Double Click
High-speed Options
There are a number of ways to increase the speed of your connection to the Internet.
FROM: MAY-JUN 2004 ISSUE | BY G. WYNNE POWELL
While high-speed Internet connectivity is highly desirable, it is still not universally available. Rather, it is offered within certain service areas by satellite, cable, and telephone service providers. The two most popular technologies are cable and asymmetric digital subscriber line (ADSL). Both have the ability to deliver amazing speed, but each one suffers from weaknesses that can reduce the speed of service.
Bonded modems
If you wish superior speed to the conventional computer modem, but are not located in a cable or ADSL service area, there is an option. By using two regular telephone lines to join or bond two computer modems together, you can achieve speeds of up to 100 kilobits per second (kbps). This connectivity speed is similar to the lowest performing digital subscriber line (DSL) service, and is twice the speed of standard, dial-up, single modem service.
High-speed cable
To obtain service from a cable provider, you need a cable modem, which is a device that allows high-speed data access. Most of these devices are hardwired to the cable wall outlet, and are connected to a 10 base-T Ethernet card in your computer.
Cable modem speeds vary depending on the system, cable network design, and number of users. Typically, users experience download speeds of one to three megabits per second (mbps), and upload speeds of 500 kbps to 2.5 mbps. Most users experience 70 to 80 per cent of the cable companies' stated speeds.
The challenge with cable systems is that users share bandwidth and compete with each other for service. With cable service, the speed of the connectivity is affected by the number of users located in your area. Essentially, you are joining a network where the speed to each user is directly affected by how many people are using the network at any one time.
Cable companies minimize this issue by adding new channels to reduce the number of users on one channel. Subscribers need to monitor service speeds and inform their cable service provider if speeds drop below promised levels. (Internet tools such as VisualRoute — www.visualroute.com — can assist you in determining your Internet speed.)
Another way to verify your data transfer speed is to download a file that is four megabytes or larger, and determine how many seconds it takes to download. Confirm the actual file size downloaded by clicking on the "properties" menu selection. Divide the exact file size by the number of seconds it took to download the file, and then multiply by ten — you will have the approximate download speed.
DSL/ADSL
Both DSL and ADSL service are provided by the telephone
companies over the phone lines you already have in your home or office. With DSL and ADSL, no new wiring is required, and you can have as many points of connectivity in your home or office as you have phone lines. When you are on the Internet, your regular voice line remains available for voice and fax usage. ADSL typically offers the best connectivity, and unlike cable Internet services, access is never shared with other users.
ADSL technology relies on the use of all copper wire construction —fiber-optic cables that are used within a telephone provider's system cannot be used to provide ADSL service. As with your standard telephone modem system, ADSL or any DSL service relies on a DSL transceiver that is connected by a dedicated line from each user through the phone lines to the telephone company's DSL access multiplexer. It is for this reason that ADSL users, unlike cable users, do not experience any speed reduction as more users are added.
Although most Canadians have traditional wire voice phone service, DSL is only available when your location is physically within a DSL service area. DSL performance drops as the distance increases back to the telephone service provider's Central Office (CO). Essentially, you must be within 5,460 metres of your telephone company's CO. If you are beyond this distance, signal loss becomes too prevalent and bit errors increase, causing data to be repeated and reducing service speed.
Voice telephone service does not suffer from the same service quality loss over distance, as the providers install loading coils that boost voice signal strengths. The voice loading coil technology does not work with DSL nor ADSL and in fact, typically DSL and ADSL service will terminate when it encounters loading coils.
A number of different DSL service levels exist. Even though the limit for ADSL service is within 5,460 metres from the nearest CO, if you are as close as 1,820 meters you can enjoy speeds of up to 8 mbps compared to the stated standard of 1.2 to 1.5 mbps. Some telephone companies offer a "business grade" option of 2.5 mbps at a higher cost. (The speeds quoted here are for downstream data, as upstream speeds are considerably slower — typically between 64 and 640 kbps.)
You connect your DSL transceiver either directly to your computer or, better yet, to a router device that serves both as a physical firewall to protect your computer from inappropriate access by others and as a hub that offers wired or wireless connectivity to other computers within your site. With this approach, a single ADSL line service can provide high speed connectivity to a number of computers within your office or home.
If cable or ADSL is still too slow and you can afford to pay for faster connectivity, your next step would be to consider a telephone company T1 line, which can support hundreds of users at typically a minimum speed of 1.644 mbps. For one of the ultimate speed experiences, OC 192 service provides 9.6 gigabits per second — awesome raw power, but expensive.
Security
With dial-up connectivity, you use a new Internet IP address every time you sign on. This makes it difficult for computer hackers to identify and attack a specific computer. Cable service is considered higher risk than dial-up or ADSL, as the cable modems operate within shared channels. In contrast, ADSL offers a dedicated line that requires deliberate wiretapping to invade the specific phone line and modem settings; potentially possible, but dauntingly difficult.
The common security risk with both cable and ADSL service is that the Internet connection is always on, as each computer is assigned an Internet IP address that can be attacked by hackers 24 hours a day. The security risk can be reduced in a number of ways, such as shutting off the computer when you are not using it, unplugging the Ethernet connection when your system is not being used, and setting your computer to appropriate security standards. You can test your computer security standards by visiting ShieldsUP (http://grc.com).
No matter what the speed of your connection, the three most important steps to secure your Internet experience are: to keep your Windows updates current, use either a software or hardware firewall, and always keep up with the latest anti-virus software.
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G. Wynne Powell, FCGA, D.Tech (Hon) is president and COO of London Drugs Limited, a chain of drug stores in BC, Alberta, Saskatchewan, and Manitoba, and president of TLD Computers Inc., which specializes in PC networks and custom programming. He chaired the BC Institute of Technology from 1989 to 1995.
"Double Click" is co-ordinated by John W. Yu, M.Sc., CDP, FCGA. Yu has been in the IT industry since 1970 in a broad range of roles in technology and in management. He is vice-president, Information Technology, at CGA-Canada.