Is Your Network Running At Its Limits?

Make no mistake, your IT network is an important asset. Without it, your business would come to a screeching halt. Though your network may be up and running, is it pushing its limits? It’s not uncommon for a computer network to become stretched too thin. If so, your business may still be running, but probably not as efficiently as it could be.

With a network stretched too thin, not only can you expect network traffic jams, but the entire network could fail, resulting in downtime and recovery costs. 

What is Network Congestion?

Like a freeway, a network carries "traffic." For example, any time you open a file stored on your server, you’re sending traffic back and forth along the network. Downloading videos from the Internet, chatting on Skype, or making VoIP phone calls also send traffic across the network.

Generally, your network can handle a certain amount of traffic. Once that volume is exceeded, or if the network is restricted in any way, the extra traffic will strain the network and cause network congestion or a bottleneck. There’s only so much “traffic” your network can handle.

Meanwhile, as you add more computers to your network, you’re introducing an additional source of network traffic. When the network becomes congested, it won't be able to keep up with the processing requirements of all those network requests. As a result, the network will slow down, just like a congested freeway will slow down when there are simply too many cars on the road.

Depending on the source of the bottleneck, the network may recover once the demand for network resources goes down. For example, if the bottleneck was caused when 10 employees joined a video conference, the network will likely speed up once the video conference is over.

Common Network Congestion Causes

Here are some common causes for network congestions:

• Too many users accessing the network all at once
• Data-heavy usage such as downloading large files, watching streaming videos, video conferencing, or VoIP phone calls
• Network hardware failures
• Distributed Denial of Service attacks
• Computer viruses, spyware, worms, and other network threats

Alleviating Network Congestion

The best way to prevent network congestion and downtime associated with it is to expand your network as you add computers, users, and devices to it. For example, if you’re considering switching from a traditional PBX to a VoIP phone system, your computer network will need to be upgraded to handle all of that extra traffic.

You’ll also want to consider a reliable computer security system with your network to detect and prevent Distributed Denial of Service attacks and other network intrusions.

Looking to grow your network? Schedule a free evaluation today! Give us a call at (973) 882-4644.