Tip of the Week: Scaling Your Wi-Fi Network

Most modern businesses rely on wireless internet connectivity in their day-to-day processes. Of course, this means that their potential productivity is tied to the quality of their internet and its capability to serve the entire workforce. As a business grows it becomes more important that its Wi-Fi setup can support it. Let’s go over the process of properly scaling your network to your needs.

Identify What Your Needs Are

It is important that you scale your Wi-Fi in the way that best addresses whatever shortcoming you are trying to remedy, which means it is also important that you go into it with a full appreciation of your goals and what accomplishing it will require. How many users will need network access at any given time, and how will they be dispersed throughout the office space? How much bandwidth will their typical processes take up?

Once you’ve determined this, you are in a better position to acquire the appropriate number of access points that you’ll need to provide sufficient connectivity.

Establish Your Current Capabilities

Before you add any other access points, it helps to have an appreciation of what you’re able to accomplish with your setup as it stands. A site survey is a smart strategy to start with, as it would help provide you with a baseline for your existing technology’s performance. How many devices would you expect to be hosting at maximum capacity? Are there any dead zones that could perhaps be resolved with an additional access point?

On the topic, it is actually considered best practice to minimize the number of access points you have installed around the office, as it helps to cut back on the interference they could potentially generate amongst themselves. Using a Wi-Fi analyzer can help you to optimize the placement of these access points to achieve maximum coverage with minimal signal intermingling.

It also doesn’t hurt to establish which of your connections can be wired ones, further minimizing the bandwidth that these connections take up.

Adjust Your Existing Connections

Did you know that you can adjust the range that your access points can reach? This allows you to keep your signal within reasonable limits, filling your business but not the surrounding area. This can help prevent unauthorized access and use of your Wi-Fi by outsiders. Alternatively, your Wi-Fi can be extended to slightly beyond your location’s walls, depending on your needs.

We can assist you in optimizing your network so your Wi-Fi is configured to best suit your business’ requirements. Give us a call at (217) 428-6449 to schedule an appointment today.