The following scenario illustrates how Connection Point Services can be used to support an expanding Internet service provider.
ByteComp, Inc., an Internet service provider, is faced with rapid growth and needs to accommodate increasing numbers of subscribers. Much of the ISP’s growth is local to its calling area. But ByteComp also has corporate customers whose employees want increased access capabilities while traveling. At the same time, ByteComp wants to replace their expensive 800-number access charges with a lower-cost Internet remote-access solution.
To accommodate its expanding business needs, the company plans to expand its existing remote access infrastructure and also offer a "Business Class" set of higher-quality POPs (Points of Presence) for their demanding corporate customers. ByteComp joins an alliance of ISPs in order to provide coverage outside its service area.
Because many of its new subscribers are inexperienced computer users, ByteComp realizes that increasing the number of regional access numbers and providing remote POPs will generate a higher volume of calls to technical support. The company, faced with an immediate need to automate the process of updating subscribers with access numbers, decides to deploy Connection Point Services.
Phone Book Service is installed on a server running Windows NT 4.0, and Phone Book Administrator is installed on a computer running Windows NT Server or Windows NT Workstation with an Ethernet connection to the server. Personnel authorized by ByteComp use the administration tool to create a phone book that contains all of the trunk-line and connect information that the ISP offers for Internet access. When changes to access numbers occur, the personnel quickly and easily make the changes, using the administration tool to publish the changes.
Publishing creates the updated phone book files and copies them to the server. For each of ByteComp’s corporate customers (or different access account types), ByteComp keeps all the phone books on the server running Phone Book Service. In addition, ByteComp may deploy a number of Connection Point servers within the infrastructure to guarantee accessibility for users who are connecting to the Internet from various geographical regions.
With Content Replication System (CRS) version 2.0 or later, the phone book can easily be automatically distributed from a master Connection Point server to a number of slave Connection Point servers. CRS is available in Microsoft Site Server 2.0. For more information on using CRS, see the CRS documentation.
ByteComp uses the Connection Manager Administration Kit wizard to create a customized Connection Manager whose profile includes the company logo, tailored online Help, and a customized Connection Manager. ByteComp then packages the profile and Connection Manager for distribution on compact disc or the World Wide Web.
After Connection Manager and the service profile have been installed on the subscribers’ computers, the subscribers are automatically provided with a list of current access phone numbers for their location. Each time subscribers connect, they will effortlessly receive phone book updates.
For more information on Connection Manager and the Administration Kit, see the Connection Manager Administration Kit documentation.