Alex Mailer Blog

There are four primary methods to consider:

1) dial-up over regular phone lines,

2) Digital lines, particularly ADSL,

 3) cable modems, 

 4) more traditional dedicated lines like frame relay.

We are going to assume that you have a main location and a few other locations all within a relatively small geographic area. Alternative 1, dial-up is the slowest, cheapest approach. You will probably want to consider a thin client software application (like Citrix Metaframe ) that will allow slow speed connections to run at acceptable rates. The Citrix Metaframe server will cost from $5,000-18,000. This dial-up approach will work OK for a workstation or two in a remote location. Higher speed solutions have become much more cost effective in the last few years. Solution 2 or 3 (ADSL or Cable modem) assumes that you are going to attach your remote locations to your main location via the Internet. We suggest that you consider a connection device like those offered by Sonic Systems (like the Sonic Wall) or eSoft (like the Ipad ). These devices will be between $300 and $3,000 each depending on their features, and the line costs will be roughly $40-60 monthly per location. You may still need a thin client server like Citrix Metaframe or Microsoft Terminal Server . Approach number 4, frame relay, requires dedicated lines that will vary from $100-700 in monthly cost, and require purchase of routers at $1,500-3,000 each. These types of configurations are complex enough that you should hire outside expertise to properly configure a solution that fits your needs.