Three quick things to reduce the risk of your network toppling over when the Internet burps!

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA

I am not going to post any more negative the Internet is going to burp posts. In part, because I learned a long time ago if you talk about a problem enough, it is your problem. But I do have some solutions to help solve some of the issues.

First off, don’t believe the various ISP’s when they tell you they have the fastest (insert word here). There are three things that impact your home Internet.

1. How you use the Internet. (do you stream video)?
2. How many devices you have connected (10 devices react differently than 30 do).
3. What type of communication the devices are expecting.

You see, a device connecting to a remote server (say Netflix) connects, verifies you are who you say you are and then pretty much moves to a direct download with very little uploads required. IoT devices like weather stations are the opposite. They are pushing data up the pipe constantly. Cellular phones are the same way constantly pushing data up to the network and pulling data down. So number 2 and three can be a huge issue in your house. If you have ten devices that are chatting with remote servers, and three devices that primarily download information you may experience slowdowns. In fact, you may experience issues with any provider that doesn’t offer equal upload and download speeds.

Second thing, consider your network and how things are connecting. Create a wireless network for your IoT devices. Have that network plug into your XYZ provided Internet connection (IE the router the Cable, Telephone or ISP gives you). In fact, make sure it connects to it directly. If someone hacks your IoT devices, you know what segment they are on. Simply shut that router off. Makes security and troubleshooting a lot easier.

The third thing you can do is a little planning. Deploy the devices you want, but consider what network they are on (see step 2) and what security they have. Or better yet, if they don’t require security (you are welcome to have any of my weather data, I share it freely).

Just those three steps will at least keep your home afloat when the Internet finally burps.