Companies use a variety of devices that require Internet connectivity, including computers, printers, and VoIP phones. But what kind of bandwidth do they need? This article will help companies estimate the bandwidth requirements for their business network. It will cover:
- What is bandwidth and why does it matter?
- How much network bandwidth do you need?
- Bandwidth measurement tools
- Monitor, measure and control data flow and data volume
What is bandwidth and why is it important?
Throughput is a measure of the rate at which data is transmitted over a wireless or wired connection (measured in bits per second).
Low bandwidth is like a freeway at rush hour. Everything slows down. Just as adding more bands speeds up traffic, increasing bandwidth allows more data to be transferred.
However, assessing your bandwidth requirements correctly will prevent you from paying more than your business needs, or not purchasing enough and causing a slow connection.
Tracking the bandwidth of a business network is important for many reasons, including:
- Identifying Wi-Fi hotspots to identify potential abuse.
- Network usage monitoring helps plan business growth when you need to increase bandwidth.
- Serves as a check against the guaranteed speed of your Internet Service Provider (ISP) to make sure you are getting the agreed bandwidth you paid for.
How to estimate bandwidth requirements
To estimate the bandwidth requirements for your business, first connect to the Internet. Then, look at your business growth forecast to make sure your Internet bandwidth can handle the increasing usage needs as your business grows.
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Not all Internet activities take up the same bandwidth. Start by calculating your daily bandwidth usage during a typical peak period and track which applications are using the most bandwidth
This means the time of day when most of the devices connected to the Internet are in use at the same time. Organize the devices used in your business by the categories shown below.
- Low – 100 Kbps (kilobits per second) or less: e-faxes, VoIP phones, laptops and computers for e-mail, and basic web surfing
- Medium – 100-500 Kbps: More intense web browsing, streaming, sending email and downloading.
- High – 500 Kbps – 2.0 Mbps (megabits per second): Devices using cloud platforms and software, such as customer resource management, point of sale, and enterprise resource planning.
- Intensive – 2.0 Mbps and higher: HD video conferencing devices and platforms.
Assign bandwidth to each device based on the category to which they belong, as noted above. To calculate typical peak bandwidth usage, determine how many hours each device is being used per day.
See the number of your employees or the number of people using the same network. The next step is to calculate how much time each user spends on the web.
One way to do this is to ask employees to fill out a questionnaire that asks how much time they spend on the Internet and what they do. However, this is not the most accurate method. See below for tools that measure actual bandwidth usage.
Add up the total bandwidth to get an idea of ??your company’s needs during peak hours. Knowing which devices and users are consuming the most data can help your business better monitor usage and plan resource usage.
Bandwidth Measurement Tools
Below are a few tools to help companies track traffic usage and bandwidth on a single computer or network.
SolarWinds® Network Performance Monitor
SolarWinds is a free real-time bandwidth sizing tool that helps users track traffic on their network.
View usage in a readable diagram. Users can manage traffic on their network and:
- simultaneously monitor multiple interfaces from different devices on the same network.
- see how much bandwidth is being used and how much traffic is on each interface.
- Set critical and alert thresholds to see at a glance if there are any bandwidth or other issues affecting your Internet speed.
Networx
Networx
Networx is a Windows tool that allows users to monitor network traffic locally and view traffic for each network device.
The FREEWare license is not a full-featured tool. However, it provides valuable data to help identify potential sources of problems, ensure that companies are not exceeding bandwidth limits, and track suspicious activity.
Spiceworks
Spiceworks
Spiceworks is a free, simple and easy to use network monitoring tool. Set alerts to identify issues before users notice.
Not only the tool itself is free, but also the support. Get real-time updates on switches, servers and any IP device. Spiceworks is designed for companies that control less than 25 devices.
Monitor, measure, and manage traffic and volume of data
In today’s digital world, it all comes down to bandwidth. Companies pay an Internet Service Provider (ISP) for the amount of bandwidth they use.
Without managing your bandwidth consumption, you can negatively impact your Internet experience. If you have a data limit on your Internet access, going over your allocated bandwidth can cost a lot of money, slow down your connection speed, or both.
By measuring and tracking your Internet connection speed, you can:
- be sure you are getting what you pay for.
- Identify bandwidth caps to control their consumption.
- Make changes to maximize network performance.
Check your internet speed
Make sure your ISP provides the speed you pay for in your package. There are third party websites to test your internet speed, such as Speedtest.net.
Speeds may vary depending on the time of day, so check multiple times (usually more in the evenings and weekends). Compare your baseline results to the speed with the package you pay with your ISP. If the speed is significantly slower, call your ISP and ask them to check things on their side.
Once you get an idea of ??how much bandwidth your business needs, you can better make an informed decision and evaluate your bandwidth requirements when choosing a data plan.
Better to pay for slightly more bandwidth than you need to support your business. In addition, to plan for your company’s future growth and increased bandwidth needs, try to find a flexible plan that can expand as your business grows.
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