Today's modern homes have become increasingly interconnected with the internet and your home is no different. Just a few years ago homes had only one or two computers and the devices in the house connected to the internet were few and far between. Nowadays there can be many items connected to the home network which require powerful hardware to work well.
Over the past few years, Grahams have installed more and more entertainment and control solutions in our client's homes and the incidence of having to re-boot low cost "standard" routers and switches has become more frequent. The only solution when something does not work is to re-boot. Rightly so, this is not an acceptable solution, which is why we are now recommending better hardware platforms for our clients who understand and are beginning to rely on them so much more.
The IT infrastructure of your home is the digital foundation of today's modern home. Just like your home's physical foundation, the digital foundation of your home must be robust enough to support the many devices which will depend on it. Whilst entry-level devices can cost very little, these over-the-counter networking devices simply cannot meet the needs of the automated residence.
Each of the systems being installed requires the network for communication and full functionality.
Every network is tailored to the home's specific needs, be it for automation systems, security systems and/or home office. The hardware includes network routers, Ethernet switches, wireless access points and more. Like everything else, these devices can vary hugely in terms of cost and performance. The enterprise-level devices we use not only provide superior performance and reliability but are also fully configurable and remotely supported as part of larger projects.
Simple; it means a more stable network that has the performance headroom to handle all the different devices more reliably. When something does not work, rather than the “usual, unplug it from the mains and reset”, in most cases we can remotely diagnose what has caused the problem and know why something has stopped working. Very few, if any consumer versions of this hardware have that ability.
In a home where just one simple wireless access point may be sufficient, things may work just fine, but on larger homes in densely populated areas and homes spread across more than 2 floors, several Wireless access points may be required. The only way for these to work reliably and transparently is to have a properly managed Wi-Fi network solution.
We use the Ruckus range of ultra-fast and reliable smart Wi-Fi access points. Ruckus is the world’s leading provider of smart wireless technology. The Ruckus WLAN systems bring power and simplicity together for large-scale indoor deployments. Some of the key features are:-
Simple; it means more stable Wi-Fi with proper coverage throughout the house, seamless handover, working in a similar way to the cellular telephone network. As the wi-fi has management software it allows simper configuration and advanced diagnostics. These professional systems provide the tools to see exactly what is going on with the Wi-Fi should you need to troubleshoot; in practice, because the system is so stable we rarely need to do much with them but we have the tools should we need them. Nothing like this exists at this level on consumer-grade equipment.
Dual-band means devices such as iPads can work on the 5 GHz band where there is less interference from other Wi-Fi networks, microwave ovens and cordless home phones.
All of our Ruckus wireless solutions come complete with remote monitoring and support as part of our support package.
To the right is a picture of one of the Ruckus wireless access points. It is discrete, tidy and can be powered via the network cabling which means it can be installed in locations without a local power supply.
Calm, courteous, responsive and utterly reliable.
Gus G.