Your network has grown beyond the point where non-stacking switches don’t make sense anymore. You need a lot of ports, and managing all of those switches individually is getting to be too cumbersome and time-consuming. You’re now looking at investing in one of two options: either stacking switches or a [...]
Software-defined networking (SDN) has been touted as the future of networking in an increasingly decentralized environment. SDN is a network management approach that uses programming to create an efficient network configuration that improves network performance and monitoring. SDN makes network control directly programmable and abstracts the underlying infrastructure from applications [...]
Many businesses are looking for ways to get the most out of their IT infrastructure. The need for an always available and always on environment may create a need that the physical location of the business isn’t able to handle. This leads to looking for a colocation facility. If you’re [...]
Summit's Field Guide to Transceivers is a straightforward guide that covers everything an IT pro needs to know about transceiver technologies.
Knowing how to prioritize and keep network traffic running smoothly for everyone is an important responsibility as a network administrator. There are several things you can do to prioritize network traffic: Reserve Bandwidth for Business-critical Applications Slow Non-essential Traffic Manage Latency Schedule Network Intensive Processes Traffic Shaping Because network bandwidth [...]
It’s been a few years since Cisco announced the end-of-sale and end-of-life for their 2960S switches. Much of the routine maintenance and support for the product has already been phased out, and by the fall of 2020, the 2960S will be considered obsolete. As you prepare for this inevitability, you [...]
With major wireless carriers announcing the launch of 5G later this year, you may be thinking it’s time to put your current network plans on hold and wait for this cutting-edge networking innovation. 5G networks are the latest generation in wireless technology (3G, 4G, LTE, etc.), touting faster speeds and [...]
Designing your network backbone is a big undertaking, and one that will affect business operations for years to come. If implemented well, you’ll save yourself and future network managers time by building a core that is easy to manage, expand, and keep secure. You’ll also ensure your business continues to [...]
User complaints about network latency have begun to pile up, and you need to figure out where the bottlenecks are, quickly. To help get you pointed in the most likely direction, today we outline some top causes of network bottlenecks and how they can be addressed. Do some investigating to [...]
Great network documentation is a gift you give to your future self. When you need to troubleshoot an issue on your network, it will make your task faster and simpler. It will also help you keep on top of which components are due for upgrades. Proper documentation may take some [...]
