Also, consider Frame Relay. It's often cheaper, and can be set up so that you have, say, 768k most of the time, with a "burst" capability up to full T-1 levels. It also allows you to go with a good many more ISPs.
Note that this is conditional on the number of simultaneous users - or more to the point, the number of available workstations. And below a certain speed rate, people are going to grumble about slow speeds no matter how many folks are using it. Also, I've seen full T-1s range in price from as little as $300 per month to as much as (or more than) $1000 per month, exclusive of any equipment charges - T-1 routers are expensive! Make SURE that, if it looks like you're getting a good deal, the price of the service INCLUDES the price of the local loop; That $250 T-1 deal might be pretty crappy if your site is 5 miles out from the CO and you've got to pay for the charges yourself.
Steven had a point as well; if you're doing e-mail, limit attachments - I prefer 10 megs, to allow larger PDFs and MS Bloatware application files through - right off the bat. Set up a transparent caching webserver, probably (to tie it in) in a LEAF DMZ, with the bulk of users on an inside network to get a solid firewall going. If you're doing your own e-mail, set it up so that the e-mail server is also on the DMZ, and make sure that you've got it set up to scan for virii. This will also allow you to set up something like SpamAssassin. After that, I strongly recommend IMAP rather than POP; even on a local network, you'll get a much easier time of the bandwidth usage. If someone else is hosting for you, request IMAP specifically, then block POP. Someone downloading a fistful of SoBig e-mails is one surefire way to clog up even a T-1 line.
Craig Caughlin wrote:
Hi folks, I'm working on a little project with a school district, and I'm wondering if anyone has an idea (or firsthand experience) how many users that you might "reasonably" expect either a full T1 line or fractional T1 line to provide internet service for??? I need to do some "financial planning" and I'm trying to factor in how much our internet access is going to cost :-)
Thank you, Craig
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