7 Problems Lurking On Your Network
How good are you at spotting problems?
Let’s find out! Can you find the hidden cat in the picture?
While spotting an issue on your network may not be as easy as finding a cat hidden among owls, there is a way you can get visibility across your network!
Even with regular maintenance and monitoring there are always problems hiding in your network that you had no idea were there. While these problems may not be immediately causing an issue, or you have just put up with poor quality, lag and long load times, not knowing that it can be resolved.
Here are 7 problems to watch for that could be lurking in your network:
- Single points of failure– this potential risk is a flaw in your network infrastructure that can allow your entire system to stop operating should the single link your business is relying on, go down. The obvious solution is to add a backup link to your network, so that one link is working well and everything runs smoothly.
- Misallocation of bandwidth– are you focusing all your bandwidth on streaming services like Netflix and YouTube? Wondering why your sales calls are lagging? Check and see where your bandwidth is allocated because that could be your answer.
- Bandwidth intensive applications– Do you know which applications are running on your network? Take a closer look for bandwidth intensive applications, such as real-time communications like voice and video conferencing, streaming services and online gaming.
- Not recognizing patterns– Whether you’re operating an office building, running a hotel, or managing several operations in different areas in the world, each business has patterns that can be recognized and planned for. Using time of day thresholds will help you plan and redirect traffic to the appropriate channels for better reliability and improved network performance.
- Negative interactions between different systems on your network– Use application mapping to drill down to the root cause if a service is affected. By importing all the mapping and groups from your monitoring and service management tools, it can be easy to know exactly where the issues are.
- Link Flapping– do you ever notice that your video call cuts in and out randomly? Path flapping happens when a link alternates between being available and unavailable in quick succession. Using a Link Balancer will help determine if the path is not responsive and your backup link can take over until the issue has been resolved.
- Relying on the Cloud without a backup plan– while the Cloud has become a convenient and flexible way to store data, instances where network goes down, do happen- then what? Cloud Connectors are a reliable way to ensure business continuity by aggregating and optimizing links from multiple providers and technologies to allow you to access your information even in an outage.
As a service provider, it’s important to watch for these simple issues that could be lurking on a network that you manage. For more information related to Managed Service Providers and how to deliver stellar internet performance, check out our eBook.