Having been with an IT Support Company for five years, there is one thing that always stresses me out; ordering data connectivity for clients. From all that stress, I have some advice for you when ordering a new data connection such as a T1 that I would like to share:
My experience with getting data connections for clients has been varied, and unfortunately plagued with issues. I have had order entirely messed up, circuit failures, tech miss punching the ports or even plugging into the wrong port at the smart jack and not admitting to it.
From all this I do have some advice:
1) Plan ahead, the time to process the order could take up to 60 days!
2) Research the carriers in your area. Don't just go with who you know, check on everyone. They are all hungry for business, you might find a good deal.
3) If a deal is too good to be true, research it and read the fine print. It may be just that, not true.
4) Don't be afraid to push on the carriers and drop hints that someone else may get your business, just don't be a jerk about it.
5) Make sure the client knows that this process takes time to select and order the data connection. Communication with the client is key. Anyone in IT solutions knows that the client likes to be kept up to date, tell them what is going on. You may need them on your side when the carrier drops the ball.
6) When selecting the bandwidth, make sure to build in expansion into the selection. Better to have too much now and just enough later than to have to go through the whole process again in a few months.
7) Determine early on who will run the extension from the smartjack at the dmarc to your data center. Some sites do not have the dmarc in the data center. I personally have never seen the dmarc in a data center, but maybe I am just lucky. Establish who will run this as most vendors will not want to. The resposibilty factor over this run is something that most carriers will not take up and you may have to bring someone qualified in to run it.
8) Be aware, you may have to justify your use of the public IP addresses to get the block size you want. It seems ARIN is getting stingy on handing them out since the addresses are running out.
9) If you are testing the circuits and it isn't working, try the other open smart jacks. The tech may have plugged the extension into the wrong port. Yes, this does happen, be the hero and figure it out before the service call is made.
Hopefully some of this helps you through the dark path of connectivity. Remember even though we live in a golden age of technology with instant access, there is still a wait period to get that access...be patient.
My experience with getting data connections for clients has been varied, and unfortunately plagued with issues. I have had order entirely messed up, circuit failures, tech miss punching the ports or even plugging into the wrong port at the smart jack and not admitting to it.
From all this I do have some advice:
1) Plan ahead, the time to process the order could take up to 60 days!
2) Research the carriers in your area. Don't just go with who you know, check on everyone. They are all hungry for business, you might find a good deal.
3) If a deal is too good to be true, research it and read the fine print. It may be just that, not true.
4) Don't be afraid to push on the carriers and drop hints that someone else may get your business, just don't be a jerk about it.
5) Make sure the client knows that this process takes time to select and order the data connection. Communication with the client is key. Anyone in IT solutions knows that the client likes to be kept up to date, tell them what is going on. You may need them on your side when the carrier drops the ball.
6) When selecting the bandwidth, make sure to build in expansion into the selection. Better to have too much now and just enough later than to have to go through the whole process again in a few months.
7) Determine early on who will run the extension from the smartjack at the dmarc to your data center. Some sites do not have the dmarc in the data center. I personally have never seen the dmarc in a data center, but maybe I am just lucky. Establish who will run this as most vendors will not want to. The resposibilty factor over this run is something that most carriers will not take up and you may have to bring someone qualified in to run it.
8) Be aware, you may have to justify your use of the public IP addresses to get the block size you want. It seems ARIN is getting stingy on handing them out since the addresses are running out.
9) If you are testing the circuits and it isn't working, try the other open smart jacks. The tech may have plugged the extension into the wrong port. Yes, this does happen, be the hero and figure it out before the service call is made.
Hopefully some of this helps you through the dark path of connectivity. Remember even though we live in a golden age of technology with instant access, there is still a wait period to get that access...be patient.
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