Coleman Technologies Blog

Let’s go over what this means, how you can go about doing so to your business’ benefit.

Your Wireless Network and its Bandwidth

When you sign on for Internet services from your service provider, you’re effectively subscribing to a preset amount of bandwidth—hopefully, enough for your staff to do everything they need to do. However, once some people start a few resource-intensive tasks, they could potentially pull network resources away from your other users… not the ideal situation.

For example, take a point-of-sale system as it collects customer data and efficiently processes payments. If network resources are being expended in other places, the POS system could experience some challenges, and negatively impact the customer experience. Internet-hosted communication systems, like email or VoIP, are also vulnerable to this.

Fortunately, partitioning can help avoid these hold-ups.

Understanding Partitioning

To understand partitioning, it helps to look at your Internet bandwidth as the wait to be seated in a restaurant. Regardless of whether there are ten people waiting to get in, or two, the restaurant can only hold so many people. Bandwidth is like the number of seats available—once it is filled up, some will have to empty before operations move along. When it comes to your data, running out of bandwidth causes a bottleneck.

To continue this comparison, partitioning is a little bit like reserving a table at our metaphorical restaurant. When you place your reservation, a table is set aside for your specific use. When you partition your bandwidth, that section of bandwidth is reserved for a specific use as well. So, returning to reality for a moment, partitioning your bandwidth essentially just means you’re reserving some of your Internet resources for a certain task. In the case of a POS system, whether you partition your network could potentially be the difference between having the necessary reliability for your payment terminals, or not. This is also used often for VoIP systems, offline backup, and other bandwidth-intensive systems.

What Does Partitioning a Network Require?

When you partition a network, the first step is to establish how much of your network could be partitioned for specific tasks without causing an issue for your business.

Then, it’s just establishing what processes should be partitioned. If you were trying to ensure that a VoIP platform would remain functional, you could partition your network at the router, specifying that so much bandwidth is meant for VoIP processes, and protect this bandwidth with an authentication system. As a result, your telephony would remain crisp and clear, as its bandwidth wouldn’t have other processes borrowing from it (or the other way around).

For assistance with partitioning your business network, or with any other aspect of your business’ IT, Coleman Technologies is here to help. Reach out to us today for predictable and professional managed IT services and support by calling (604) 513-9428.

Whether you know how it works or not, your business has an internal network that connects all of its computing infrastructure and resources. Today, we want to take a moment to demystify some of the common networking equipment you might have on-premises and what it all does to contribute to your business’ continued success.

Networking Equipment You’ll Likely See for SMBs

Aside from the cables connecting everything together (that’s its own separate blog article), you can expect to see three different types of networking equipment on a business’ premises. Of course, the type of equipment used is going to depend on the size of the business, the connection’s purpose, and the available bandwidth or resources on the network.

Network Hubs

For all intents and purposes, network hubs are largely obsolete due to how accessible and affordable network switches have become. Still, we thought we would mention it here, as it helps to understand more about where the technology was and how it has grown since.

The network hub itself is a device for use on a private network, meaning there is no connection to computers that are off the network (like the Internet, for example). Hubs will distribute data packets to all connected devices. Naturally, the hub only has so much bandwidth, so the more devices connected to it, the less available bandwidth there will be for each computer. The resulting slow speeds are a pain for any modern business, and there are better options out there for your networking needs nowadays.

Network Switches

The network switch operates in a similar way to a network hub, but it’s much more focused. Rather than broadcasting your data packets to all connected devices all at the same time, it sends them to the intended destination directly, meaning that bandwidth is saved in the process. They are the better option of the two for your in-house network.

Network Routers

What does the network router do if the network hub and the network switch route data to local computers? It’s simple; it does the opposite. A router allows your network to interface with other networks via the Internet. You can think of it this way: a network switch is what connects your computers to the local area network, and the router is what connects that local area network and its devices to other networks, such as the Internet. In essence, it’s an add-on that provides your network with more functionality.

Of course, the type of equipment your business needs will depend on how many users you have and the types of access you need (local or wireless). If you want to make the best decisions possible for your company’s network infrastructure, we recommend you contact us at Coleman Technologies. Our trusted technicians can help you realize all of your networking needs. To learn more, call us at (604) 513-9428.

Setting up a router used to be a much more complex process than it is today. Thankfully, innovations in the technology have made it simpler and easier for consumers and businesses alike to do, to the point where some Internet service providers just let users do it themselves with guided instructions. Let’s go over how you can get the most out of your wireless router.

Place Your Router in a High-Up, Unobstructed, and Centralized Location

The placement of your router is crucial to your organization getting the most out of it, and it’s mostly because of how Wi-Fi signals work. These signals ripple out from the device, radiating outward from the central location and growing weaker in the process. You should keep it centralized to make the signal reach all parts of your office.

To help the signal along, you also need to make sure that it’s not blocked by anything by keeping a clear line of sight between the router and your devices. Thus, keeping it elevated and out in the open rather than a cabinet or a closet is the best way to go here.

Update Your Router and Its Firmware with Patches

Your router is an easy-to-overlook technology that, while not as complex or dynamic as a computer, still runs on software and, thus, requires patches to stay secure and operational. Outdated security protocols could make your wireless network vulnerable, and outdated firmware might mean that your router is simply not performing as well as it could be. If you want to get the most out of your wireless technology, then keeping your router updated is crucial.

Keep Separate Connections for Personal Devices

You’ll want to keep your personal devices off of your business network, mostly because you don’t want guests and visitors using bandwidth that your employees should be using. Furthermore, letting anyone access your network can be considered a security risk, and limiting who can access your business’ network can be a good step toward keeping it secure.

Coleman Technologies can help you set up a wireless network that aids your company’s efforts at success. To learn more, call us today at (604) 513-9428.

Every organization, whether it’s a farm with a stable full of horses or an office with a stable filled with people, depends on its access to the Internet. Most people take for granted their ability to connect whether it be with their smartphone via Wi-Fi or their workstation, which is typically hardwired. There is a whole infrastructure behind the near ubiquitous Internet access you enjoy. Today, we will go through some of the essential hardware needed. 

Modem

A modem is used to convert digital data from a computer into analog signals for transmission over analog communication lines (such as cable or fiber) or vice versa. It’s the central device of your network as it allows for connection to the Internet. 

Router

Routers are a fundamental networking device that connects different networks together, such as your local network to the Internet. They route data packets between devices in your network and external networks.

Switch

Network switches are used to connect multiple devices within a local area network (LAN). They operate at the data link layer of the Open Systems Interconnection (OSI) model and forward data only to the device it is intended for.

Access Point 

Wireless access points are used to create or extend wireless networks. They allow Wi-Fi enabled devices to connect to a wired network.

Firewall

Firewalls are security devices that filter and monitor network traffic, helping to protect a network from unauthorized access, malware, and other security threats. They need to be updated regularly to ensure that you have all the necessary threat definitions covered.

Hub

Hubs are basic network devices that connect multiple devices in a Local Area Network (LAN). However, they operate at the physical layer and simply broadcast data to all connected devices, which can result in network congestion.

Network Attached Storage

Network Attached Storage (NAS) devices are specialized storage systems designed to store and manage data accessible over a network, providing file sharing and backup capabilities.

Many times modern networking forgoes the physical connections, but many businesses still employ all types of network connections and cables to facilitate the needs of their staff. If you would like to learn more about modern networking and how we can help you build a secure and robust network for your business, regardless of your business, give the IT professionals at Coleman Technologies a call today at (604) 513-9428.