How To Make Your Wireless Networks Industrial Strength
Workers in demanding environments outside of office spaces also require strong and reliable wireless network at all times. Poor WiFi performance can make meeting the demands of a rugged workforce a challenge, impacting both productivity and reliability. Fortunately, there are ways to enhance performance on your wireless networks. The following information details how to make your wireless networks industrial strength.
- Eliminate Bottlenecks and Network Outages
Bottlenecks and outages are commonly caused by the funnelling of a wireless network through a single wireless controller. When a spike occurs, it can cause controller delays and performance drops. Minimize this congestion by establishing a backbone architecture with distributed intelligence. A distributed architecture disburses controller intelligence to multiple access points and can manage 10 times the volume of traffic. This results in clearer audio and video, increased network resilience, and improved business continuity.
- Connect in Chaotic Environments
Continuous movement is quite normal when working in an industrial environment. However, that frequent movement often results in dropped signals, which standard WLANs are unable to prevent. A distributed architecture eliminates this issue by providing a high-performance algorithm that reduces object interference and provides seamless coverage with autonomous adjustment of configurations at access points. These access points empower the network to form and configure through learning and recognition. With constantly moving employees, equipment and merchandise, your network must be in a position to adapt to its surroundings.
- Hard-Working Solutions for Hard-Working Spaces
Environmental factors, such as dirt, dust and extreme temperatures have a tendency to cause WLAN networks to degrade over time. This degradation leads to permanent damage to the wireless service. Industrialized networks, on the other hand, can withstand the cold, pollutants, and other environmental factors, without a drop in service. Industrialized/ruggedized access points can be positioned in the freezers, at elevated heights, or wherever they’re needed, without a drop in quality. This, ultimately, results in an increase in employee productivity and safety.
- Ensure Connectivity for Multiple Device Classes
As technology has grown over the years, the construction and manufacturing industry is relying more and more on mobile communications. With these mobile devices comes multiple classes, which your network should be able to support. When scaling your network to an industrial environment, you need to take into account the power and connectivity requirements of each device. For instance, a majority of wireless planning software is directed toward high-energy laptops. Because of this, a worker’s personal device may experience receiver sensitivity and decreased transmission of power. When planning your industrial network, make sure it covers a wide range of devices and ensure that it is properly configured. A poorly configured network can reduce battery life by up to 20 percent, causing more downtime than necessary.
- Manage Bandwidth Dynamically
As applications are growing (VoIP, data transmission, mobile streaming, M2M automation), so is the need for greater bandwidth. Because these types of applications drive more traffic and use more bandwidth, it is important to efficiently and effectively manage your throughput. A standard WLAN will become overloaded by the amount of bandwidth required for applications if multiple applications are running at once without an algorithm to distribute them out. For reliable performance, search for a solution that can manage not only the amount of devices, but also applications, bandwidth, data rates, and access point capacity.
- Intelligently Manage Your Network
WLAN networks are frequent targets of security breaches. You should be able to view and control your network 24/7, in order to keep it running at optimal performance. Proactively perform security measures by detecting problems and intrusions, and engage in troubleshooting for network assurance. Some security measures include data encryption, network authentication, and sensor-based monitoring. Troubleshooting the network helps you find and repair any issues, before they affect productivity.
- Reduce Complexity With a Unified Corporate WLAN
Create a single powerful network you can optimize for both office and industrial space. It is known as the split personality approach. The network offers reliable bandwidth, roaming, and connectivity for in the office, while also being able to function just as well in the hardened environment of today’s industrial spaces. This can be implemented from a single centralized control center. An industrial strength network increases productivity and connectivity to numerous areas of the business.
We at Nova Communications have industrial strength capabilities and devices suitable for every business need. For more information about strengthening your network, or if you have any questions about our products, feel free to contact us.
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