Setting up a Wan connection between three facilities.

[zerohour80]

I am not sure where to start. I have been asked to connect are other to plant locations to are main plant. Both facilities are 40+ miles apart so I will have to rent fiber line but I am not sure what line to rent and also the best cost effective issue. Each location has there own servers. Each location has roughly around 35 workstations.
I just want them to be able share data if needed and also access email. The data would be access database,sql,excel files etc. For email access I am not sure what I am going to do because of the speed issue. I am currently running exchange 2003 I am not really advanced when it comes to Exchange. If anyone can help I would greatly appreciate it. If you need any more info please ask. Thanks.

 

[dmurfitt]

It seems like the best option is to set up a VPN between the sites. The best way to do this is with Cisco routers (althought you will need a Cisco trained engineer to set this up). You can then have a WAN set up for the three sites as if they are on the same network. Obviously, this is best acheived with ADSL connections on each site.

 

[zerohour80]

would adsl be fast enough for 35 users access the server and email?

 

[zerohour80]

So I will have to learn Cisco stuff.

 

[Rockn]

You don't need a Cisco unless you can afford it. A lot of the SOHO routers you can buy retail can also do site to site VPN and you will save a ton of money. You will also get free setup support from the manufacturer which you will not get from Cisco directly.

 

[zerohour80]

Well I have used symantec vpn / firewall before.