Lack of bandwidth, a key business tool, is one of the fundamental problems facing businesses in SA and across the continent, meaning that network managers are increasingly being pressurised to provide reliable capacity with guaranteed service levels.
Internet solutions company, Technology Concepts (TC), says it has introduced a cost-effective solution to this problem, in the form of its locally developed product, TC Bandwidth Manager, which is aimed at businesses of all sizes.
"Bandwidth is in effect a small pipe which connects everything together, and we find ourselves trying to squeeze more and more information into it. The key to making this happen is to prioritise what information is most important," says Wayne de Nobrega, TC`s MD.
"Our solution is to create virtual lanes within the single bandwidth pipe and set up rules that determine which information is the most important. Because inbound traffic is affected by outbound traffic, we effectively set up a virtual queue that gives priority to browsing traffic."
He says the problem with unmanaged network traffic is that the link processes data in the order in which it is received, whereas with Bandwidth Manager, low priority traffic will back off and allow maximum performance for the critical business information.
"Our product provides the tools to monitor, classify, report on and control the cause of network congestion, enabling organisations to align available network resources with business requirements," says De Nobrega.
"We don`t waste the bandwidth, however. Say, for example, that you have four virtual pipes and three are not in use, then the fourth one will receive the entire bandwidth, until such time as one or more of the others come into use, at which point the system will realign itself to provide equal bandwidth to all."
He says a further new addition is the introduction of user-based grouping. This means the network can be split into segments, based on IP addresses, with each group given a set of rules.
"For example, in a campus environment, the research department could be allocated preference over the commerce faculty. Each group can share bandwidth with one another to ensure the link is always optimised," he says.
"We can also prioritise specific sites within the browsing option, or give priority within the groups to certain individuals, so in a financial group, priority can be given to the financial director over others in the group."
He says one of the key advantages to this product is its simplicity of use, and that while TC will be focusing on the local market for the moment, it plans to expand into the overseas market by mid-2004.
Related stories:
Minister admits bandwidth cost a major challenge
New technology may impact SA Internet
Share
