Book excerpt: If you haven't worked with T1 before, you could be in for an unpleasant surprise. If you have, you'll already know that T1, the current network standard for business and professional Internet access, is neither efficient, easy to use, nor particularly well-suited to data transmission. T1: A Survival Guide, a practical, applied reference on T1 data transport, is a life raft for navigating the shoals of a 40-year-old technology originally designed for AT&T's voice network.Throughout T1's long life, network administrators have mainly learned it by apprenticeship, stumbling on troubleshooting tidbits and filing them away until they were needed again. This book brings together in one reference the information you need to set up, test, and troubleshoot T1.T1: A Survival Guide covers the following broad topics: What components are needed to build a T1 line, and how those components interact to transmit data effectively How to use standardized link layer protocols to adapt the T1 physical layer to work with data networks How to troubleshoot problems and work with the telephone company, equipment manufacturers, and Internet service providers In spite of its limitations, T1 is a proven, reliable technology that currently meets the need for medium-speed, high reliability Internet access by institutions of many sizes, and it's likely to be around for a while. T1: A Survival Guide will take the guesswork out of using T1 as a data transport.