Methods for Improving the Performance of Your Business Network
All businesses rely on a good local area network (LAN) these days. Many of these combine the speed of a structured cabling network with the convenience of a wireless-LAN, or WLAN, which is most usually provided by Wi-Fi technology. However, many companies choose to put up with a network which is no longer fit for purpose. More networkable devices are in use in offices than ever before, and this puts a strain on any LAN, especially one that has been running for a while. What are the best ways of upgrading an existing LAN to make it fit for your current and future business needs?
Flood Wire Your Building
When most offices were first kitted out with data cabling, the number of Ethernet wires run around the office probably reflected the amount of devices that needed to be plugged in in any given area. This usually meant one or two RJ-45 outlets per workstation. These days, there are so many more business tools that require a good network connection, so it is advisable to add more Ethernet wires around the place. Copiers, scanners, video conferencing units and business telephones as well as computers all need fast, wired connections, so flood wiring your office with additional cables so that each desk has three or four RJ-45 outlets is certainly advisable.
Upgrade Your Data Cabling
When Ethernet was first developed, it was common to use circular, BNC-style connectors. Although most Australian offices have the more modern RJ-45 style of data cabling these days, there are a number of standards to consider. Have yours looked at by a professional installer. If your office's data communications are being delivered by Cat-3 or Cat-4 data cables, then you should consider upgrading them. Cat-5 and the superfast Cat-6 versions of data cabling take up no more space in the office but provide much faster networking speeds.
Inter-Connect Your Offices
If you have one or two offices on your site, perhaps on different levels of a large office block, then connecting them on a single LAN is a good route to go down for greater reliability. This will mean that less traffic goes out onto the public telephone network via the cloud or through a virtual private network, or VPN. To connect two offices efficiently, a fibre optic installation will be best. This affords the ability to pass a great deal of information back and forth with a much greater bandwidth than conventional data cables provide. Fibre optic connections will also work over greater distances than Ethernet cables, which are limited to about 100 metres.
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