Welcome to Robb.Tech’s “Weekly Unsolicited IT Advice” column! Each week, we deliver practical, expert insights to help small businesses tackle their IT challenges. This week, we’re focusing on a topic that’s critical to your success: internet reliability.
Small businesses live or die by their internet—think payments, emails, customer support. When it goes down, it’s a mess. The size of your company exponentially increases what downtime costs your business. This guide lays out our secret formula for keeping your connection rock-solid, so you can dodge the chaos and keep things rolling.
1. Dual WAN: Two Internet Connections, No Worries
- What it is: Dual WAN hooks up two internet connections from two different providers. If one crashes, the other steps up—like a backup generator for your Wi-Fi.
- How it works: You’ve got options:
- Failover: The second line activates only if the primary fails. Think of it as an emergency switch.
- Load Balancing: Both lines run at once, sharing the load for smoother performance. Many routers, like Ubiquiti or Cisco models, handle this natively.
- Why it’s cool: One provider’s outage won’t sink you. Load balancing even boosts speed during peak hours.
- For you: Less downtime, happier customers, and no scrambling when the internet hiccups.
2. Gigabit Symmetrical Fiber: Super Fast, Super Reliable
- What it is: Fiber internet uses light through glass cables—way faster and tougher than copper. “Symmetrical” means upload matches download speed, like 1 Gbps both ways.
- Why it’s cool: Businesses uploading big files (think designers or video editors) or running cloud tools need this. Symmetrical speeds cut lag on Zoom calls or data backups, keeping everything snappy.
- For you: Your team gets more done, and customers don’t wait. Providers like AT&T, or SPTC likely offer fiber near you—it’s a game-changer.
3. Starlink: Backup from Space (Yes, Really)
- What it is: Starlink beams internet from SpaceX satellites. It’s a lifeline for rural businesses or a backup anywhere.
- Why it’s cool: It’s rugged—works through storms (emergency crews swear by it). With low latency (20-40 ms), it’s fast enough for real work, unlike older satellite tech.
- For you: Main line down? Starlink keeps you online. It’s perfect to compliment a wired connection since its technology means no one will be hitting a cable with a back hoe and ruin your day or worse.
4. UPS and Surge Protection: Power Up, Stay Safe
- What it is: A UPS is a battery pack that keeps your router and modem alive during blackouts. Surge protection blocks voltage spikes that can zap your gear.
- Why it’s cool: A UPS gives you 10-30 minutes (or more) to keep going or switch systems. Surge protectors stop lightning or bad wiring from toasting expensive hardware.
- For you: Power flickers won’t kill your day. Grab a 1500VA UPS (from someone like APC or Cyberpower) and make sure you have a properly grounded outlet. It’s also very helpful to know where the circuit breaker is for that plug!
5. Labeled Cabling and Smart Habits: Keep It Organized
- What it is: Labeling your cables saves technicians hours of time understanding what is going on in your network closet. In an emergency this could be a big deal. Add habits like:
- Regular checks: Is your hardware alerting you of a problem? A ISP with high latency?
- Updates: Just like your PC your network equipment needs regular software updates.
- Backup plan: We spend hours writing configurations for your specific site, when equipment fails having an up to date backup means we can skip rewriting this after an equipment failure or reset.
- Why it’s cool: A loose cable’s no mystery with labels—you fix it in seconds. Say your printer’s offline; a “Printer 1” tag shows exactly where to look.
- For you: Less guesswork, faster fixes, and a setup that runs like clockwork.
Wrap-Up
Internet outages are brutal, but you’ve got options. Dual WAN doubles your odds, fiber turbocharges your speed, Starlink’s a space-age backup, UPS and surge gear shield your power, and labeled cables keep it simple. It’s not hard—just smart choices to keep your business humming. Start with one step today, and outages won’t own you tomorrow. As always, we would love to help you with any and all of your networking needs. Just give us a call and you will speak to someone right here in Lubbock that is eager to help. (806) 370-4700