Tuesday, November 3, 2009
It's that time again: IT upgrades. The purchasing department wants bottom-dollar, but you know better than that. How long will it last? Can we get signal (believe it or not, the wireless broadband antenna technology makes a huge difference)? What's the throughput that it can handle?

According to independent market research firm, In-Stat, speed, security, and range are the top concerns among buyers. In-Stat recently published their research results pertaining to the purchasing decisions for Broadband Customer Premise Equipment (CPE). Not surprising, brand name was actually low on the list. Many companies today don't even trust a brand's reputation without first testing the equipment in their own environment.

So, according to the experts, speed tops the list. Can the hardware we're talking about handle the number of users on my network? The bandwidth we require? Most importantly, is the speed reliable. If the upstream and downstream speeds are high for half of the day, but unexpectedly and unpredictably hit peaks and valleys based on either signal strength, interferences, or usage spikes, that could be a big deterrent for many companies.

Range also tops the list. With fixed wireless broadband, there are a lot of factors to consider. RF interference, distance to the nearest tower, geographic barriers, and even the physical makeup of the location. Accel Networks has faced incredibly difficult scenarios at locations with high security--which basically means thick concrete and steel walls.

But, most notable at the top of this list is the demand for security. Ever since major network news magazines began warning consumers of the danger in wireless internet at their home (neighbors able to access sensitive data) everyone is keenly aware that passing company data over the airwaves can be problematic. Accel Networks offers layer 2 wireless broadband solutions--the standard required by the PCI-DSS.

So, what do you care about? When considering wireless broadband hardware (or services) does a big name impress? Are higher costs for higher dependability worth it? Do In-Stat's stats represent your mind?

Labels: Broadband Customer Premise Equipment (CPE), Layer 2, PCI Compliant Broadband

posted by Nick Carter at 7:15 AM Link to this Article  0 Comments

Wednesday, October 14, 2009
To some, a broadband network means nothing more than a Cat5 cable that goes into the wall, and from there, who knows. All they know is when they're plugged in, they're online. But to the network admin, the CIO, the IT managers, the directors of information systems, and the like, that Cat5 cable is no more of the broadband network than the speedometer needle is of your car.

And since 2004, it's hard to have a conversation about an enterprise broadband network without mentioning the PCI-DSS. You see, as that yellow cable runs from your tower to the jack in the wall, there's little risk that any data will be hijacked by ill-willed intruders. But what about on the journey that packet of data takes from your office to the headquarters, hundreds of miles away? How many switches and routers does it hit? How many different networks does it traverse--from Time Warner to Verizon to the local Bell company?

Among other things (lots of other things) the PCI-DSS has put requirements in place which make it your business to know how that data is handled. Because, after all, are we really talking about the average user sending a mundane email to his aunt about Thanksgiving dinner? No, we're talking about company financials emailed to the accounting department for projections and analysis. We're talking about payroll and health benefits being sorted out by managers at locations across the country. And, of course, we know that those Cat5 cables also plug into credit card terminals, point-of-sale computers, and the ATM in the lobby.

This year, Accel Networks once again received a PCI Compliance renewal--the proverbial "nod" and "atta-boy" from the PCI and Visa CISP. Our fixed wireless broadband networks are not only built for quick deployment and cost-effective rural broadband, but we back it up with a layer 2 broadband network that you can take to the bank (literally, with cardholder data).

Labels: Broadband, Fixed Wireless Broadband, Layer 2, PCI Compliant Broadband, PCI-DSS, Rural Broadband

posted by Nick Carter at 5:53 AM Link to this Article  0 Comments

Tuesday, October 6, 2009
Early in my career, I was working on a major account sale with a relatively new product to market. The building design and construction industry had been (and still is, to a large part) plagued by huge design files and geographically dispersed design teams. We had the solution, or so we thought. After unveiling a revolutionary web-based project management and file repository solution, we couldn't believe the reaction. I think I know how comedians feel when they get booed off stage.

You see, these guys weren't designing Aunt Jane's new sun room, or even the new shopping mall on the outside of town. Big contracts in architecture are big buildings--precisely the kind of buildings that make the top of the list of terrorist targets. Or, worse yet, government buildings with intense security requirements.

"Store our design files on the internet?" they scoffed. "Are you crazy?"

Indeed, it would seem, we were. We neglected to realize that these users relied on VPN and firewalled tunnels, not because they didn't know any better, but because even email was unsecured. The DOD had even banned USB drives for a period of time. What they needed was a broadband network that never touched the Internet. A layer 2 broadband network.

Architecture is just one example, though, and frankly one of the less strict when it comes to security standards. For retail and hospitality establishments, especially the c-stores that dot our rural landscape, passing credit card data from point-of-sale to central nerve centers must also be accomplished without ever touching the network layer (Internet). Where can you find a PCI-Compliant broadband network that can connect even the most remote of locations with broadband speed?

Accel Networks fixed wireless broadband solutions offer the security of layer 2 isolation. What's more, our solutions have been CISP certified and are PCI-Compliant. When you face challenges of both network access and security considerations, no other solution has you covered like Accel Networks.

Labels: Convenience Stores, Fixed Wireless Broadband, Layer 2, Rural Broadband

posted by Nick Carter at 5:32 AM Link to this Article  0 Comments

Tuesday, September 29, 2009
I remember talking with a programmer one time about a simple web app I had created with my limited, self-taught knowledge. "Not bad," he said, "But all your logic is in the application layer." I nodded as if I knew what the heck he was talking about. Why should I care? It worked.

What I didn't know then was that back in 1977, some geeks, perhaps even bigger geeks than this guy who droned on about my application layer, got together and defined not one, not two, but seven layers to a computer network. Today, the work of this group, the Open System Interconnection (OSI) initiative, is the standard for network architect. The OSI Seven Layer Model describes, you guessed it, seven layers that any network must have: Application, Presentation, Session, Transport, Network, Data-Link, and Physical Layers.

So, what is layer 2? Layer 2 refers to the Data-Link layer. This is the layer of the network where data is transferred across the "Physical Layer"--cables, airwaves, routers, and LAN cards--from node to node in a Wide Area Network (WAN). So what, you might ask. I can send data from my computer to my sister's computer via email. What's the difference?

The difference is that, as you'll notice, the layer above Layer 2 is the Network itself. And, a subset of that network is something we all know and love: the Internet. WAN transmissions that remain on layer 2 never go to the internet. That email you sent your sister, however, did (provided you're not also office-mates with an Exchange server). If your data was a letter, Layer 2 describes your inter-office mail--no stamp, no postal worker, and it never leaves the building.

Finally, why do I care? Wireless broadband may seem like old hat to many of us. With a smart phone, tethering, and hot spots all over the city, we might not think twice about what layer our laptop is on when surfing the web on a layover at the airport. But what if instead of your laptop, it was a retail store's server... and instead of surfing the web, it was sending daily transaction reports or even credit card data for payment processing. Still think the layer is irrelevant? A layer 2 network means that cardholder data never hits the internet (a big no-no for PCI Compliance).

Accel Networks fixed wireless broadband services deliver broadband connection to your remote locations, not just for internet browsing, but for Layer 2 network purposes such as point-of-sale and other sensitive company data. Proving once again, "this ain't your average air card."

Labels: "Internet infrastructure", Fixed Wireless Broadband, Layer 2, OSI, PCI Compliance, PCI Compliant Broadband, PCI-DSS, WAN

posted by Nick Carter at 5:12 AM Link to this Article  0 Comments