Network infrastructure is the backbone of all of your operating and communication systems, enabling connectivity and management across your enterprise, whether residential or commercial, wired or wireless, or a hybrid. It’s hardware and software and services. As its name implies, infrastructure is the platform that sustains a structure. Now, imagine a major interchange with on ramps and exit ramps, detours and warning signs, roads shooting off to far destinations. Every ounce of concrete and steel beam is carefully designed to carry the load. Ok, so that’s a bit exaggerated, but the point is that each connection point, each pathway, is essential to the seamless operation of your network.
A wireless local-area network (WLAN) uses radio waves rather than ethernet cables to connect devices to the internet and network. When first introduced, wireless connectivity lacked in speed and, most felt, in security. Today’s wireless networks, however, are robust and feature security protections. They are cost-effective in that they save installation and cabling costs. They are also expandable, easy to set up, and offer increased mobility and collaboration as the systems allow for workers to connect from anywhere with ease. The next level of Wi-Fi connectivity is a wireless mesh network, an emerging technology that utilizes a mesh of nodes (small radio transmitters) that talk to each other, creating a network blanket across a large area.
But that’s a bridge that spans across our “interchange”.
A Hybrid Network, on the other hand, can mean one of two things. Yes, it can refer to a wired/wireless combination as it contains two or more communications “standards” in one design, but it can also mean a network design that is comprised of two or more lines of product. Both definitions offer plusses and minuses.
No matter the type, networks are designed and engineered structures providing a freeway of bandwidth and throughput for critical data. We don’t require concrete and steel to meet the performance needs of today’s, and tomorrow’s, connected homes and collaborative offices, but some engineering and ingenuity is a must. Give us a call. We’ll answer your AV/IT/IP questions and make sure your system is built on a solid foundation!
