Blog

The term hybrid cloud is a computing environment that utilises a mix of private and public cloud solutions to deliver enterprise IT infrastructure. In a hybrid cloud deployment, a company could use a mix of private cloud services (virtual machines) utilising hypervisor platforms such as VMware that are hosted within a private datacenter, cloud storage…
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A cloud firewall is a Firewall Appliance that provides network security within a cloud computing environment.  Unlike on-premises traditional firewalls a cloud firewall is a virtualized Firewall operating system that runs on a virtual machine within a hypervisor such as VMware for private cloud use within a data center, or a public cloud such as…
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A Virtual Private Cloud (VPC) is a public cloud service that allows organisations to run a private cloud infrastructure within a public cloud. AWS (Amazon Web Services), Google Cloud or Microsoft Azure and other service providers such as Stream Networks offer their own VPC infrastructure. How is a Virtual Private Cloud Isolated from other customers? With…
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With the upcoming closure of the UK’s PSTN network by 2025, businesses across the country are facing a critical decision on what to do with their business phone lines and Telecom systems. Migration to SIP trunking using an internet connection is a simple and cost-effective method but how do you work out how many SIP trunks you need to support your business? What is a SIP Trunk? SIP stands for Session…
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The SD-WAN hype train is real. But how much will it cost? In this blog, we explore all the components that can impact SD-WAN pricing and present our thoughts as to whether the noise on SD-WAN cost savings versus MPLS is legitimate. What is SD-WAN? Before we look at SD-WAN pricing, we should remind ourselves…
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The world of business telephony has undertaken a great deal of change over the past decade. This change has seen SIP Trunks become the go-to protocol for VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol) technology. In this blog, we will explain what are SIP Trunks and look at the reasons why they have become so popular.  SIP…
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In today’s blog, we get technical and answer the burning questions of IT and Networks managers – How does SD-WAN work? An overview of SD-WAN How does SD-WAN work and what is it? SD-WAN stands for Software-Defined Wide Area Networking.  It’s a way to build a secure wide area network using a software overlay to…
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This blog explores SD-WAN architecture and what is needed for a successful SDWAN deployment. SD-WAN (Software-defined wide area network) technology is now becoming the de facto and most cost-effective way to connect branch offices, remote workers, and data centre’s into a secure wide area network.  This is due to several factors such as the growth…
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How long does it take to install and what is the leased line installation process? This guide intends to take you through the leased line installation process. It aims to give you the information you need to understand on each phase of a leased line installation and details some of the processes required to install a…
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For years MPLS networks have been the go-to technology for businesses looking to deploy wide-area networking (WAN) solutions. However, the landscape of multi-site networks is currently going through its biggest change in a generation through the introduction of SD-WAN. As we explore the MPLS vs SD-WAN debate, we will define each of the technologies and weigh up the benefits of…
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A leased line connection is a dedicated fibre optic cable between your premises and your ISP. A dedicated leased line is typically used by businesses that want an always-on data connection with an SLA as using the Internet is core to their business using technology such as cloud applications, video conferencing, VPN’s, business VOIP telephony/telecoms systems and the requirement to upload large files which require low latency, fixed bandwidth connectivity and symmetric upload speeds to work efficiently. So, what are the advantages…
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This blog explore and analyse the leased line vs broadband decision that faces every business. We weigh up the pros and cons of each technology, drilling right down to specific broadband connections available to the UK market, and help businesses determine what is the right fit for them! Symmetric v Asymmetric Connectivity  A leased line is a dedicated fibre optic cable that…
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Stream Networks are delighted to announce our partnership with full-fibre connectivity provider ITS Technology Group. The partnership enables Stream to access ITS’ entire faster Britain footprint with the addition of a layer 2 interconnect to the Stream network. The addition of ITS is a further footstep on our journey to bring all of the UK’s…
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The broadband market in the United Kingdom continues to evolve.  We’ve gone from ADSL Broadband to Fibre broadband. Fibre to the Cabinet (FTTC) to Fibre to the Premises (FTTP). From Superfast broadband to ultrafast broadband – the latter of which we are going to explore today.  What exactly is Ultrafast Broadband? Before we get into the nuts and bolts of Ultrafast Broadband, let’s start with a…
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To run a broadband line test and check the synch rate of a line through the Stream Networks Cascade portal login to Cascade and then click on the yellow search services menu on the right hand side Now find the service you are looking for and want to test in this case we are going…
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