A Crash Course on Network Bandwidth Metrics?

Kind of Blue asks: "I work for a small software development company in India, providing development services for a company in UK. We connect to the UK client through VPN; and our correct staff strength is around 13. We are going in for a major upgrade in our internet connection — and owing to the size of the firm, cannot afford the services of a networking expert/consultant. Hence I, a layman, have been asked to look into the matter and decide on the ISP and the bandwidth. I have a vague idea about the required bandwidth — it must be around 512 kbps(remember, it's India I am talking about!) and must be a persistent connection, since we use source control softwares connecting to servers in the UK. There doesn't seem to be a 'networking for dummies' kind of resource on the web. No one seems to talk of network metrics anywhere. So, can Slashdot give me a crash course in what I need to know?" "Our present ISP gives us a DSL connection of 512 kbps on 1:4 sharing. There are frequent disconnections; and hence loss of work while code check-ins. As we are increasing in strength, I am also looking at more bandwidth. But what bamboozles me is how are these things measured? Will I get a better bandwidth if I take a 512 leased line on 1:2 sharing? When the staff doubles, should I upgrade to a 512 connection on 1:1 sharing or must I take 1 Mbps on 1:4 sharing?(There's a huge price gap between the 2 here in India) In any case, how does one decide the optimum bandwidth required for a bunch of 15 developers on VPN and Source control?"

Comments

I have karma to burn...

[Yonder Way]

...so I will just say what half the other people here are thinking.

Maybe you can outsource this project to the west since there are plenty of very well experienced people who know this stuff who could use the work.

I don't hate India or Indians, but it will be a cold day in Hades before I give assistance to a shop whose only purpose in this world is to displace jobs formerly occupied by my neighbors.

Re:I have karma to burn...

[Yonder Way]

"Perhaps we can get together some day and discuss this while we take a ride to Walmart in your Lexus."

Sorry, I don't make enough to buy one of those. You'll have to pick between my 1981 Ford or my wife's 1984 Dodge "K car".

India is importing western IT staff.

[Colin Smith]

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/south_asia/527267 2.stm

Me too (re: I have karma to burn...)

[nido]

I fault the American citizens for their purchasing and voting decisions.

don't blame "us" - "we're" just the sheep. Blame the criminals who legislated themselves a banking monopoly - that'd be the quasi-public "federal reserve" system.

Federal Reserve "prints" money to pay for the budget deficit. Printing money (monetary inflation) causes price inflation, and price inflation causes producers of goods to cut corners to keep their costs down, hopefully just a little while longer than their competitor.

In recent decades, the most popular "corner" to cut has been the corporation's american workforce. First it was low skill workers - textiles, shoes, etc. Little by little, outsourcing has worked its way up the supply chain, and today most consumer merchandise is produced in Asia.

The "federal reserve note" dollar will crash, as all fiat currencies eventually do. It shouldn't be too long - no more than a year, I'm sure. There are consequences for running record deficits, you know...

The good news is that the dollar crash will take out the families with "old money" too, and we can return to a more egalitarian economic system. It'll be rough, for a bit, but definitely worth it.