“Before You Buy Faster Internet, Check Your Network”
Your business upgraded to high-speed Internet. Your Internet provider says everything is working properly. A speed test at the modem confirms you’re receiving the bandwidth you’re paying for.
So why does your network still feel slow?
The problem may not be your Internet provider at all.
At American Technology Solutions & Cloud (ATSC), we frequently find that businesses focus on increasing Internet bandwidth without first determining whether their internal wired and wireless network infrastructure can actually support that speed.
You could be paying for a 1 Gigabit, or even faster, Internet connection while employees and devices experience only a fraction of that performance.
The bottleneck may be sitting inside your building.
Your Internet Connection Is Only the Beginning
Think of high-speed Internet as a multi-lane highway delivering traffic to your business.
Once that highway reaches your building, the traffic still has to travel through your:
- Router and firewall
- Core and access switches
- Ethernet cabling
- Power-over-Ethernet infrastructure
- Wireless access points
- Servers and network devices
- Voice-over-IP phones
- Security cameras
- IoT devices and other connected technology
If one or more of those components cannot handle the traffic efficiently, simply purchasing a faster Internet connection may accomplish very little.
Your network is only as effective as the infrastructure carrying the traffic.
Where Are the Network Bottlenecks?
During an ATSC network evaluation, we look beyond a simple Internet speed test.
Several common problems can dramatically affect network performance.
- An Outdated Router or Firewall
Your Internet provider may be delivering the advertised bandwidth to your location, but your router or firewall may not have the processing capacity to pass that traffic at full speed.
Firewall security services, VPN traffic, filtering and other functions can further affect throughput.
Before purchasing additional Internet bandwidth, businesses should determine whether their gateway infrastructure can actually support it.
- Aging or Undersized Data Switches
Network switches are the traffic intersections of your business.
Older switches, limited uplink capacity, improper configurations or an architecture that was designed years ago for a much smaller number of devices can create congestion.
Modern businesses place significantly greater demands on their networks through cloud applications, VoIP, video conferencing, large file transfers, Wi-Fi, security cameras, IoT devices and other applications.
The EnGenius end-to-end architecture also incorporates Layer 3 switching, which can provide better segmentation, local routing between network segments, traffic organization and scalability as an organization grows.
- Wireless Access Points That Can’t Keep Up
Businesses sometimes blame their Internet provider when employees complain that “the Wi-Fi is slow.”
But the Internet connection and the Wi-Fi connection are not the same thing.
Older wireless access points may not support today’s speeds, device density or wireless standards. Coverage problems, interference, poor placement and capacity limitations can further reduce performance.
Upgrading Internet bandwidth won’t fix an underperforming wireless network.
- A Network Built from Too Many Manufacturers
This is one of the most overlooked issues.
Over time, networks tend to grow piece by piece.
One company installs the firewall. Another provides switches. Someone else installs Wi-Fi. Security cameras come from another vendor. Each product may have its own management console, configuration method, support organization and lifecycle.
The result can be a fragmented infrastructure that is more difficult to monitor, troubleshoot, secure and optimize.
As the EnGenius end-to-end presentation illustrates, every additional vendor can introduce another operational boundary. When a problem occurs, the firewall vendor may blame the network, the network vendor may blame another device, and the Internet provider may correctly report that its connection is functioning.
Meanwhile, the customer is stuck in the middle.
One Network. One Architecture. One Cloud Platform.
ATSC takes a different approach.
We offer an end-to-end wired and wireless network solution powered by EnGenius Technologies and if Cabling is outdated, we are ready to upgrade that as well.
Rather than assembling a business network from disconnected components, an EnGenius solution can bring together:
- VPN router and firewall
- Layer 2 PoE switching
- Layer 3 switching
- Indoor wireless access points
- Outdoor wireless access points
- Cloud-based network management
- Power management
- AI-enabled surveillance solutions
The EnGenius approach is built around one cloud, one platform and one integrated infrastructure.
That provides ATSC with centralized visibility to provision, monitor and manage the network while helping businesses reduce unnecessary complexity.
Don’t Buy More Internet Until You Know Where the Bottleneck Is
If you’re paying for high-speed Internet but still experiencing slow wired connections, poor Wi-Fi performance, dropped connections or inconsistent network speeds, don’t automatically assume you need a faster Internet plan.
First, find out where the slowdown is actually occurring.
Moving from a 1 Gigabit Internet service to 2 Gigabit service won’t solve the problem if an outdated firewall, switch or wireless infrastructure is creating the bottleneck.
You could simply end up paying more each month to deliver additional bandwidth to equipment that still can’t use it.
ATSC Will Evaluate Your Network at No Charge
American Technology Solutions & Cloud offers businesses a FREE onsite wired and wireless network evaluation.
Our team can evaluate the path from your Internet connection through your internal infrastructure and help identify potential performance bottlenecks.
We’ll look at areas such as your Internet handoff, router/firewall, switching infrastructure, wired network and wireless access points.
We’ll then provide recommendations designed to help you understand where improvements may be needed and how your infrastructure can be better positioned for today’s requirements and future growth.
There is no reason to guess, and no reason to replace equipment simply because it is there.
Measure first. Understand the bottleneck. Then make an informed technology investment.
How Fast Is Your Network—Really?
Your Internet provider may be delivering exactly what you’re paying for.
The bigger question is:
How much of that performance is actually reaching your employees and devices?
Let’s find out.
Visit American Technology Solutions & Cloud and complete the short form on our homepage to arrange your FREE onsite network analysis.
Fast Internet deserves a network designed to keep up.
American Technology Solutions & Cloud — Empowering Your Business through Technology.
