Today’s businesses require the most reliable Internet connectivity possible. Staying connected is vital when your boss demands that company operations run all day, every day, and even in off hours. And especially when he holds you responsible. When companies must run some aspect of their operations 24/7, it’s important to realize the importance of redundancy.
A reliable Internet connection always tops the list of must-haves with any company. Sadly, the absolutely reliable Internet connection your boss demands doesn’t exist; at least not yet. That’s why redundancy is so important. The most reliable Internet service connection today has a built-in redundancy plan to maintain company operations, and save your job.
What is Redundancy?
Redundancy is simple in theory. If you have a single Internet connection, and it fails you, then you are disconnected and business screeches to a halt. However, if you put in a secondary method of Internet access, if and when the main connection goes down, you can still remain connected to resources and keep the business operational. Plus, the boss thinks you are a genius.
It follows then, that if a continuous Internet connection is crucial to your business, you should have some form of redundancy plan in place. Your goal with redundancy is to limit downtime and impact on clients and staff. The most reliable Internet redundancy solution will resolve any issue quickly and effectively with hardly a blip in operations.
How Does Redundancy Work?
For example, your company maintains continuous operations through a fiber connection. Everything is humming along until the city begins to replace the nearby water mains. While digging up the road to reach the mains, a fiber cable is cut. Great. Now, your Internet service is severed and productivity stops. How are you going to explain this one to the boss?
Having a redundancy plan in place prepares you for these eventualities. If your company had an alternate Internet connection, not connected to the fiber option, your system could simply switch over to the backup connection and function with business as usual until your main service connection is restored. This limits or even eliminates downtime from Internet service problems - and potential flack from the boss.
Redundancy - The Most Reliable Internet
Now that you’re convinced your company needs a redundancy plan for its Internet connection, where do you begin? Some of the most popular ISPs offer the gold standard “five nines” of uptime (99.999%), but how much is that unforeseen 0.001% of downtime costing you in productivity? In real dollars?
In order to ensure that your redundant Internet connections are not vulnerable to similar outage issues, follow these three basic guidelines:
-
Different Building Entrances – Be sure your redundant Internet connections enter the building through different routes, and on different cables.
-
Different Paths – Even if your redundant ISPs each claim to use discreet protocols to secure the last mile of your connection, be sure they aren’t using the same network of cables.
-
Different Internal Wiring – Internet problems commonly occur when cables within a building are accidentally cut. If all your building’s fiber cables are in the basement, one accident could take down every business in the property.
For true redundancy with high latency, the best option is a fixed wireless connection. Fixed wireless delivers complete path redundancy because the technology doesn't rely on underground cables, which we’ve seen can be easily damaged.
But consider this: fixed wireless connections aren't only useful in emergencies. They are so reliable that, more and more, many companies choose to use fixed wireless as a primary means to access the Internet with a fiber or cable backup.
Does your company enjoy the security of truly diverse Internet routes? If not, it’s time to start incorporating network redundancy into your infrastructure to avoid unplanned outages and maintain maximum uptime. And wont the boss be pleased with you for introducing him to such a great idea?
However you plan to create the most reliable Internet connection for your company, you can count on MHO to provide you with an effective roadmap that ensures your system’s dependability.
