High Bandwidth UK Broadband and Bonded Internet

CCS cannot create "new bandwidth" - it aggregates the total Broadband connections and delivers what is actually available at that time. Line speeds are not always as advertised or constant throughout the day or week. CCS software tests the line speeds periodically and adjusts the distribution of packets to optimize the aggregated performance. In addition, packet re-sequencing is automatically activated when connections are detected to be very different speeds and latencies.

Q: Are there maximum speed limitations with the CCS bonded internet solution? CCS's bonded throughput is limited by the processing power of the routers used. For example, consumer grade routers such as the Netgear DG834 and the Linksys WRT54GL can expect to achieve between 12Mbps and 18Mbps, depending upon configuration. CCS Power Router will bond to speeds of 100Mb/s providing an ideal solution for resilience of a leased line combined with ADSL Backup.

Q: How does CCS deal with different latencies on lines; especially when I'm using different ISPs i.e. deals with out of sequence packets? Each Bonded Router has a small amount of memory to deal with out of sequence packets - the amount depends upon the operating system. On two slow speed lines with large latency differences, this memory buffer is probably sufficiently large to cope with out of sequence packets. However if fast lines are used, or there is a very large difference in latency, it is likely that this buffer will not be sufficiently large resulting in packet loss and poor performance. CCS has built-in packet re-sequencing software that puts downstream traffic back in its original order. However because the routers are doing more work, the over-all maximum throughput is reduced.

Q: My ISP's line performance changes throughout the day. How does CCS cope with this? Customers can set up automatic performance monitoring of lines via the management portal provided. This entails automatically periodically checking the actual throughput of the lines (rather than what has been bought) and adjusting how much data is sent down each line accordingly. For example if a 2 line deployment showed line 1 was delivering 4Mbps and line 2 was delivering 2Mbps, double the amount of traffic will be delivered down line 1 than line 2. This 'adaption' period can be adjusted from once every 15 minutes to once a day.

Q: What is the overhead with CCS? CCS adds 25bytes to each packet which is typically 1.6% of the packet size. In addition, a very small amount of data is used in the line testing process; the frequency of the line testing is adjustable and should be set to a minimum based on the stability of the speed of the lines being pooled.

Q: Is CCS limited to ADSL the types of Broadband connections it can aggregate for high bandwidth broadband? CCS can aggregate any type of Broadband connection together. Connections can be the same type (example: leased line/leased line or ADSL/ADSL) or different (example: Cable/Fibre or ADSL/Wireless). Resiliency is best achieved when different carriers and different technologies are aggregated.

Q: Can I port forward using CCS? Yes, port forwarding (PAT) is supported.

Q: Does CCS support VPN traffic? CCS supports PPTP VPN traffic and IPSEC using L2TP, UDP or TCP protocols.

Q: What happens if I lose a connection on one of my lines? Does CCS Bonding stop working? CCS Bonding will continue to operate if a line is lost and as long is one connection is up, you will stay connected. Bandwidth will be reduced by the speed of the disconnected line until that line comes back on line. This is especially advantageous with applications such as VoIP when a disruption to a single line connection will cause the call to drop.

Q: How does the failover work? If I lose the connection to my gateway, will I lose my connection to the internet? CCS Bonding enabled routers are configured in VRRP mode. Therefore, if you were to lose any of your routers in your network the VRRP function will maintain access to the internet. CCS Bonding also incorporates a DHCP server failover capability, so there is no need to be concerned about losing your DHCP functionality if that router is lost.

Q: How does CCS improve resilience? There is no single point of failure and because aggregation occurs at the IP layer, multiple Internet Service Providers (ISPs) and Internet backbone infrastructures can be used - significantly improving resilience when compared to a single provider solution.

Q: What about Leased Lines? For many businesses, high availability, incrementally scalable and fast connectivity is only achievable by purchasing expensive leased lines and bonded leased lines. CCS can aggregate less expensive Broadband connections such as DSL and Cable to provide the speed and reliability of leased lines, or it can be used to aggregate leased lines in an economical, flexible and simple way.

Q: What support is available? All support calls are dealt with by CCS Leeds Ltd. We can be contacted by telephone on (0113) 294 669 or by email at support@ccsleeds.co.uk

Q: Once I place an order, how quickly can I be up and running? This will depend on whether you wish to aggregate existing connections or whether new lines or services, such as ADSL to an existing telephone line, need to be installed. Once the lines to be aggregated are in place, it normally takes less than an hour to install the CCS-enabled routers and activate the service. After CCS has received your order for its bonding service, routers will be despatched typically within 2 to 3 working days.

Q: What do I get when I order the CCS service? You typically have delivered CCS Bonding enabled routers (one per line), a quick install guide and configuration details.

Q: How would you summarise the CCS proposition?

CCS Bonded Broadband is unique
Uses patented technology
Operates at the IP layer - major advantages over MLPPP protocols
Available anywhere - uses existing infrastructure
Speed - offers up to 4x speeds utilizing standard broadband routers
Low cost - easy to deploy and inherently scalable
Resilient - can bond lines from multiple service providers and different technologies
Enables new customer applications and services to be delivered rapidly

Bonded internet is a cost effective way of providing a better connection. There are other options available to such as Ethernet First Mile (EFM)