MPLS - Carrier & Managed/Unmanaged
Hello Experts -
Our current WAN environment consists of several branch locations connecting to our corporate NOC via VPN. Since our contract with the T-1 carrier will expire in July, I am embarking on a voyage to determine whether or not MPLS is right for us. And if so, should it be managed, or unmanaged. Please see the following points:
- Control > I will be hiring a Cisco expert who can manage and maintain a complete Cisco infrastructure. We are actively concerned about controlling how the security is configured in our Cisco infrastructure.
- Carrier > We need to determine who the best carrier is for our application where VOIP and data need to be handled in an efficient manner.
- Managed or unmanaged > I guess this is a part of the "control" issue.
Any input and current/previous experience would be helpful.
Our current WAN environment consists of several branch locations connecting to our corporate NOC via VPN. Since our contract with the T-1 carrier will expire in July, I am embarking on a voyage to determine whether or not MPLS is right for us. And if so, should it be managed, or unmanaged. Please see the following points:
- Control > I will be hiring a Cisco expert who can manage and maintain a complete Cisco infrastructure. We are actively concerned about controlling how the security is configured in our Cisco infrastructure.
- Carrier > We need to determine who the best carrier is for our application where VOIP and data need to be handled in an efficient manner.
- Managed or unmanaged > I guess this is a part of the "control" issue.
Any input and current/previous experience would be helpful.
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And the number of changes is important in the managed versus unmanaged solution. If your network is set up once, and never changes - managed is fine. If you need freedom to change things a lot, and with ease - get a cisco guy on staff, and let him manage it instead of the service provider.
On a side note - most service providers just plain suck at managed service - and you won't be happy with it. Your expectations will be higher than their level of service delivery.
On a side note - most service providers just plain suck at managed service - and you won't be happy with it. Your expectations will be higher than their level of service delivery.
Please reopen the question and I will award points - my apologies.
Managed versus unmanaged - if you're going to have a "cisco guy" unmanaged is probably the way to go. Managed services are good if you don't want to staff (or cannot staff) the expertise, but when you make changes, you often need to interact with the telcos. Managed services aren't all that they're cracked up to be. They do have a place, though.
Once you're set up, there will be problems from time to time with any solution, but all in all, either solution will be reasonably reliable.