'What is' guides

AI Direct is Arelion’s high-performance connectivity suite, built to power the most challenging AI networking demands.

In a complex networking world, the difference between underlay and overlay network technologies and functionality is useful to understand.

In today's digital age, enterprise cybersecurity is essential for protecting organizations from evolving cyber threats. It involves a comprehensive set of processes, rules, and measures designed to prevent and mitigate network attacks.

Toll-free numbers (starting with 8xx) allow callers to make free calls, with costs covered by the recipient. They are billed for incoming calls.

Virtual phone numbers, or VoIP numbers, are not tied to a specific device or location, offering flexibility and allowing users to be reached anywhere.

A managed network is a service where providers assist in building and maintaining a core network - ensuring it grows efficiently, quickly, and is sufficiently scalable for evolving business needs.

A network map is a visual representation of the various links and elements in a network. It illustrates physical and even logical relationships within a certain geographical area, making it easier to manage and monitor the network - and plan for future growth.

Internet rankings serve as a valuable tool for diverse stakeholders and decision-makers, including users, businesses, policymakers and researchers, offering important insights into Internet performance, market dynamics, security threats, and policy implications.

An E-LAN connection is an any-to-any or multipoint-to-multipoint Layer 2 Virtual LAN service that connects two or more user points or sites, offering a full mesh connectivity. Learn more here.

VPN (Ethernet Virtual Private Network) is a WAN technology used to extend Layer 2 and Layer 3 connectivity between different network sites and segments. It is commonly used for interconnecting Layer 2 networks within and between large data centers. Learn more here. 

A flash call is an authentication method for verifying identity without requiring any specific action from the end-user. It is a relatively new technique for implementing two-factor authentication (2FA). Learn more here.

Network redundancy exists where technologies and strategies are implemented within a network to preserve network stability by reducing or eliminating disturbances and downtime. Learn more here. 

Network latency can be defined as the time delay incurred when transmitting data between a source and its destination. It is a critical consideration in the telecommunications industry, especially as the demand for real-time applications and services continues to grow. Learn more here. 

Dedicated Internet Access or DIA is a direct, private-line connection, ensuring fully dedicated IP connectivity with a high level of security. DIA is the critical point where your own network meets the Internet. Learn more here. 

Dark fiber services are for those that need a lot of traffic between two endpoints and at the same time want to have full control of the network at the highest security level. Learn more here. 

Network security is the protection of network infrastructure from unauthorized access, misuse, or theft. Learn more here.

The benefits offered by cloud technology explain its widespread adoption in today's globally interconnected network landscape. Simply defined, the term 'on-ramp' is 'a short road that provides access to a highway or other main road'. Learn more here.

Remotely Triggered Black Hole (RTBH) is best explained as “blocking undesirable data traffic at the edge of a network (based on either source or destination IP addresses) before it reaches the network”. Learn how it works here.

RPKI is a secure identification system for BGP updates between autonomous systems. It reduces the risk of accidental route leaks and hijacks – learn how it works here.

Border Gateway Protocol (BGP) is effectively the universal navigation system of the Internet, a digital postal service that provides the necessary routing information for public Internet networks, or autonomous systems (AS) to steer traffic to each other. Learn more about it here.

Application-to-Person (A2P) messaging is one-direction messaging from an application to a person where no reply is expected. The utilization of A2P covers a broad spectrum, including notifications, PIN codes, 2FA (2-Factor Authentication) reminders and critical alerts to name a few. 

DDoS attack stands for "Distributed Denial-of-Service (DDoS) attack" and refers to a bombardment of an Internet entity with a huge amount of data traffic in order to destabilize the system and disturb regular data flow.

Cloud Connect is a secure and reliable connection between an organization’s IT infrastructure and cloud computing services. Organizations access cloud resources (such as storage, computing power, and applications) seamlessly using a private connection, just as if they were using their own data centers.

DWDM has played an important role in optical networks, and increased the data capacity and utilization of the physical fiber dramatically. DWDM technology is based on the combination and transmission of multiple optical signals, with dedicated wavelengths simultaneously using the same fiber cable. Here’s how it works…

Arelion Ethernet solutions offer secure, high-capacity networks with scalable bandwidth up to 40Gbps on 100GE interfaces and flexibility of EVPL and ELAN topologies. 

The public Internet is a complex mesh of almost one hundred thousand different, but ‘open’ network. At the core of the Internet is the Internet backbone provider. Here you can find out more about its fundamental principles.

IP Transit is a wholesale Internet access service which facilitates access for AS networks to the rest of the Internet via the border gateway protocol (BGP). This guide explains how it works.