Most homes and businesses use Wi-Fi of some sort. It is the most useful way to get the computing resources to computers and mobile devices without having to go through the headache of laying cables and dealing with data overages. What you may not know about your Wi-Fi network is that it can be set up in a way that can ensure that your most important Wi-Fi processes get the bandwidth they need. Let’s take a look at how partitioning your Wi-Fi can benefit your business.
Bandwidth and Your Wireless Network
Your business pays for a set amount of bandwidth from your Internet Service Provider and most of the time there is enough bandwidth to allow your staff the freedom to use it as they need. A problem that pops up from this is when certain people engage in resource-intensive tasks that siphon the effectiveness of your network from other users.
One example of this is when your business relies on a point-of-sale system. You need that system to capture customer data and payments efficiently and effectively. If your network is bogged down with other bandwidth-intensive tasks, you may run into problems with your POS system. This can have an effect on the way your business is perceived by customers. This can also be a problem when you have several workers using Internet-hosted communications tools like email and VoIP.
What is Partitioning?
If you can excuse the analogy, think of your available bandwidth like garden hose. No matter how much water is needed, it can only flow as fast as the hose allows it to flow. Bandwidth works the same way, once the bandwidth is occupied, the data flow will be queued until there is available space to get it through. The bottleneck in this example slows down all processes.
Partitioning is the act of setting aside a particular amount of bandwidth for a specific purpose. Going back to the POS example, a non-partitioned network may not provide the speed and reliability you are looking for out of your POS system, and therefore can hold your business back.
How Do You Partition a Network?
The first thing you will want to do is determine what percentage of your network you could effectively partition without it being a problem for your business’ general well-being. Say you wanted to divide your network to accommodate a VoIP platform. You would partition your network at the router level, putting aside a percentage of the available bandwidth for only VoIP calls. Then you can protect that amount of bandwidth through an authentication system. That way your calls are crisp and clear, as the other tasks happening on the Wi-Fi network won’t cut into the telephone system’s bandwidth (and vice versa).
Setting your business’ technology up effectively can enhance productivity, efficiency, and cut down on operational costs. If you would like to talk to one of our knowledgeable consultants about getting your network set up to accommodate your needs, call us today at (215) 853-2266.
