Educating yourself about the factors that affect network performance is crucial for any business owner, giving you the knowledge needed to fix any performance issues that crop up. Using a 10Gbps internet leased line can help to improve your network performance, providing you with a dedicated connection that is used solely for your organisation.
However, performance issues can still arise with a business leased line, which is where M247 can help you. As one of the UK’s leading service providers, we’re well-versed in all connectivity matters, able to help you solve your network issues with ease.
In the meantime, if you’d like to talk to someone about our dedicated leased lines, you can make an enquiry here.
Our Top Four Factors That Affect Network Performance
In the 21st century, working out the factors that affect network performance is no longer optional – it’s now a necessity. Neglecting the performance of your network infrastructure can lead to a poor employee and user experience. If your performance issues continue, you may end up with a hefty reduction in traffic and conversions.
Luckily, our expert team is here to help, putting our years of experience to good use. Here, we’ll take you through the top factors that affect network performance, so you can make the necessary fixes when necessary.
Bandwidth
One of the main issues that can affect your network performance is your bandwidth. Bandwidth is sometimes confused with network speed, but they’re both slightly different. Bandwidth refers to the maximum amount of data that can be transferred over a dedicated internet connection, whereas the phrase network speed is used to reference your network’s data transfer rate.
Essentially, bandwidth is the amount of data that can be sent and received through your network at any given time. It’s usually measured in bits per second, with both megabits per second (Mbps) and gigabits per second (Gbps) being the most common bandwidth types. The lower your bandwidth, the less data can be sent through your network, which can lead to it slowing down and even becoming unusable in some circumstances. Gigabits are larger than megabits, so gigabit internet is usually recommended over other connections.
It’s important to note that streaming based services (such as video streaming or audio streaming) can consume large amounts of bandwidth. High web traffic and the use of mission critical services like BUaaS/DRaaS can have a major impact on SaaS delivered apps and voice/video streaming. If you have a large body of staff using these applications at the same time, you may need to upgrade your bandwidth.
If you have low bandwidth, you can quickly reach your maximum capacity, which can massively reduce your network reliability. Not only will this lead to a low level of data delivery, but it can also cause issues with videos lagging and websites refusing to load. If you’re noticing issues with your bandwidth, it may be worth upgrading your capacity, as this will improve the overall user experience and reduce your network latency.
What Is Network Latency?
The term network latency refers to the amount of time it takes for a data packet to move one place from another. It’s preferable to have a lower level of latency, as this means your network can process a large volume of data with minimal delay. The lower the latency, the faster your network will be and the greater performance you’ll see.
On the other hand, the higher your network latency, the more your network will slow down and lag.
Wireless Networking Woes
Another common issue that can affect your network performance is your wireless network itself. It’s very rare that people use dial-up internet nowadays, as managed wifi connections have really taken off in recent years. If you’re struggling with your wifi network, your service provider will usually have a set of specific instructions to follow if performance issues continue.
However, we can also provide some recommendations to help you with your wireless network. One of the first things you’ll want to do is check your access points, which are devices that can send and receive data within a specific area. Depending on the area you live in and the type of wireless network you have, your wifi signal may not reach every area of your home or business.
Access points solve the wifi interference dilemma, allowing your wifi signal to reach other parts of your location, also providing faster data transfers. If your access points are not working, you’ll likely notice a drop in performance and signal strength. It could be as simple as moving your access points to a slightly different location, as some building materials can cause wifi interference.
If you’ve checked your wireless access points, you can start to look at other aspects of your wireless network that might lead to a performance drop. For example, the type of wifi you use can differ vastly, with older variations more likely to cause issues. Wifi 6E is the current iteration, which we recommend using for your business, but Wifi 7 is also expected to be released later on this year.
It’s also common for wireless networks to experience congestion if there are too many devices using them at once. In these situations, you may want to consider upgrading your bandwidth, updating your router, purchasing new routers or using wireless repeaters to boost your wifi signal strength.
Over-Reliance on Internet of Things (IoT) Technology
Internet of Things (IoT) technology alludes to any devices that connect to the internet. Mobile phones and tablets are technically classified as IoT tools, but smart devices such as smart light switches, doorbells, and smartwatches also come under this banner.
IoT tech is becoming increasingly popular – according to Statista, there are over 75 billion IoT devices predicted to be in use worldwide by 2025. Whilst this is largely seen as a positive thing, having too many IoT devices attached to your network can have a negative impact on your network, device and application performance. You may experience lag and high latency if this is the case – particularly if your devices run on different cellular networks (such as 5G and 3G).
In these situations, splitting your wireless devices up and placing them on different networks may be effective. However, you can also mitigate these issues by having a high-quality wifi network (e.g. wifi 6E), backed by high bandwidth, a powerful network design and enough access points.
Too Many Users or Devices
This point links into the previous section about IoT technology a little – the more users and wireless devices you have using your network at any one time, the slower it will become.
Overloading your network increases your bandwidth requirements, making things slow down increasingly as your bandwidth runs out. If you have hundreds of people attempting to use your wifi at any one time, it’s likely your network will start to struggle. High latency is a particular risk when too many users are connected to your internet connection, decreasing your network reliability greatly.
If you’re a growing business and you’ve noticed your network performance has dipped over the years, you could have too many users using your wifi – particularly if you have a shared business broadband connection. If you have a limited amount of bandwidth, you may find that there isn’t enough bandwidth for all this data to be sent and received at the same time. This is another area in which splitting your networks up could be helpful, but extra bandwidth and installing more access points are also recommended.
Even if you don’t perceive that many users using your network at the moment, it’s still worth preparing for a prospective rise in devices later on, future-proofing your organisation for potential growth.
Improve Your Network Performance Today
As a business owner, understanding the factors that affect network performance is imperative to your success – particularly if you’re reliant on wireless internet for your work.
Our wireless leased lines are the ideal solution to your performance queries, providing you with a dedicated internet connection that cannot be accessed by anyone else. Not only does this prevent lag and occasions of high latency, but it can also prevent threat actors and cyber criminals from gaining access to your network.
Ready to get started? Get in touch today.
