How many on a T1 2906

Bob van der Poel

I'd like to point out that good caching proxy server between your users and the T-1 can really reduce traffic on the T-1 by putting the most commonly accessed content nearer to your users. A caching proxy server (e.g. Squid) can even be set up to run transparently (with a little work a little help from iptables), so your users don't need to configure their systems to user your proxy; they just end up getting the cached copy without even knowing it.

Likewise running your own news server (something such as Leafnode) moves content to your end of the T-1 rather than the far side of it. You can control what news traffic is coming over the T-1, and make sure that articles only need to traverse it once no matter how many of your users are subscribed to that group.

Little things that reduce the amount of bandwidth needed per user can certainly increase the number of users you can support on a T-1 line.

FWIW, Bell's marketing materials suggest a T-1 for a LAN with 10-30 users. Since your wireless broadband service isn't dramtacially different from a wireless LAN, 10-30 *concurrent* users on your T-1 would be reasonable. (Total subscribers is a different story.)

You might also be interested in reading some of the docs at