This is a brief overview of the major options available to NRS sites to connect to the Internet. The overview includes satellite-based services as well as more conventional services such as Digital Subscriber Lines (DSL) via phone lines and cable modem service via TV cable lines. The list below provides summaries for each service or service provider. A tabular comparison of the major services (or types of services) concludes the overview. Note that some services that may be important to your reserve, such as the ability to run your own Web server, may not be available from a particular provider, or may come at an extra cost. This overview is not complete. In addition, with technology in constant flux, new options will inevitably appear soon.
To help you with the meaning of the many technical acronyms in this page
and elsewhere on our Web site, I recommend a technical dictionary like http://www.techweb.com/encyclopedia/.
Information collected by Rudolf Nottrott (RNottrott@UCNRS.org)
If you have any additions, corrections, or suggestions for this page, please send e-mail to the NRS Information Manager at infomanager@ucnrs.org .
CONNECTIVITY OPTIONS
Cable Internet Services
Most cable TV companies now provide Internet services in addition to their traditional cable services. The cable services are reliable, come at a reasonable monthly rate, have very high download transmission rates and high upload rates. For services contact your local cable company, but to get an idea of what is typical see http://www.cox.com/Service/CoxatHome/.
Most providers give you 1 dynamic IP address as their low-cost option (with multiple, possibly static addresses at extra cost). For information on how to connect multiple computers on your local area network through only one outside IP address see the information below on "Ways of connecting multiple machines...."
Digital Subscriber Lines via phone lines (DSL, ADSL, RADSL, VDSL, HDSL, SDL, IDSL)
Many local phone companies provide Internet services
in addition to their regular phone services (the various DSLs). DSLs are available in many, but not all, areas
where regular phone service is available. DSLs are comparable in reliability and monthly rates to cable Internet
service, but connection speeds are slower. For services contact your local phone company, but to get an idea
of what is typical see http://www.verizon.com/dsl/ .
StarBand (http://www.starband.com/,
phone 1-800-478-2722)
Starband is a joint venture of three companies: Gilat (and Israeli satellite maker), EchoStar Communications (owner and operator of the Dish Network television service) and Microsoft.
StarBand uses a single satellite dish for connecting to the Internet (the antenna can also accommodate EchoStar's satellite TV programming).
The StarBand Service can download content up to 10 times faster than the fastest dial-up service. StarBand consumers can expect Internet access with download speed of 150-500 kbps and average upload speeds will be 50 kbps (depending on usage during peak hours).
Starband provides 1 dynamic IP address, which means that the address may change with repeated connections. For information on how to connect multiple computers on your local area network through only one outside IP address see the information below on "Ways of connecting multiple machines...."
Installation costs are an affordable ~$70/month.
Tachyon (http://www.tachyon.net/, phone 1-858-882-8100)
Tachyon provides Internet connectivity over its network of satellites to geographically dispersed locations. For small companies or individual customers, Tachyon distributes its services through a variety of Internet service providers that offer Tachyon services. Providers in California listed by Tachyon are (for others see Web site above): CTSnet (http://www.cts.com/, phone 1-858-637-3600) and A+Net (http://www.aplus.net/)
Tachyon’s pricing structure together with their Quality-of-Service guarantee is clearly targeting medium sized companies, and does not appear economical for most NRS sites.
C
Nottrott has been working with David Wasley, Director
of Projects for the non-profit Corporation for Education Network Initiatives
in California, CENIC, in exploring ways to leverage CENIC's state-wide network
mandate for the benefit of NRS. CENIC leads the effort to implement the California
state-wide CalREN-2 network which is California's part of the national Internet2
network infrastructure. CENIC also spearheads the The Digital California Project,
a multi-million dollar effort designed to build network infrastructure for
California's schools (advanced-services network to serve the entire K-20 education
and research community).
High Performance Wireless Research and Education
Network -- HPWREN (http://hpwren.ucsd.edu/)
HPWREN is an NSF-funded project initiated by the University of California, San Diego -- the High Performance Wireless Research and Education Network (HPWREN). The network is designed to bring Internet connectivity to remote sites for research and education. HPWREN's mission, in addition to network analysis research, includes the provision of high-speed Internet access to field researchers from several disciplines (ecology, geophysics, astronomy) and the improvement of educational opportunities, as at rural Indian reservations and schools. All this fits very well with NRS's goals for research, education and outreach.
Due to distance and line-of-sight limitations imposed by wireless connections, at the present time only the Boyd Deep Canyon and James San Jacinto Reserves seem within possible reach of the HPWREN backbone. I am working with Mike Hamilton and Al Muth to verify the feasibility of those connections.
Department of Agriculture & Natural
Resources (DANR) Connect Project (http://anrcs.ucdavis.edu/Network/connect/)
I’have been working with Claudia Myers of UC ANR
Communication Services based at UC Davis to explore how we can coordinate
and mutually leverage the NRS connectivity work with the DANR Connect Project. The DANR Connect project is bringing high-speed
network connectivity and Internet access to a large number of University of
California Cooperative Extension and Research and Extension Centers throughout
California. The Connect Project, as part of the University of California and
affiliated with state and county governments, has access to existing network
infrastructures. These have the potential to come up with a network far superior
to anything we could create on our own or obtain commercially for the same
price.
Ways of connecting multiple machines at a reserve to
the Internet (when your Internet service provider gives you only 1 IP number)
Typically, Internet services offered to individuals or small companies provide 1 IP address only. But what if you have 10 computers on your site that you wish to connect?
A common solution for this problem is Network Address Translation (NAT),
a standard that allows an organization to present itself to the Internet
with one address. NAT converts the address of each machine on the Local Area
Network of your site into one IP address for the Internet, and vice versa.
It also serves as a firewall by keeping individual IP addresses hidden from
the outside world.
NAT can be performed by hardware or software.
Windows 2000 and later have NAT capability built into the operating system, called Internet Connection Sharing (ICS), so you don't need to buy any additional software to connect multiple computers at your site.
Other typical software solutions for NAT consist of a program that runs on the computer connected to both the Internet service (cable, DSL, StarBand, etc.) and to your Local Area Network (this computer is often called a proxy server). An example of a program for address translation is NAT32 (see http://www.nat32.com/), which carries a price tag of approx. $50. If you use NAT32, you do need a second network card for the proxy server/computer on which NAT32 run; prices for network cards are usually less than $100.
Another software product for NAT, WinProxy, has often be used for use with a Starband connection. For information on WinProxy see at the vendor’s Web site at http://ositis.com; their technical support number is 925-225-8909.
A typical hardware solution would include a multiport router gateway ($100-200, LinkSys is an example). The switchbox does the address for usually up to 24 addresses (possibly more).
|
|
Tachyon (satellite) Data according to Tachyon and CTSnet |
Starband (satellite) |
Typical Cable Internet Service |
Typical DSL Service |
|
Available areas |
everywhere in the U.S., if you have a southern aspect |
48 states, Alaska and Hawaii, if you can see the southern sky |
Areas with cable TV |
Areas with “high-quality” phone service |
|
Equipment ($) |
4200 |
400 |
200 |
0-100 |
|
Installation ($) |
950 |
200 |
80 |
0-50 |
|
Miscell. ($) |
|
40 (shipping) |
|
|
|
Monthly rate ($) |
510 |
70 |
40 |
40 |
|
Nr. of IP addresses |
5 |
1 |
1 (plus additional numbers for ~$10/month) |
1(additional numbers may be available for extra cost) |
|
Type of IP addresses |
Static (routable) |
Dynamic |
Dynamic |
Dynamic |
|
Upload speed (kBits/sec) |
256 (guaranteed) |
50 (average; depending on traffic) |
Up to 256 kBits/sec (depending on traffic) |
128kBits/sec |
|
Download speed (kBits/sec) |
1,540 (T1) (guaranteed) |
150-500 (depending on traffic) |
Up to 3 MBits/sec (depending on traffic) |
<768 kBits/sec |
|
E-mail services included |
5 e-mail boxes/addresses; 20MB Webhosting space |
10 e-mail boxes/addresses |
5 e-mail boxes/addresses |
5 e-mail boxes/addresses |
| Possibility to run local services (Web server, etc.) | Yes | No | May be available for extra cost, check with provider. | May be available for extra cost, check with provider. |