. The users connected to the LAN connect via a ica lan connection vs ica dialin. I don't know that much about Citrix, is there a way they could connect to the citrix server and get their normal Novell login.

by jereg

Part of your answer is what do those remote users need to do on your network? Are they just getting email, or are they running databases all day? I have 2 remote sites. While they each have their own servers, they do have to attach to us for the point of sale system we use. I have a Citrix server they log into. DSL would be your best bet if it is available. If not, you might try looking at a cable modem. Bandwidth is as good as DSL, and it might be a little cheaper. If not, look at ISDN. One very remote site had constant trouble with ISDN so I switched them to T-1. The other site used ISDN at first, but didn't seem to have any problem. The trouble with ISDN is that you pay per minute. You can get on a business plan, but the phone company, (Verizon) always screwed up the bill. You could set up a VPN, but if they're just doing email or some light computing, there may not be an advantage.

by jereg

Reading you comment, it seems like you have the standard Citrix login. I was running Netware but had to move the network to W2K. The remote users always had to run the ICA client and connect to Citrix, then to Novell. That said, you should have the ICA client configured to pass the user ID and password through to Novell so that the connection is transparent, meaning, just one login is neccesary.
Hope that helps.

This discussion is closed to new replies.