Hello members, thanks for helping me out with selecting the games im going to have at the internet cafe that im currently building. I have the list completed but now the hard and most likely expensive part... What kind of connection should i use for the cafe?

Specs, are 25 pc's.
20 are for gaming and the other 5 are for internet only.
At this point i am completly open for ideas, i need dedicated and very fast so i have low pings, even if all 20pc's are gaming at once.

I was thinking an E10 ? ( 10mbps ) ?

Please help !

Where do you live and what are the prices there?


If I were you I would get a LINKSYS router. (Wireless-B 2.4Ghz 802.11B Broadband Router)
It can split a connection of one modem to 4 computers, and supports wireless too :)

And maybe get a cable modem for every 4 CP's.

That will mean 5 Cable modems and Routers for the gaming computers. shouldn't cost too much.

And I'm sure you can come up with something for the other onces.


Its a SUGGESTION, and I'm sure other members here can give you a better one ;)

You need something reliable. A T1 or a T3 may be exactly what you need to get your foot into the door. You can always upgrade. Get with Yipes.com to see if they can service your area.

Maybe set up a T1 for every 5 CP's?
That should be really fast...


The advantage in this is that if it breaks down it means that only 5 CP's will be without net not all of them...

The problem with going with cable modems as websterworld has suggested is that, when the services goes down, the ISP is not required to repair the problem within x amount of hours while with T1/T3, most of them will be fixed with 24 hours MAX. and if you're running a business that requires the need of the Internet, that is very important.

A partial T1 runs for about $450-$600/mo. through Yipes. These were quotes I had recieved about 6 months ago when i wanted to run a partial T1 into my home. A full T1 (1.54mbps/1.54mbps) could do 20 PCs, and I would start off with a T1 and see how that goes.

Get something scalable. Like a 1meg LAN Extension, that can be bumped to 5, 10, or 100 meg when/if you need it.

Well the thing is that I use cable and its very fast for me.
But I guess that T1 is better like you said. and I didn't know that they company has to fix a T1 in 24 hours, good point :)

Originally posted by LegacyCX
You need something reliable. A T1 or a T3 may be exactly what you need to get your foot into the door. You can always upgrade. Get with Yipes.com to see if they can service your area.



A T3 for 25 machines? Isn't that a little overkill?


Call-up your ILEC and get a T1 installated. If you're in Southwestern Bell territory [or one of the Baby Bells], let me know.

Originally posted by webworkz
A T3 for 25 machines? Isn't that a little overkill?

Yea it is but you never know! Certainly a T1 would be fine, but if he can do a T3, more power!

get a cogent 100mbps connection :)

Originally posted by SplashHost.com
get a cogent 100mbps connection :)


I think he wants a *reliable* connection :rolleyes:

and adsl/ cable for backup then.

enweb.ragnarok.co.kr gaming servers are run off a cogent line.. it lags... badly... random ping spikes and disconnects, isp down few hours a week etc.

Originally posted by SplashHost.com
and adsl/ cable for backup then.



That's more of a headache than Cogent is worth.

I'd go with a single T1 line from the ILEC. If it comes down to it, he could upgrade to an IMA or fibre down the road. 25 servers on a T1 line should be fine.

If the cafe is near a fibre loop or a datacenter or something, you can try and get a 100mbps or 10mbps for pretty good prices.

All the internet cafes around here(metropolitan Montreal) all have 100mbps connections.

Of course...I'm going with what I have in my area. But if you do have Time Warner in your area, it might* be something worth looking into:

http://www.twckc.com/business/rates.asp

Business class connection: 1500/1500 (Basically T1) for $399.99/Month

Plus,

You can always upgrade your connection easily in the future to let's say the 4000 / 2000 option. :)

Our local internet cafes either use Cable or DSL, and the speed is pretty bad, but again, everyones playing on Lan games, no 1 really touches the internet much.

Originally posted by Hoobastank68
Our local internet cafes either use Cable or DSL, and the speed is pretty bad, but again, everyones playing on Lan games, no 1 really touches the internet much.

The business class for RoadRunner is dedicated bandwidth I believe. Meaning, no sharing like typical residential connections that some companies use to save money since RR charges more for businesses.

If you can afford a T-3 then by all means go for it, theres no way in hell the 20 computers are going to come close to utilising your network resources by playing games, but you pay a fair price for this privelage. You could always try a Dual T1 and see how that goes with a SDSL/Cable connection as a backup although T lines do have high reliability.

I have no idea what they would cost you, In the UK a symmetric 34mbit line wit hit you back around £200,000 a year if thats any help on estimating. =/

If you wish, please contact me. I do run a lan center and can give you very helpful advice, even franchise if you wanted to :) But if you aren't interested and that, i can give you some Very helpful advice on what to do and what tips are successful and so forth. Feel free to contact me via my profile :) And good luck!

You have to think about one thing: where are gonna be your game servers ? If you use servers that are located on the internet (outside your cafe) then you need lots of bandiwth, as the others suggested.

But if you use local servers, that are INSIDE your cafe, then you don't really need that much bandwidth ...

I would suggest you'd use internal server (most if not all games come with their own server) and save on the bandwith. At worst, buy 5 more PC's and use them as exclusive server (not workstation).

If so, then all you need is a fast network, let's lay 100mbps will be more than enough, and that's all. For the internet surfers (web) you could split several cable modems for the 20 PC's ...

Thanks for your help guys,
Basically were going to have a 100mbit lan network setup. Im looking into getting a dedicated T1 line 1500/1500. The cafe is going to be in london ontario canada. Another this is im looking at allstream or att.ca but they seem to have bandwidth caps? IF i get dedicated T1 i want to have the full 400gb bandwith that the line supports. Can you guys mabe look around for a Dedicated line in my area? because the only real big company that i see is att or allstream which looks like they cap the bandwidth.

Thanks Kevin i look forward to chatting with you on the subject.

Best regards,
Eddy

Originally posted by sirgamesalot
Thanks for your help guys,
Basically were going to have a 100mbit lan network setup. Im looking into getting a dedicated T1 line 1500/1500. The cafe is going to be in london ontario canada. Another this is im looking at allstream or att.ca but they seem to have bandwidth caps? IF i get dedicated T1 i want to have the full 400gb bandwith that the line supports. Can you guys mabe look around for a Dedicated line in my area? because the only real big company that i see is att or allstream which looks like they cap the bandwidth.

Thanks Kevin i look forward to chatting with you on the subject.

Best regards,
Eddy


A T1 should be able to handle just under 500GB/month

1 Mbit = ~320GB
1.566 Mbits = ~490GB


But, I digress...

How can they have bandwidth caps on a dedicated T1 line? That makes no sense. I've heard of incremental DS3 pipes, OC3's, etc. but I have never heard of an incremental/capped T1 line.


Who is the telco company in your area? Your best bet, generally, is to go directly through them. It's cheaper [most of the time], and you cut-out the middle-man.