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COVID-19 is stressing network infrastructure and creating significant challenges. But a workplace Wi-Fi management tool can help IT staff solve issues with home networks.
After companies spent millions of dollars on enterprise-grade networking equipment and computer hardware for the office, employees are now working from home on Wi-Fi equipment they bought at their local retail electronics store.
Critical business applications, computers, and other mobile devices are failing because of bad Wi-Fi. And IT teams are now on the frontline of keeping the entire workforce productive from home.
There is only one solution on the market that can help organizations find and fix Wi-Fi issues at home. It’s the same product organizations all over the world use today to troubleshoot office issues: Mobile Eye®.
In a home Wi-Fi environment, Mobile Eye solves:
Co-channel interference problems – This occurs when two or more routers are on the same frequency channel—and it’s a common mistake on a home network. The reason that you should care: co-channel interference can severely affect the performance of your home network, causing application slowness or even drops.
Adjacent channel interference problems – Adjacent channel interference (ACI) occurs when transmissions are sent on an adjacent or partially overlapping channel. The channel bleeds over on an overlapping channel, which adds noise and interference. This is common in high-density apartments, condos, and townhomes. Even single-family residences often have networks that are visible to their neighbors, which is why this issue is often called “noisy neighbors.” ACI causes connection issues and drops.
Roaming problems – Roaming issues occur when a wireless client (laptop, phone, etc.) moves outside of the usable range of one wireless router and does not connect to another (closer) router—it remains connected to a router with low signal strength. Think of a worker moving from a home office to the kitchen or basement and not staying connected, even though they have a router in another (closer) location. This causes connection issues, slowness, and drops. And the root of this problem actually lies with the adapter and driver combination—not the network.
Adapter and driver problems – When a device doesn’t “roam properly,” the decision to connect to another router is actually made on the device. This is most often caused by poor adapter and driver combinations.
Congestion problems – If you're suffering from slow browsing speeds when connected by Wi-Fi, you may be experiencing congestion on your frequency. This is caused by other (sometimes slower) devices on your network. If your computer is sending information to your router and it detects someone else is 'talking,' then it will wait until the frequency is quiet before sending packets.
Coverage problems – Often, homeowners hide their unsightly routers in a closet or electronics cabinet, or even leave it sandwiched on a bookshelf. This placement may cause coverage issues throughout the home and result in slowness and drops.
End-to-end – Can your remote workers reach the application server they rely on? Does their internet connection provide the performance required for applications to work properly? None of that is a given with residential internet connections. Mobile Eye tests end-to-end performance to your servers from your remote workers’ computers, so you know if their internet connection is a potential source of problems.
Mobile Eye helps IT personnel diagnose these issues and provide the connectivity necessary for a mobile workforce.
7SIGNAL® is a leader in enterprise wireless experience monitoring. 7SIGNAL provides a cloud-based platform that continuously monitors wireless networks and identifies elusive performance issues impacting application performance and digital experience. By taking the “outside-in” approach to monitoring, 7SIGNAL has visibility into the edge of any enterprise or home Wi-Fi network where complex device interaction exists, and user experience matters most. The platform maximizes employee productivity, operational efficiency, and network ROI. Sapphire Eye® and Mobile Eye® are designed for and deployed at the world’s most innovative organizations, educational institutions, healthcare systems, and government agencies. Learn more at www.7signal.com.