Most businesses are now reliant on computers and when you get to a size where you need more than one or two of them, then you need to consider establishing a network for your business. There are a number of options available and in order to choose between them, you first need to take a look at what you want the network to do.
Planning ahead
The first thing to do is look at how many devices you want to connect to your network. This isn’t quite as simple as counting up all your PCs, however. You need to allow for mobile devices including smartphones and tablets, in addition to printers and any other devices such as security cameras that need to connect to the internet.
This device inventory will give you the current picture, but it’s important to plan ahead. Will you need additional devices for extra staff, for example, or will you have to accommodate visitors’ or contractors’ connection requirements?
Armed with all of this information, you can decide what router and switch capacity you need to support all of the devices you require.
Switches and routers
You’re probably familiar with routers, you most likely have a wireless one at home as part of your broadband internet connection. On a business network, you will also encounter switches. These are similar to routers but there is a difference.
A switch connects together all of the computers and servers on a network, whereas a router connects the entire network to the internet. You can build an internal network with only switches, but it won’t have access to the outside world; for that you need a router.
Wires or wireless
Probably the most important choice in creating a network is whether to go wired or wireless. While wireless may seem the easiest option because of its plug-and-go nature, convenience isn’t the only factor at stake here.
If your PCs and printers are mainly on desks and don’t need to be moved very often, then a wired network has many advantages. It’s faster for one thing and it’s inherently more secure because it’s harder for anyone to eavesdrop on the signal. Properly planned with a structured cabling installation your network will have sufficient flexibility to move devices around, should you reorganise the office or add extra staff.
If you want really fast access, then you can also look at the option of fibre optic network cabling rather than the usual twisted pair copper cables.
The attraction of wireless is that no cabling is required and it’s easy to connect a whole range of mobile devices such as smartphones and tablets. This is, however, a double-edged sword as it also makes it easy for staff to connect their own personal devices to the internet and therefore eat up your bandwidth.
In practice, most modern businesses will adopt a hybrid approach. This means having a core wired network but with access points attached so that it can also be accessed wirelessly. A wireless access point is a device that you can attach to a port on your network switch, allowing wireless devices a way into the network. This gives you a good deal of flexibility with fast access for your fixed endpoints and ease of attachment for wireless devices as required.
Whatever route you take, it’s important that your network is planned. Don’t just let it grow organically as new devices are added as it will become a nightmare to administer in the long term.
Security
Whatever type of network you have, you need to keep it secure. This is easier with wired networks because you need physical access to connect. Even so, if you are dealing with particularly sensitive data, you might want to consider using shielded or fibre optic cables to reduce the chance of eavesdropping.
Wireless networks need more effort to secure. You need to ensure that you have strong passwords that can’t be easily guessed. Also, consider carefully the name of your network and what it’s telling outsiders about your business – remember the network ID is broadcast to all nearby devices unless you disable this.
You should always enable WPA security on your wireless networks as well as ensuring that the default admin passwords on any routers and access points are changed so that they can’t be tampered with. If the public has access to your premises and you want to offer free Wi-Fi as a means of attracting more business, then you should ensure that this is kept separate from your business network.