Solve network traffic jams with packet prioritization

How frustrating is it to be stopped at a railroad crossing when you’re in a hurry? If you could, you’d stop that train, split it in two, and drive through to where you need to go!

That’s a great metaphor for problems caused by a lack of prioritization on your network. Yes, data can create traffic jams on your network, and packet prioritization can help prevent those jams.

Why does a network need packet prioritization?

Out of the box, your equipment doesn’t come with prioritization settings. It’s a free-for-all on the network highway at your office. If you’re the only one using the network in your office, that might not be a problem. But when you’re in an office with several employees, a Wi-Fi network, surveillance cameras, and more, the traffic gets backed up.

Somebody’s streaming video could slow down an important download on another computer. That download might be stealing bandwidth from the phone system. There’s a finite amount of bandwidth in your network. A crowded network is just like a crowded road. Traffic moves slowly and everyone’s angry.

An I.T. professional solves this problem by optimizing your network with “packet prioritization.” Think of packet prioritization as a set of very specific traffic signals.

How do you prioritize packets?

To optimize your network, we flag each type of packet with a category. We give all of those devices on your network a name so that they can be identified in the network. Once they’ve been identified, we give these packets a prioritization protocol.

The protocol decides in which order devices get to take up bandwidth. This is usually tailored to the type of business that you own. For example, if you own a retail store you would want to give your credit card processing, phone system and security cameras a higher priority than the free Wi-Fi available for customer use.

Packet prioritization is only one way that a network can be optimized. For example, we can also put a cap on devices with a low priority so that they don’t become an unnecessary burden on bandwidth.

Let’s go back to our retail store example. You may want to put a cap on the free Wi-Fi, because it would be bad for business if too much activity on the customer Wi-Fi caused a slowdown with the credit card processing system.

If you’d like to talk about packet prioritization or other ways we can help your network run more efficiently, let’s talk about your company’s needs.