| As WAN technologies improve, allowing many employees to do their jobs remotely, the number of telecommuter and small company sites has exploded.
Like the corporate and branch offices, the telecommuter site must
determine its WAN solution by weighing cost and bandwidth
requirements.
An asynchronous dialup solution using the
existing telephony network and an analog modem is often the solution
for telecommuters because it is easy to set up and the telephone
facilities are already installed. As usage and bandwidth
requirements increase, other remote-access technologies should be
considered.
The nonstationary characteristics of a mobile
user make an asynchronous dialup connection the remote solution.
Employees on the road can use their PCs with modems and the existing
telephone network to connect to the company.
Typical WAN connections employed at
telecommuter sites are as follows:
- Asynchronous dialup
- ISDN BRI
- Frame Relay (if the user
utilizes the link for an extended time, such as half a day)
- Cable modems
- xDSL
Typical considerations for a telecommuter
site WAN connection include cost, authentication, and
availability.
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