How Using Quality of Service Can Help You Reduce Connectivity Problems

How Using Quality of Service Can Help You Reduce Connectivity Problems

You can have the best business technology in place to drive productivity, but still be held back by one very important thing – bandwidth.

Today’s offices are more connected than ever before, putting more demands on their internet connection to handle all that traffic.

For example, twenty years ago, email and internet browsing were the main things offices needed bandwidth for. But today, there are cloud applications that employees use continuously, as well as video conferencing, remote support and cloud backups (just to name a few). All relying on Wi-Fi bandwidth to support them.

This leads to a challenging situation for many Wabash, Indiana businesses when it comes to their business technology. As they get more reliant on cloud solutions and connect more IoT devices to their networks, all those connections can struggle to grab the bandwidth they need.

One way to organize and prioritize your bandwidth between devices and applications is by using a router feature called Quality of Service (QoS).

What is QoS?

You can think of QoS like the “fast pass” lane at Disney World. Those that have a fast pass, get to the front of the line and get priority for getting on the ride.

With QoS, you’re telling your router which devices and applications you want to give a “fast pass” to. Which ones are considered higher priority and that you need to assign more bandwidth to support.

Here’s an example of how using QoS could solve a common problem with video calls freezing up.

Without QoS

You’re on a Skype video call with a client and suddenly your screen freezes up. You have to disconnect and reconnect to the meeting, only to find you still have problems. You’re not sure why, because during the entire first half of the call, your video streaming was fine.

What you didn’t realize is that the marketing department started doing a large graphic file download which stole bandwidth away from your call, causing the problems.

With QoS

You’re on a Skype video call with a client and suddenly, your marketing department begins downloading a large graphic file. Your video quality remains consistent.

Why isn’t it impacted? Because your IT provider set up Quality of Service on your router for you and made Skype a prioritized application. That means that Skype gets to the front of the line when it comes to bandwidth and as a result, that file download did not negatively impact your call.

Deciding Who Gets Priority

QoS is a feature that comes on most (not all) wireless routers. It allows you to prioritize bandwidth by:

  • Application
  • Device

This is incredibly helpful when you have multiple activities all battling for a finite amount of bandwidth. It ensures that your most important business processes maintain a consistent internet connection and aren’t interrupted by less critical internet needs.

How to Use QoS at Your Business

The process of using Quality of Service starts with checking your router’s administration settings to see if it has the QoS feature. If not, then you may want to seriously consider getting one that does to help you organize your bandwidth needs.

QoS is typically set up on the router through a series of rules that tell the router which apps and devices are high priority, and which are lesser priority. You can also designate a specific amount of bandwidth to a particular device or activity.

Here are a few ways you can use QoS at your Wabash area business:

Ensure Smooth VoIP Calls

VoIP phone systems are typically a high priority for any business using them. They are the main way that customers can connect to you and you can connect to the outside world.

Make sure your calls stay clear and reliable by prioritizing your VoIP application in the QoS settings of your router.

Prevent Unauthorized Bandwidth Use

If you have employees streaming video on the clock without your knowledge, those large bandwidth activities could be causing problems in other areas, like interrupting your cloud backup services.

QoS allows you to restrict bandwidth usage by certain applications or websites (like video streaming services). This allows you to police bandwidth use automatically through your router settings.

Keep Video Calls from Freezing

Video conferencing has become a vital business activity thanks to the pandemic. It’s how many companies are keeping in touch safely with remote workers, vendors, and customers.

But for video conferencing to be helpful, it has to work correctly. That means without freezing up, dropped audio, or jittery pictures.

QoS can help ensure your video calls go smoothly by prioritizing your video conferencing application over things like downloads or non-essential bandwidth activities.

Let Skyline Business Technology Help You Prioritize Your Bandwidth Needs

Do you have too many devices and applications fighting for the bandwidth at your office? We can set up QoS for you to prioritize your most important activities and help you stop the battle for the bandwidth.

Contact us today to schedule a consultation. Call 260-225-3133 or reach us online.

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