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In this lesson,

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we're going to discuss leased line connections.

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Now in the world of wide area networking,

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leased line connections stand out as a premier choice

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for businesses and organizations that require a dedicated,

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reliable, and high-performance internet connection.

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Unlike typical broadband services

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that will share the capacity with other users,

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a leased line is considered fixed bandwidth,

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and it has a symmetric data connection

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that's exclusively reserved for that subscriber's use.

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This exclusivity guarantees consistent speed,

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and it offers unparalleled levels of service and security,

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which make it an ideal solution for those

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who cannot afford any compromises

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in their communications infrastructure.

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Now a leased line,

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often referred to as a dedicated line

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or a dedicated leased line,

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is a continuous connection between two points

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that are set up by a telecommunications provider.

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Usually, this will be done either using a copper

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or fiber connection.

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Now think about it like this.

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If I wanted to connect your home and your office together

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using a road and I made it a private road

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that only you could go on,

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it would be really fast because you could drive

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as fast as you wanted and nobody could get in your way.

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That's the idea with a leased line.

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It ensures that your data travels swiftly

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and securely free from any kind of congestion

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or potential security breaches

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because you're off the public internet pathways.

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Now one of the features of leased lines

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is their symmetric nature.

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This means that your upload and download speeds

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will be identical,

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and this is a critical requirement for businesses

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and services that depend heavily on uploading data

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because most commercial products use an asymmetric method

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where you have faster downloads and slower uploads.

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For example, my company does a lot of uploading

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because of all the video we create,

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and so we need something that has very high upload speeds,

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and so a leased line may be a good choice

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for a company like ours.

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Now another thing with leased lines

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is that they can provide an impressive range

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of bandwidth options,

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starting as low as two megabits per second

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and going all the way up to 10 gigabits per second or more.

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This means no matter how big or small your business is,

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you can get a dedicated leased line that meets your needs.

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If you're a small enterprise that needs a steady connection,

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you can use a two, four,

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or maybe a 10 megabit per second connection.

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But if you're a really large corporation

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that's streaming a lot of real-time data across continents,

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you can get a 10 gigabit connection over fiber

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using a leased line configuration

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to fit that requirement too.

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This scalability is a really significant boon

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'cause it allows businesses to tailor their connectivity

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according to their current needs

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while also providing the flexibility to scale up

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as their business grows

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'cause normally it's just a matter of opening

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or shutting the amount of bandwidth

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at the service provider level

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instead of installing a whole new line.

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Now, reliability is another cornerstone

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of using a leased line connection.

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Internet service providers will often

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have stringent service level agreements, or SLAs,

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that provide guaranteed uptime that often exceed 99.9%.

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In the rare event that your connection goes down,

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your SLA will ensure that the repair and recovery are swift

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and you'll be reimbursed for any downtime

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per the terms of your SLA.

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This helps to minimize your downtime

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and any associated costs along with it.

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Now this means you have a very high level of availability

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by this dedicated nature of the connection,

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and this really is a premium level of support

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that's offered to your leased line customers

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when you're working for an ISP.

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Now in terms of security,

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you're going to find that leased lines

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do offer several distinct advantages.

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Because you have a direct connection here,

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that means your data is traveling through fewer routers

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and switches and this reduces the exposure

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to potential cyber attacks.

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If your organization handles a lot of sensitive information,

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like you're a bank or a financial institution

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or a doctor's office or an insurance company

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or a legal firm,

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this level of added security is really a necessity for you.

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Now the premium features of leased lines do come

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at a cost though,

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and typically, they're going to be much more expensive

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than using a shared service like DSL or cable.

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The actual cost does depend on several factors

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including how much bandwidth you need,

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the distance between your premise

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and the provider's facility,

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and the length of your contract.

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If you go for a longer contract,

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you'll usually get a lower price.

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If you go for a shorter contract,

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you'll have a much higher price.

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Now when it comes to leased lines,

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often they're kind of out of reach for small businesses

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because they can cost thousands of dollars per month.

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But again, this is a business decision

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and the cost needs to be weighed against

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the potential losses due to downtimes,

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slower speeds, or data breaches,

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and it may actually be more affordable than you think

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to get a leased line with that better security

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and higher speeds.

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Now in addition to using them for internet access,

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you can also use leased lines in creating a WAN,

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or wide area network, between different branch offices.

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This can be used to connect disparate offices

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of your business and ensure seamless communication

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and data sharing across those locations.

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I've used this multiple times in my career

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when working for large organizations

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where we had to connect different offices across cities,

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across states, or even across countries,

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and these leased lines got very, very expensive

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for these purposes,

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because there were large bandwidth

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and there were large amounts of distances we had to cover.

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This application can be particularly beneficial

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for businesses who have a significant presence

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in multiple geographic areas,

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like the one I was working with,

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and this requires us to have a consistent

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and reliable communication network

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to function as a cohesive unit

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even though we are spread out across six continents.

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So remember, leased lines do represent one

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of the highest pinnacles of connectivity solutions

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by giving you unmatched speed,

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reliability, and security,

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but you're not usually going to see this in a home

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or a home office network.

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Instead, they're going to cater to organizations

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where connectivity is not just a utility for them

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but it's a critical component of their operational backbone.

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If you're working for a large company,

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you may be using these dedicated leased lines

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because they have this robust,

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reliable, and secure communication capability

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that you're going to need in those type of environments.

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Leased lines stand out not just as a service

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but they really are a strategic investment

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that empowers your business to navigate the digital world

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with confidence and agility using high speed

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and high security.