7 Reasons Your Office Network Is Slow<\/h1><\/div>![\"Employee](\"https:\/\/iesmartsystems.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/slow-office-internet.jpg\" "\\"slow-office-internet\\"")
<\/span><\/div><\/div>Once upon a time, the telephone was considered a luxury. Today, it\u2019s considered a basic utility. The internet has undergone a similar shift in society and business. The coronavirus pandemic and the rise of remote work pushed that shift even farther. The internet is a basic utility that every business depends on. When it works well, everybody is happy. When it runs slowly, productivity grinds to a halt. In fact, 75% of business owners claim that slow internet connectivity has a negative impact on their profitability. <\/p>\n
There are lots of factors that contribute to slow internet speeds, and we\u2019re going to cover seven of the most common. If you\u2019ve ever wondered why your office internet is so slow, it\u2019s likely that one of these scenarios was in play.<\/p>\n<\/div>
Inadequate Infrastructure<\/h2><\/div>The cables that carry information for the internet behave a little like water pipes. If you have a small pipe coming into your house, it won\u2019t matter how big your faucet is or how wide you open it, you\u2019ll only get as much water as the pipe coming into your house can handle.<\/p>\n
So, if you\u2019re in an older building with a CAT5 cable network, you\u2019ll never see any speeds over 100Mbps. If you were to upgrade that network to CAT6a cable, you\u2019d have the possibility of seeing 10Gbps instead (that\u2019s 100 times faster).<\/p>\n
What\u2019s the solution?<\/strong>
You should be able to examine your network and learn if the structured cable is in need of an upgrade<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/div>Old Equipment<\/h2><\/div>Following quickly after the importance of high-speed structured cable is the state of your equipment, including modems, switches, and routers. Just because you can plug a CAT6a cable into your modem, and you\u2019re paying for gigabit speeds from your ISP, doesn\u2019t mean that your modem can translate that over to your switch, and subsequently to your router.<\/p>\n
What\u2019s the solution?<\/strong>
Run a quick inventory on your equipment and check the specifications. What\u2019s the piece of equipment with the lowest speed rating? That\u2019s your bottleneck. You\u2019ll be amazed what happens. (Pro tip: consider upgrading your equipment every 5 years or so for peak performance)<\/p>\n<\/div>Poor Signal Coverage<\/h2><\/div>If your structured cable network is analogous to a network of water pipes, then your router is a water sprinkler. If your sprinkler sprays water in a circle (similar to the signal pattern of a router) the farthest edges of the circle get the lowest volume of water. Likewise, walls and doors can impede the signal, creating dead spots that are still within the optimal signal range.<\/p>\n
What\u2019s the solution?<\/strong>
Essentially, you need to install more sprinklers, or make your current sprinklers more powerful (remember, we\u2019re talking about routers). A distributed antenna system (DAS)<\/a> supplying 5G signal to your building provides blazing fast speeds and if set up properly, should have almost no dead spots.<\/p>\n<\/div>Insufficient Bandwidth<\/h2><\/div>Let\u2019s keep going with the water pipe analogy (it\u2019s not very scientific, but it gives you a strong idea). You can have a small pipe with fast-moving water in it. Or you can have a huge pipe with slow-moving water in it. For data networks, speed tells you how fast data can move, and bandwidth tells you the overall volume of data that can move.<\/p>\n
Each device that connects to your network occupies a certain amount of bandwidth. And bandwidth isn\u2019t infinite. This is why your smartphone slows to a crawl at music concerts or other large gatherings of people \u2014 everyone is trying to use bandwidth and there isn\u2019t enough to go around.<\/p>\n
What\u2019s the solution?<\/strong>
Look for ways to increase your bandwidth (see the previous suggestions) and review your access control policy<\/a>. Your employees may be bringing additional devices such as tablets, smart speakers, and smartphones that will consume bandwidth and bog the whole system down. You might even consider installing a guest network for personal devices and restrict access on your primary network to work-approved devices.<\/p>\n<\/div>IT Updates Are Required<\/h2><\/div>Software updates rarely seem to pop up at convenient moments and it\u2019s common for employees to ignore updates repeatedly. This behavior leads to a backlog of updates and machines that are vulnerable to viruses and malware. It can also prevent your equipment from taking advantage of performance improvements. IT updates don\u2019t just apply to laptops, it also applies to firmware updates for modems, switches, and routers.<\/p>\n
<\/span><\/div>Once upon a time, the telephone was considered a luxury. Today, it\u2019s considered a basic utility. The internet has undergone a similar shift in society and business. The coronavirus pandemic and the rise of remote work pushed that shift even farther. The internet is a basic utility that every business depends on. When it works well, everybody is happy. When it runs slowly, productivity grinds to a halt. In fact, 75% of business owners claim that slow internet connectivity has a negative impact on their profitability. <\/p>\n
There are lots of factors that contribute to slow internet speeds, and we\u2019re going to cover seven of the most common. If you\u2019ve ever wondered why your office internet is so slow, it\u2019s likely that one of these scenarios was in play.<\/p>\n<\/div>
Inadequate Infrastructure<\/h2><\/div>The cables that carry information for the internet behave a little like water pipes. If you have a small pipe coming into your house, it won\u2019t matter how big your faucet is or how wide you open it, you\u2019ll only get as much water as the pipe coming into your house can handle.<\/p>\n
So, if you\u2019re in an older building with a CAT5 cable network, you\u2019ll never see any speeds over 100Mbps. If you were to upgrade that network to CAT6a cable, you\u2019d have the possibility of seeing 10Gbps instead (that\u2019s 100 times faster).<\/p>\n
What\u2019s the solution?<\/strong>
You should be able to examine your network and learn if the structured cable is in need of an upgrade<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/div>Old Equipment<\/h2><\/div>Following quickly after the importance of high-speed structured cable is the state of your equipment, including modems, switches, and routers. Just because you can plug a CAT6a cable into your modem, and you\u2019re paying for gigabit speeds from your ISP, doesn\u2019t mean that your modem can translate that over to your switch, and subsequently to your router.<\/p>\n
What\u2019s the solution?<\/strong>
Run a quick inventory on your equipment and check the specifications. What\u2019s the piece of equipment with the lowest speed rating? That\u2019s your bottleneck. You\u2019ll be amazed what happens. (Pro tip: consider upgrading your equipment every 5 years or so for peak performance)<\/p>\n<\/div>Poor Signal Coverage<\/h2><\/div>If your structured cable network is analogous to a network of water pipes, then your router is a water sprinkler. If your sprinkler sprays water in a circle (similar to the signal pattern of a router) the farthest edges of the circle get the lowest volume of water. Likewise, walls and doors can impede the signal, creating dead spots that are still within the optimal signal range.<\/p>\n
What\u2019s the solution?<\/strong>
Essentially, you need to install more sprinklers, or make your current sprinklers more powerful (remember, we\u2019re talking about routers). A distributed antenna system (DAS)<\/a> supplying 5G signal to your building provides blazing fast speeds and if set up properly, should have almost no dead spots.<\/p>\n<\/div>Insufficient Bandwidth<\/h2><\/div>Let\u2019s keep going with the water pipe analogy (it\u2019s not very scientific, but it gives you a strong idea). You can have a small pipe with fast-moving water in it. Or you can have a huge pipe with slow-moving water in it. For data networks, speed tells you how fast data can move, and bandwidth tells you the overall volume of data that can move.<\/p>\n
Each device that connects to your network occupies a certain amount of bandwidth. And bandwidth isn\u2019t infinite. This is why your smartphone slows to a crawl at music concerts or other large gatherings of people \u2014 everyone is trying to use bandwidth and there isn\u2019t enough to go around.<\/p>\n
What\u2019s the solution?<\/strong>
Look for ways to increase your bandwidth (see the previous suggestions) and review your access control policy<\/a>. Your employees may be bringing additional devices such as tablets, smart speakers, and smartphones that will consume bandwidth and bog the whole system down. You might even consider installing a guest network for personal devices and restrict access on your primary network to work-approved devices.<\/p>\n<\/div>IT Updates Are Required<\/h2><\/div>Software updates rarely seem to pop up at convenient moments and it\u2019s common for employees to ignore updates repeatedly. This behavior leads to a backlog of updates and machines that are vulnerable to viruses and malware. It can also prevent your equipment from taking advantage of performance improvements. IT updates don\u2019t just apply to laptops, it also applies to firmware updates for modems, switches, and routers.<\/p>\n
The cables that carry information for the internet behave a little like water pipes. If you have a small pipe coming into your house, it won\u2019t matter how big your faucet is or how wide you open it, you\u2019ll only get as much water as the pipe coming into your house can handle.<\/p>\n
So, if you\u2019re in an older building with a CAT5 cable network, you\u2019ll never see any speeds over 100Mbps. If you were to upgrade that network to CAT6a cable, you\u2019d have the possibility of seeing 10Gbps instead (that\u2019s 100 times faster).<\/p>\n
What\u2019s the solution?<\/strong> Following quickly after the importance of high-speed structured cable is the state of your equipment, including modems, switches, and routers. Just because you can plug a CAT6a cable into your modem, and you\u2019re paying for gigabit speeds from your ISP, doesn\u2019t mean that your modem can translate that over to your switch, and subsequently to your router.<\/p>\n What\u2019s the solution?<\/strong> If your structured cable network is analogous to a network of water pipes, then your router is a water sprinkler. If your sprinkler sprays water in a circle (similar to the signal pattern of a router) the farthest edges of the circle get the lowest volume of water. Likewise, walls and doors can impede the signal, creating dead spots that are still within the optimal signal range.<\/p>\n What\u2019s the solution?<\/strong> Let\u2019s keep going with the water pipe analogy (it\u2019s not very scientific, but it gives you a strong idea). You can have a small pipe with fast-moving water in it. Or you can have a huge pipe with slow-moving water in it. For data networks, speed tells you how fast data can move, and bandwidth tells you the overall volume of data that can move.<\/p>\n Each device that connects to your network occupies a certain amount of bandwidth. And bandwidth isn\u2019t infinite. This is why your smartphone slows to a crawl at music concerts or other large gatherings of people \u2014 everyone is trying to use bandwidth and there isn\u2019t enough to go around.<\/p>\n What\u2019s the solution?<\/strong> Software updates rarely seem to pop up at convenient moments and it\u2019s common for employees to ignore updates repeatedly. This behavior leads to a backlog of updates and machines that are vulnerable to viruses and malware. It can also prevent your equipment from taking advantage of performance improvements. IT updates don\u2019t just apply to laptops, it also applies to firmware updates for modems, switches, and routers.<\/p>\n
You should be able to examine your network and learn if the structured cable is in need of an upgrade<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/div>Old Equipment<\/h2><\/div>
Run a quick inventory on your equipment and check the specifications. What\u2019s the piece of equipment with the lowest speed rating? That\u2019s your bottleneck. You\u2019ll be amazed what happens. (Pro tip: consider upgrading your equipment every 5 years or so for peak performance)<\/p>\n<\/div>Poor Signal Coverage<\/h2><\/div>
Essentially, you need to install more sprinklers, or make your current sprinklers more powerful (remember, we\u2019re talking about routers). A distributed antenna system (DAS)<\/a> supplying 5G signal to your building provides blazing fast speeds and if set up properly, should have almost no dead spots.<\/p>\n<\/div>Insufficient Bandwidth<\/h2><\/div>
Look for ways to increase your bandwidth (see the previous suggestions) and review your access control policy<\/a>. Your employees may be bringing additional devices such as tablets, smart speakers, and smartphones that will consume bandwidth and bog the whole system down. You might even consider installing a guest network for personal devices and restrict access on your primary network to work-approved devices.<\/p>\n<\/div>IT Updates Are Required<\/h2><\/div>
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