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If you've ever rolled your eyes at a monitor and told it to go faster, then you may have already encountered one of the biggest problems a network can still boast in this era of faster-than-ever internet access: latency. Even with significantly greater speeds, latency is becoming an increasingly large problem for network users, and finding it—not to mention reducing it—is likewise tougher. Here are some points to look for that may help you address the issue of latency in your network.

How Can I Prevent Latency from Impacting My Network?

Latency can never be completely removed from a network. Since it's a measure of the time it takes a signal to move from one place to another, completely removing it would require instantaneous communications we don't have yet. However, some things can be done to reduce the problem.

Lease your own tunnel. Using a tunneled multiprotocol label switching (MPLS) system is one way to beat the problem of latency by just opening up one massive connection. It does help the problem of latency, but does so by creating a new, potential problem: the associated expense.

Reduce complexity. An office may have a powerful, robust connection, but workers working remotely may be coming in on a standard Comcast or AT&T connection. This can increase the complexity of network traffic and from there increase latency. Worse, some causes of latency can't even be predicted by dedicated AI like overloaded switches or routers. Remove complexity where you can to help ensure the best performance.

Monitor performance everywhere. Don't just monitor traffic at one or two points, like at the data center or at the internet connection. Look into things like software-as-a-service (SaaS) performance or even at the infrastructure level. If providers won't offer these insights, look into providers who will.

Check the cloud. Cloud latency can also be a problem, and impact the network beyond as well. Look into SaaS vendors with physical locations near your own to reduce latency on the network. If you can't speed up the connection, shorten the distance it has to travel.

Check with your ISP. Does your internet provider have a service level agreement with you that holds them accountable to a certain level of latency? Business class cable modems are only a best effort. Only enterprise connections come with latency guarantees, and it's something to explore if you can before settling on internet for your business.

How Do I Get Started Improving Latency Issues on My Network?

While you'll never truly get rid of latency, you can take steps to reduce its impact and make the network perform the best it can. A great place to start improving your network is by getting in touch with us at MHO. Our fixed wireless is specifically geared toward different industries ranging from healthcare to hospitality firms, and is ideal for multi-tenant properties.