Access to the internet is critical to most businesses, both large and small. As we have experienced a number of times in recent years, storms can cause major damage including network outages. There are other causes of network outages including ISP outages, device failure, cyber attacks and human error. It will come as no surprise, then, that many businesses today seek broadband diversity to insure against internet outages.
What is network diversity and why is it important?
Network Diversity is when you have two different connections into one location, and this is important for organisations where connectivity is mission critical. Both connections are separate, meaning that if one goes down there will always be an immediate alternative. If you want to minimise the risk of your internet connection going down, you need a diverse resilient connection.
It’s important to remember that even though you might have two different business broadband carriers delivering internet into a building, if it is delivered through the same “pipe”, then it is not true diversity. If something happens to the pipe both fibre lines could be disrupted leaving you with no connectivity. There’s no need for panic though, there are other ways to ensure diversity, for example having a fibre line from the street into the building and a fixed wireless connection on the roof, or by having a fibre network in conjunction with Digital Subscriber Lines (DSL), or business broadband lines.
With these precautions in place, a fibre cut or damage caused due to adverse weather conditions wouldn’t bring down your business operations because at least one element of your connection would be fully functional.
Although some businesses may believe that they need to get connectivity from two different operators in order for it to be truly diverse, this is not always the case. Some telecoms providers like Magnet Plus offer diverse connections that are not linked to each other in anyway such as fibre broadband and wireless connectivity; one in the ground, one in the air. This means that disruption to one connection e.g. a fibre break will not have any implications to the wireless connection.
The quality of both connections should be the same in order to ensure that the connection into a business remains consistent even if one service goes down.
True Network Diversity means that if one internet connection is disrupted, the second connection will kick in automatically. It instantly takes over if a failure on the main link is detected. The result? Whatever happens in the outside world, your business will remain online and operating. A win-win for business owners and customers alike.
Magnet Plus offers a range of business solutions to the Irish market including managed failover, cyber security and connectivity services. Contact one of the team today!
