Business Ethernet and Ethernet Bandwidth
Many people get very confused when looking at their possible options for Ethernet bandwidth for their business. One of the unfortunate aspects is that the term Ethernet has been thrown around way too much, even by the residential DSL and cable providers, and when talking about these various types of Ethernet services, residential has no place there. The Ethernet that MAY be able to be provided by a residential ISP might be labeled Ethernet, but rest assured it is the same "best efforts" and non-dedicated service that you get with DSL or cable, and that has no real place in the real business world of bandwidth.
When it comes time to choose and make the tough choices for your business, there will undoubtedly be lots of different options available. This is especially true when talking about telecommunications, where the market is full of things that look good on the surface. You could go with T1, Ethernet, DSL, cable, or something else. With all of these things staring your business in the face, you have to consider the costs and the weigh the benefits of each choice. This choice is one that shouldn't really be a contest, though. Business Ethernet offers many advantages over the other choices out on the market.
The various flavors of Ethernet that may be available to your company or business are not all that different, and in fact, may have little to no difference. If what you need is less than about 100 MB of bandwidth, it is also called Fast Ethernet. If it is more than about 100 MB of bandwidth, it may be called GB Ethernet or Gigabit Ethernet. If you are in a large metro city and it is available to your location, it may be called Metro Ethernet or Metro-E or MetroE. But regardless of what it is called, at the end of the day you are getting a dedicated circuit with dedicated bandwidth, 24x7x365.25 with guaranteed uptime. There is not a residential DSL or cable ISP on the planet that can make the same statements about their offering. Sure, the price looks good but as a business, you need to take the time to "look under the hood".
There are quite a few reasons why Business Ethernet is the best choice for business telecommunications. First and foremost, it comes down to speed and reliability. These are the two things that you need to be looking for when you make this choice. When you are running a network, communicating with your customers via email, allowing your customers to download literature and specs from your server, and having a responsive and attractive online presence, you need for it to provide the type of speed and power that your customers and employees expect demand. The speed of your system will dictate how much work gets done and it will set the tone for your business. If you have anything less than the best, your business as a whole will suffer. Running a high speed network with Ethernet makes sure that you are putting your best foot forward. Remember, in the eyes of your customer, you only have one chance to make a first impression, so make sure it is a good one in the highly competitive marketplace.
Fast Ethernet
The biggest reason why Business Ethernet is better than DSL and cable is because of the reliability factor. With DSL and cable, you have no uptime guarantee and no bandwidth availability guarantee, because you are sharing DSL and cable with 50-100 other businesses and residences. Yes this is also true with “business class” DSL or cable service. But Ethernet comes with an uptime guarantee and bandwidth availability guarantee and is faster than the same speeds advertised on DSL or cable. When running a tethered system of this nature, you don't have to worry about many of the common disconnect problems that go along with running a cable or DSL system. Simply put, this Ethernet is more efficient when it comes to being online and providing a business with the power that it needs. It stands out in this way above the other options.
Some people might make compelling arguments that bonded T1 is a better choice for business telecommunications than Ethernet. When dealing with the same amount of bandwidth, you are almost certainly going to get more bang for your buck by going with Ethernet, if it is available in your location. It is a much more cost effective way to power your business's most important functions, and that is important for business owners who are looking to control the bottom line. Simply put, you won't be paying as much and you will be getting the same amount of capability and bandwidth when you go with Ethernet, with the added benefit of the inherent advantages and written guarantees that DSL and cable cannot provide.
GB Ethernet or Gigabit Ethernet
As stated earlier, if the amount of bandwidth you are looking at for your business is greater than about 100 MB, it is probably called GB Ethernet or Gigabit Ethernet. That is because Fast Ethernet has limitations on the technology used to deliver it to you, and GB Ethernet or Gigabit Ethernet will almost certainly require fiber, whereas many flavors of Fast Ethernet can be run on copper and still maintain the carrier's SLA (Service Level Agreement). GB Ethernet or Gigabit Ethernet can go as high as 10 GB of bandwidth. Yes, that is GB, not MB, which very much gets into what is sometimes known as a carrier grade bandwidth connection.
Metro Ethernet or Metro-E
In larger cities and metropolitan areas, the Ethernet available there might be called Metro Ethernet or Metro-E for short. This is really no different from Fast Ethernet or even Gigabit Ethernet except that it is somewhat readily available in large metro cities because the infrastructure from various carriers is already in place due to the demand for this type of reliable connection.
Yes there are several names for Ethernet bandwidth and Ethernet connectivity for businesses and they can all be termed Business Ethernet. But you need to make sure of what you are getting to ensure it really is a dedicated circuit with the same speed up and down. If it has a much slower speed up than down, chances are excellent that you are not getting real Business Ethernet.
