For managed services providers (MSPs), using the right tools and resources to ensure maximum uptime for their customers\u2019 critical services and devices is one of the most important parts of the job. One of the infrastructure factors that may limit uptime and performance is network bandwidth, which is why MSPs need network usage monitoring tools that allow them to monitor traffic patterns and device performance for signs of potential issues.<\/p>\n
Bandwidth monitoring can quickly become complicated as an MSP business scales and you begin to manage network systems for enterprise-level customers. Network administration and management become more difficult as the complexity and workload of customer networks increases. In order to make monitoring and management strategies as effective as possible\u2014even in the face of complex networks\u2014here are eight network bandwidth optimization strategies MSPs should employ.<\/p>\n
Enterprise bandwidth monitors<\/span><\/a> provide visibility into complex, distributed networks and application activity. These tools are designed to monitor and analyze network traffic patterns, providing insights you can use to reorganize customer nodes to contain the majority of baseline traffic within predefined segments of the infrastructure, which keeps traffic from being routed all across the network. Not only that, monitoring network traffic can help you pass savings along to your customers by ensuring that they\u2019re only buying the hardware they need to support their actual network traffic.<\/p>\n The first step of accurate bandwidth optimization is to gather enough data to have an accurate understanding of your customers\u2019 current network performance, bandwidth usage<\/a>, and typical traffic patterns. This may seem obvious, but it\u2019s critical to not overlook this step. Once you establish what optimal baselines look like for the devices and infrastructure you manage, you\u2019ll be able to identify anomalies faster and more effectively target your troubleshooting efforts. Using enterprise bandwidth monitoring software with network performance monitoring capabilities is essential for real-time visibility into your customers\u2019 systems.<\/p>\n Given the scale and complexity of modern networks, providing fixes and services that meet the varied needs and specifications of your different customers is critical. A one-size-fits-all solution for maximizing network bandwidth isn\u2019t always going to be the most effective, which is why it\u2019s important to map the topology of your customers\u2019 networks early on.<\/p>\n Topology mapping creates a visual rendering of the various connections, relationships, and dependencies between network elements, which can be useful in revealing how previously unnoticed secondary traffic is impacting network performance. Topology maps typically represent network relationships on different layers, including physical location, transmission relationships, and by routing and traffic control elements within multi-node networked environments.<\/p>\n The visibility provided by network mapping<\/span><\/a> can be especially beneficial when it comes to optimizing your monitoring strategies and practices. Topology mapping is one way of improving a network’s performance, as these maps can be used to quickly determine the root cause of any performance issues your customers\u2019 dependent resources are facing.<\/p>\n Topology mapping is also a useful tool for improving the productivity of your team\u2014while simultaneously reducing costs\u2014which is why adopting a tool like N‑able\u2122<\/sup> N‑central<\/a> is critical for keeping tabs on a network\u2019s infrastructure and its interconnectivity. RMM includes a topology mapping feature that can create endpoint maps based on performance monitoring alerts and notifications, which can help direct your troubleshooting efforts and make your resolution time that much faster.<\/p>\n If your customer networks aren\u2019t operating efficiently, one aspect to examine is whether a different network topology might be more appropriate. Furthermore, you should also check whether additional subnets might be necessary to support different aspects of your customers\u2019 computing environments while maintaining everyone\u2019s reliable access to the network. This ultimately helps to keep workloads distributed and reduces the likelihood of your customers\u2019 networks experiencing bottlenecks.<\/p>\n Hogging valuable network bandwidth during working hours to take care of long-overdue updates isn\u2019t ideal. The good news is that the best bandwidth monitoring software options include remote access tools and scripting capabilities that allow you to schedule when to deliver bulk configuration changes, patches, software updates, and other fixes across your customer networks.<\/p>\n Scheduling these changes to run after hours helps keep customer devices maintained and secure\u2014without interrupting their network uptime during work hours. This also holds true for backups, which can be extremely data intensive. If your customers expect daily backups, make sure to schedule them for off-peak hours so you don\u2019t cause unnecessary downtime.<\/p>\n Load balancers redistribute demand across devices to more even levels, which helps prevent overloads and slowdowns. If a customer has two web servers, for instance, the advantage of a load balancer is that it won\u2019t just help distribute traffic in overflow situations\u2014it will also equalize the total load across both servers.<\/p>\n This helps to maximize the value that the infrastructure adds to your customer\u2019s business, keep demand consistent, and prevent incoming traffic from targeting one network link at a time (which can potentially overload the network). Implementing network usage monitoring tools to work in tandem with load balancers is a very effective method of maximizing bandwidth.<\/p>\n When bandwidth is limited, which services get priority? Your answer\u2014and how you plan to enforce it\u2014is inevitably going to impact network performance in some way. For instance, customers\u2019 critical applications need to deliver high uptime and performance, meaning they need guaranteed access to bandwidth and must be prioritized over non-critical applications and systems. On the other hand, applications like video conferencing and VoIP tools are inherently bandwidth-intensive, but they may not necessarily need to be prioritized over other critical services. .<\/p>\n Bandwidth monitoring software<\/a> provides an efficient method for tracking the top talkers and bandwidth hogs on your network, which can inform any updates to your customers\u2019 priorities policies. If your customers work with sensitive data and require network-wide encryption and filtering, keep in mind that this will likely have an impact on the network\u2019s transfer rates.<\/p>\n One method for eliminating excess and unauthorized network traffic is to create policies about how the business network may be accessed, as well as which sites and services it may be used to access. Creating and maintaining up-to-date blocklists and allowlists for applications and sites can help simplify the process of guaranteeing access for certain business-critical bandwidth-intensive services while restricting access to others that could be negatively affecting network performance. Developing an email attachment policy with your customers is another way to standardize how data is transmitted over the network between end users, which contributes to more efficient system operations.<\/p>\n Some customers may be more lenient than others when it comes to allowing their employees to access company bandwidth for personal use, but the additional traffic and personal devices connected to the network increases overall system load and the potential for security risks<\/a>. Working with your customers to implement least-privilege best practices and establish clear, enforceable guidelines for what constitutes authorized and unauthorized use is another way you can help keep precious bandwidth available.<\/p>\n The quality of cloud services can rely heavily on your company\u2019s operating practices. Your business may possibly collaborate with many external firms. In these instances, putting many of the business\u2019s supporting apps on the cloud can aid communications and take away gratuitous traffic from your network.<\/p>\n Companies that hire a lot of remote workers and freelancers can benefit significantly by adopting cloud-based network configurations. By routing your customers\u2019 network traffic, data backups, and web applications to the cloud and offsite services, you\u2019re also helping to free up bandwidth and minimize overload on the network.<\/p>\n As we\u2019ve discussed, optimizing network bandwidth for your customers requires diligent monitoring, understanding standard bandwidth usage, and a variety of strategies to ensure optimal availability. Although it goes beyond just having the right software, there\u2019s no doubt that having the right tools in your toolkit can make a big difference in ensuring your MSP is able to serve its customers.<\/p>\n When it comes to network bandwidth<\/span><\/a>, a tool with a network topology mapping feature is critical in providing visibility into complex networks. By providing an easily digestible, visual representation of the connections between network elements, MSPs can better understand potential performance issues and drill down into the dependencies that may be causing problems.<\/p>\n For a reliable all-in-one solution that provides built-in network topology mapping alongside robust remote monitoring features, consider N‑able N‑central<\/a>. By incorporating network topology mapping with a slew of other powerful features that can optimize bandwidth\u2014such as content filtering that allows you to blocklist sites that unnecessarily use up network bandwidth\u2014you can maximize uptime for your customers and prevent overloaded networks. To learn more, try a 30-day free trial<\/a> of N‑able RMM.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Bandwidth is a precious resource for enterprise-level companies. Here are some key strategies for maximizing your customers\u2019 bandwidth.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":24,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-8781","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","topic-remote-management"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n2. Establish baselines<\/b><\/h2>\n
3. Map network topology<\/b><\/h2>\n
4. Schedule tasks for low-traffic periods<\/b><\/h2>\n
5. Use a load-balancing service<\/b><\/h2>\n
6. Optimize network application priorities <\/b><\/h2>\n
7. Minimize personal use of bandwidth<\/b><\/h2>\n
8. Invest in cloud-based tools<\/b><\/h2>\n
Maximizing network bandwidth with the right tools<\/b><\/h2>\n