TECHNOLOGY
REVIEWING YOUR
HOME NETWORK
By Robert Hessel
do not rent a modem from your internet
service provider. If you do this, you
won’t be able to control settings and set
limitations for your network.
In addition to the two main internet
devices, your network also consists of a
plethora of wiring, both internally and
externally. If your home or business is large
enough, you may also have Wi-Fi signal
boosters that will need to be checked. While
it might be a pain to replace coaxial wiring
inside the walls of your house, it might
be necessary if you’ve run diagnostics
everywhere else and are still seeing
significant signal and performance drops.
Your router and modem have software
pre-installed so that you can access settings
and configure your network how you see
fit. Sometimes, however, the stock software
may not suit your requirements from a
technical standpoint.
As part of your internet infrastructure
audit, you’ll want to check in with your
internet service provider. Check to see
what new speed levels are available, and
upgrade as you see fit. Now would also
be a great time to report any changes
in allocated bandwidth you may have
noticed. Don’t be afraid to speak up. If
you and your neighbors are having an
issue with connection reliability, it might
be time to update telephone lines. They
won’t know unless you tell them.
You can always upgrade your internet
package to include more download or
upload speed. Depending on your provider,
there might be a ceiling that they impose
due to limited infrastructure. Do some
research and see if a different provider
might potentially offer better service for
your area.
One way to prioritize connections in
your home is through traffic control. Take
the list you made earlier and review your
household or business priorities. Using
either the tools that came with your
hardware or another recommended
program, allocate bandwidth to match
the requirements for your network. If
you’d like to get extremely technical, you
can go into a lot of detail per connection
with DOCSIS 3.1 and QoS. Define what is
absolutely necessary for your network to
run smoothly. Try some different settings
out, and adjust them accordingly.
As you work through the process of
allocating bandwidth and setting other
limitations upon your network’s devices,
you may want to allow some time to
evaluate how things are working. Wait
a week before checking in with your
employees or family members to ask if
they noticed any changes in their devices’
performance on the internet. Depending
on the priority of their connection and the
performance of more important devices,
you can decide whether or not you’d like
to re-adjust or simply leave the settings
as is. The tools mentioned previously will
give you detailed, qualitative data to help
determine load balancing strategies. 9
EDITOR’S NOTE: Robert Hessel at Source 1
Solutions can be contacted at (727) 538-4114
or by visiting source1solutions.com.
JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2021 | TAMPA BAY MAGAZINE 109
Remote work, distance learning and
other internet-intensive activities
require a stable, reliable internet
connection. As we look toward the
strain on home networks, it seems to be in
our best interest to perform a yearly (or
more frequent) check and redesign of our
personal and business networks. Begin by
listing activities that you and your family
perform on your devices. If you’re like
the majority of Americans, this list might
include things like TV show streaming,
movie streaming, music streaming, video
playback, general browsing, gaming,
distance learning and remote work. Once
your list is complete, rank your activities
from the highest importance to the lowest.
You should check at least your network
speed once every billing cycle. We
recommend this mainly because you will
want to know as soon as possible if you
are not receiving the speeds and service for
which you are paying. Routinely checking
these figures will also alert you to any
hardware issues you may be having,
such as a mouse-chewed coaxial cable or
a failing modem.
The easiest and quickest way to get
a basic idea of your network health
is through a speed test. Sit down at an
ethernet-connected device (not a phone
or tablet) and run the test. Keep in mind
that the local load can affect your speeds,
so try not to run this test on a Friday night
before 8 or 9 p.m. Compare your results to
last month and to the figures you should
be receiving from your internet service
provider. Note any discrepancies and
continue to audit your network.
So many people forget that modems and
routers are basically miniature computers
– this means that they are subject to normal
wear and tear and overheating. If you are
able, you should replace your modem and
router every other year; you can alternate
devices each year if you are worried about
the upfront cost. We recommend that you
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