Since its inception, the Internet has become one of the world’s top resources; speed, security, and accessibility have been constantly discussed. From screaming dial-up tones to screaming at your computer to load faster, it’s clear the internet has evolved. Now, it’s time to evolve your network solution as well as your integrator.
Over the years countless professionals and “experts” have come up with anecdotal fixes that they tout will fix your internet problems and increase your speed.
While sometimes these “quick fixes” may work, for the most part, they will not – ESPECIALLY with the internet needs of the modern-day family.
So, what are some common things that most articles will tell you to do?
- Add a booster or extender – They will sell you these devices without even identifying the underlying problem, swearing it will fix it. While this may work for a true range problem, if you’re trying to increase speed, it will just slow you down even more. It’s just another device on the network.
- Reboot it – I’m sure everyone would think to try this. But reboot what exactly? The modem? The router? The end device? Often a reboot will fix a computer-related problem, but blindly rebooting network equipment will just disconnect your devices and possibly create more problems after it boots back up.
- Try a wired connection instead of wireless – That would be great if you actually had a network jack in the location. While wired connections are always faster than wireless, you don’t always have the option of getting an ethernet cable to that location.
- Update your firmware – Many articles will tell you to update your firmware, which sounds simple enough, but in practice it’s not really something that most people can do confidently.
What these authors don’t know or don’t mention are fundamental truths like – your equipment’s capabilities are driven by its age. This applies to both the device being used and your network equipment; where it’s mounted and what’s near enough to it to cause interference is also key to optimizing performance.
Wi-Fi and bandwidth are prime real estate in today’s landscape, devices old and new battle for connections creating slow speeds, failed connections, and other latency issues. Everything from personal devices and video doorbells to printers and thermostats, almost all the items we own these days consume part of your bandwidth; the activity of these many devices slow speeds and contribute to these difficult to identify problems.
Run-of-mill retail or online networking solutions simply aren’t designed to identify and overcome these challenges; they can’t self-heal common problems let alone detect them in the first place. You may be able to improve the situation, but it will only be temporary because these basic class network products cannot adapt to changing conditions or work around common interference. The result is frustratingly poor performance, unreliable operation, and risk of hackers.
The Internet Is Everything, Everywhere, All At Once
The internet is a 24/7 necessity, especially in our home lives. Modern networks power our work, school, entertainment, and everything else in the background that you forget to think about like security systems, thermostats, video doorbells, scales, lighting control systems, landscape lighting, pool control systems, and more.
Losing your internet is a worst-case scenario; dropping you off the proverbial cliff into a dead zone, forcing you to either leave your home to find internet sanctuary or to get on the phone to figure out a solution.
Providers ask you all these questions and the only thing you know for a fact is that your internet is not working correctly and you have no idea why. What’s worse? Trying to explain what’s happening over the phone to your internet service provider. You will end up spending an hour on the phone for them to tell you that the problem is not “on their end”, or if it is – then the next available appointment is “Tuesday, next week, between 8am and 5pm”. But you work and can’t be home… how about you reschedule? Annoying.
So, what is the solution?
Improving Residential Networking Performance with Business-Class Solutions
Historically, residential networking solutions have been limited, creating a no-hope situation where the network is too slow or too old to handle the problem. Due to their nature, businesses have always had access to a more comprehensive network solution than homeowners, until now that is. Enter Boca Tech and Automation and Cisco Meraki – finally business class reliability for busy households!
Cisco Meraki is designed to streamline and secure networks from the ground up. Initially targeted at large commercial environments, businesses, and outdoor venues, Cisco Meraki is quickly becoming the answer to residential networks that require reliability, performance, and security. Businesses running on Cisco Meraki products already enjoy “set and forget” reliability, robust performance, and battle tested security while providing high-performance network for both wireless and hard-wired devices.
As a certified Cisco Managed Service Provider (MSP), Boca Tech has changed this situation by bringing said business class reliability and performance to the home. During the pandemic, we saw firsthand how people that stay at home for work, school, and entertainment would push their rudimentary networks to the point of failure. We also saw a meteoric rise in demand for connected consumer electronic devices, streaming music and video, video conferencing, security cameras, video doorbells, and many other bandwidth hungry devices.
Basic or outdated networking solutions were not enough; slow speeds and choppy connection were ruining video calls as well as classes, gaming, streaming, and regular internet use for the entire family.
It was at this time that system integrators like BTA, who were already routinely designing and installing “business class” residential networks, started to gain notoriety. Savvy consumers were realizing that the answer to their constant network issues was a high-performance business-class network backed by certified professionals with strong expertise in design, installation, and on-going support.
The battle-tested solutions offered by Cisco Meraki and delivered by Boca Tech and Automation immediately solved difficult residential networking problems for those who had them installed. The consumers noticed the speed and coverage improvements right away and were delighted, but behind the scenes, the security and failover systems that businesses enjoyed were taking residential networking to a previously unknown level.
Cisco Meraki: A Boon For Residential Networking.
How does Cisco Meraki improve Residential networking performance?
There are many answers to the above question, from obvious things like all-around faster speeds and modern technology to hidden gems like Cisco Meraki’s ability to load-balance network traffic and network distribution allowing every impacted device to operate at peak performance.
Download and upload performance can be bolstered further by Meraki’s Access Points, while latency is minimized because the system can prioritize active devices (i.e., those in the middle of video calls, streaming, running video games, etc.) over lower-priority submissions (i.e., social media refreshes, printers, email updates, etc.). This makes sure that the important things go uninterrupted while the devices that are forgotten don’t eat up speed.
Moreover, the flexibility of the Cisco Meraki system means it can optimize the performance of old and new devices on the fly without needing your permission. This creates a system that is always adapting to your lifestyle and surrounding environment (and that of your zero lot line neighbors!), without the need to change settings or call providers. It can also send notifications when something is wrong or if a device is no longer able to connect so that Boca Tech can proactively solve problems before they impact you.
Cisco Meraki also intelligently and proactively tracks and troubleshoots all potential issues with its fault-tolerant capabilities. The system analyzes trends and automatically measures interference so it can detect network anomalies at all levels, alerting the proper people or fixing it on its own so you never need to worry.
Imagine you’re walking from one end of the house to the other, you move too far away from one access point, slowing down your phone’s Wi-Fi… What do you do? With Meraki, you do nothing. Its systems will identify the problem and connect your phone to the next closest WAP automatically and immediately, keeping your speeds crisp without you even noticing.
With 24/7/365 monitoring your network problems are a thing of the past. Cisco Meraki provides immediate next-business-day advanced replacements for all hardware components and BTA is always there to answer your questions.
Partner With A Cisco Meraki Expert For An Optimized Residential Networking Solution
Before investing in Cisco Meraki as your residential networking solution, there are a few factors worth considering:
Cisco Meraki hardware is exclusively available through certified Cisco providers. These distributors must achieve and maintain professional certifications to ensure the peak performance of every Meraki network.
At Boca Tech and Automation, we have provided industry-leading IT (Information Technology) services to residential clients for over 20 years. Our team of experts has the vast systems-based knowledge needed to grasp Meraki’s capabilities and the know-how to fit it into your home properly; creating a network that meets and exceeds your family’s needs on a day-to-day basis.
Contact Boca Tech and Automation to learn more about our robust residential networking solutions and how they can bring your home into a powerful new networking future.
