Setting up your ideal network environment can be tricky. Here are a few things to avoid when setting up your network at your small business.
Lack of security on your network
Avoid this at all costs. A secure network is a happy network and, not to mention, a reliable one. This is especially needed if your business depends on confidentiality.
Lack of security leaves you vulnerable to hackers or curious individuals that could obtain information that could be vital to your business.
Ideally, a firewall is an essential choice when security is a factor in your networking environment.
Insecure wireless networking
A wireless connection is a convenient way for wireless devices such as printers, phones, laptops, or any other device that has wireless capability to connect to your network.
However, the convenience factor can turn problematic if left insecure.
When it comes to wireless networking as a security factor, always set a password on your SSID (such as WPSK or WPSK2). Your password should – at the very least – include a capital letter, numbers, and special characters such as “!”.
Poor network management
Poor network management is a much overlooked problem and can quickly become the worst thing that could happen to any small business network.
Good management of your networking equipment will keep your network secure. Poor management can lead to vulnerabilities in the network due to a lack of updates and a lack of securing ports, leading to possible intrusion from hackers.
Remember, all aspects of management are very important. This can include detailed and organized cabling, updating firewall firmware, updating servers and workstations, and securing ports on your server or end-user computers.
Network management – when done right – is ideal for your small business network and should be done by an IT professional such as Tech Experts.
Bad placement of Wi-Fi access points
Bad placement of a WAP can be a huge problem for wireless network signal performance. Poor signal strength can cause slow connections to both the Internet and your local area network and causes sluggish performance of your overall network.
It isn’t enough to simply choose the strongest WAP; it also needs to be placed where it can work properly.
To make sure you get the best performance out of it, it should be located in the center of the area you need to cover.
You should also keep in mind that the weakest signal points are directly below and above your WAP.
Cutting corners on speed
Buying a 10 mbps switch just because it’s on sale is a bad idea. Speed is your friend, especially when setting up your small business network.
A faster network will increase activity and save you time and money in the long run. 1 gbps equipment should be the ideal solution to not only transfer traffic faster, but access everything on your network faster.
We know networks aren’t easy as pie, which is why we always recommend having a professional IT team set up your office.
Cheaper isn’t better, especially when a poorly done set-up can cause large problems once you’re operating.
If you’re looking to set up a new building or relocate (or even redo your current office), give us a call at (734) 457-5000, or email at info@mytechexperts.com, to see what we can do for you.