Foundation Topics

Branch Office Broadband Internet Access

Many options exist today for private connectivity between an Enterprise branch office and the core of an Enterprise network. These options include leased lines, Frame Relay, MPLS VPNs, and Metro Ethernet. Although each differs in some way, they all share an important characteristic: They provide an inherently private path over which two Enterprise routers can send packets to each other.

Several other public options exist for branch office connectivity. All these options use the Internet for connectivity between the branch office and the core of the Enterprise network. Regardless of the particular physical Internet access technology–typically digital subscriber line (DSL), cable, or wireless broadband–all these options use a public Internet to forward the packets.