Jumping right in, today we're going to chat about Network Visibility and some tools for your company to track down any culprits using up your resources.
As an IT Guy, one of my least favorite things to hear is,
"My network is slow."
It seems like there is slowness abound these days. Everything we own connects to WiFi, and there never seems to be enough juice.
My next least favorite question is always, "but why is it slow?" Usually followed with, "I should have plenty of juice, based on the number of people and office devices."
These questions are trickier than they sound. Usually, there are multiple factors to the overall "slowness" you're experiencing, and it's frequently hiding in plain sight.
Let’s go over how network visibility can help you pinpoint the "why" of a slow running network quickly and efficiently.
What is Network Visibility?
First, we start off by asking if our clients (and non-clients alike), know what's happening on their network.
The reality is everyone has to ask themselves these 3 questions:
- How many devices are using up your resources?
- Does your bandwidth support company-wide needs?
- Can you see or monitor everything that is happening on your network?
Connectivity is gold these days. Bandwidth is one of the most important things when chatting about connectivity. Your bandwidth and your network connectivity are what keeps your systems and people efficient.
For instance, if you have a Cloud infrastructure you’ll need enough bandwidth support to reach all your files, folders, and documents online. If you have a local network, you’ll need connectivity to power your systems and switches.
The ability to see what is happening on your system is what the IT world calls Network Visibility. As you can imagine, visibility into all aspects of your system is becoming critical as we rely more on connectivity, and here is why.
How Network Visibility Makes You More Efficient
Your network seems slower than usual, or maybe you can't put your finger on it, but since a new system was put in, something is off. It only takes one device configured incorrectly to impact the entire company.
Take for instance, a new IP camera or IP phone system. Most likely a third-party vendor was brought in to install it. Their job is to unplug the old equipment and plugin their product. They unfortunately, don’t know the ins and outs of your network and the smallest thing configured incorrectly can impact the entire company.
It can take a significant amount of time to diagnose that one tiny issue without manageable equipment and a network visibility solution in place, especially if you aren't quite sure what's wrong.
Luckily, technology is VERY smart these days, and your network equipment is no different. Things such as switches or wireless access points are capable of a lot, including integrated visibility. They can help you monitor your network, bandwidth, and device connectivity.
Without this tool you will continue to spend time being frustrated with slowness issues and time wasted trying to figure out where the actual slowness is coming from. This isn’t a passing fad either, it’ll become increasingly important as we rely more and more on connectivity every single day.
When all is said and done, keeping your bandwidth and network connectivity system visible will only positively impact efficiency at your company.
Have more questions? We're happy to chat anytime. Give us a call at 800-481-4369.
Ask an IT Guy
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Ask an IT Guy was created with you in mind. This bi-monthly blog series will help you get to the bottom of IT questions you didn't even know you had.
Related: IT Untangled: Upgrading Your Network with an Outsourced IT Company
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