Learn About Network Upgrades to Keep Today’s Smart Homes Connected
The network is the foundation of the modern connected home. This past year, perhaps we’ve come to fully appreciate just how essential it is. If your internet connection sputtered or stopped, it affected everything – your work connectivity, your kid’s schooling, your entertainment, and even your socializing.
The world will thankfully return to normal soon, but the demand for robust home networking will remain and only increase in our hyper-connected world. Fortunately, networking technology continues to improve at a rapid pace. Unlike some other technology devices like smartphones, laptops, and smart speakers, many people don’t think about networking upgrades. But with the ever-increasing amount of intelligent, connected devices in the home, you should consider upgrading your network to have the underpinning you need for all your connected work, education, entertainment, and communication.
Keep reading below to learn about enterprise-grade networking and Wi-Fi 6, two ways to ensure your Charlotte, NC home stays connected in the fast lane.
SEE ALSO: Is Your Home Network Overworked and Underperforming?
Enterprise-Grade Networking
Many homes rely on their internet service provider (ISP) equipment or consumer-grade routers for their network connectivity. ISP and consumer equipment is generally built to a cost target, tends to be one-size-fits-all, and is not engineered for high-performance. The hardware is often lower-end, and the build quality is not geared to support a long life. Enterprise-grade equipment is built to higher standards, with more powerful processors, radios, and antennas for higher performance, as well as longevity.
From the software side, enterprise-grade solutions allow for increased configuration and customization capabilities to meet the needs of modern, highly connected homes. Features like traffic prioritization, firewall security, and remote monitoring and updating are staples of commercial networking solutions. Enterprise-level software allows finer tuning of these capabilities by knowledgeable professionals to tailor a home network for optimal reliability and performance.
An excellent example of enterprise-grade networking solutions is one from Access Networks. The company's primary focus is providing high-performance networking solutions for highly connected smart homes. Unlike ISP and consumer all-in-one solutions, Access Networks packages together best-of-breed hardware and software for ultimate performance, customization and manageability. The basic system is composed of a firewall, wireless controller, intelligent managed switch, and a live monitoring component. It can be tailored by professional integrators (like The Integrated Home) for the needs of each residence.
The Advantages of Wi-Fi 6
You may have heard of Wi-Fi 6 and wondered what that brings to home networking. It is the marketing name for the latest Wi-Fi standard that has been years in the making. The main thing to know about Wi-Fi 6 is that it will allow for faster speeds, making it a better match for the newer gigabit internet connection speeds becoming more widely available here in North Carolina. Just as crucial for real-world performance for your devices, Wi-Fi 6 also allows routers to handle more communications streams at once. This will make it easier for households with many devices vying for connectivity simultaneously to deliver faster and more reliable performance. While not all devices today can use it, popular devices like the latest Macintosh laptops, iPhones and iPads can take advantage of the increased speeds and performance, and you will notice. If you need a network upgrade, Wi-Fi 6 technology will provide the boost you need for years to come.
Are you ready to upgrade your home network for ultimate performance? To get started, contact The Integrated Home in Charlotte, NC, today by calling 704-412-4040, filling out an online form, or connecting with us instantly by clicking the chat window below. We look forward to working with you.