PROTECTING BUSINESS WITH OPTIMIZED WIFI NETWORKS

by By Roger Sands, CEO and Co-Founder of Wyebot, Inc.

A wireless network is no longer something niceto-have, but a competitive necessity and a critical resource in the manufacturing industry. Many manufacturers use wirelessly connected devices and applications to improve the efficiency of operations and increase customer satisfaction. This can include automated robots, Voice over Internet (VoIP) phones, wireless printing, wireless inventory scanners, IoT devices that monitor energy consumption or that track and monitor machine performance, and many others. None of these devices supply manufacturers with the data and insights they were purchased to provide without an optimized wireless network. Therefore, if manufacturers want to improve business outcomes, they need the right wireless optimization solution in place.

Network Optimization The goal of network optimization is to design and maintain a WiFi network that is reliably consistent, fast, and secure. This is an ongoing process that involves monitoring and analyzing a network to understand its current health, performance, and usage; reviewing past analytics to determine how network health, performance, and usage have changed over time; and planning the necessary upgrades and infrastructure changes to maintain an optimized network into the future.

Because networks are dynamic, changing constantly throughout the day and night, network monitoring must be 24/7/365. In order to best provide IT with the analytics that they need to maintain the network, the use of an AI-based analytics solution is recommended. These solutions keep “eyes” on the network at all times, and can instantly alert IT to any perceived or ongoing issues. This supports network optimization, while also allowing IT to focus on other mission-critical responsibilities. When you are deciding on an analytics solution, keep in mind the following requirements:

Complete Visibility The first step to achieving network optimization is to achieve complete network visibility. There can be no “dark spots,” no mysteries, no single piece of the network that IT doesn’t have complete visibility over. This includes all backend and frontend infrastructure, all connected devices and applications, and the entire radio frequency (RF) spectrum. WiFi is a shared medium, which means that all nearby networks share the same airspace and can cause interference issues for one another, and monitoring the entire RF spectrum instead of only a single network makes it possible for IT to spot these issues and resolve them accordingly.

If an analytics solution boasts device profiling and/ or device fingerprinting, all the better. This allows the solution to identify each connected device individually, and understand its specific capabilities and network requirements. For example, is it 2.4Ghz compatible, 5GHz, or both? Is it WiFi 6 capable?

Remote Accessibility It isn’t always possible for IT to travel onsite, whether because they are responsible for multiple locations, or because an external event like a natural disaster makes travel impossible. For this reason, IT must be able to remotely access the network in order to monitor and troubleshoot any issues.

Proactive and Automatic The faster that issues are resolved, the better a wireless network performs, and when issues are identified proactively, before they affect users, network optimization is only a step away.

AI-based analytics solutions can learn to recognize normal network behavior, and then proactively and automatically alert IT if that baseline changes in any way. In addition, solutions that enable IT to schedule consistent network tests (recommended because of the dynamic nature of WiFi networks) further support this proactive approach. Some solutions will send automatic alerts if any test fails as well as identify the root cause of the failure for quick resolution.

Historic Analytics As mentioned above, part of network optimization lies in understanding how the network has changed over time. Historical analytics from the past weeks or months allow IT to answer questions such as: Is the network nearing max capacity? How many devices are on the network now compared to 6 months ago? What types of devices are on the network? What types of issues did the network experience over the last few months? Have servers and access points (APs) exhibited any degrading performance?

With clear answers, IT can promote effective and efficient budget and capacity planning, ensuring network optimization into the future.

The Importance of WiFi Manufacturers depend on WiFi to keep their business operations running smoothly. Working with an AI-based analytics solution ensures that the network is always optimized, consistently providing the most reliable, fast, and secure service possible. In conclusion, protect your business and optimize your network today.

By Roger Sands, CEO and Co-Founder of Wyebot, Inc.