How to Manage Broadband for Multiple Business Sites

When your business grows to a certain size, things can start to get exciting, but they can also get complicated. You may find yourself in a position where yours has expanded to have more than one site, but how do you manage your connectivity if that's the case?

Multi-site network management requires care because providing a consistent and reliable business broadband connection is increasingly vital to keeping a business going. In this handy guide, we’ll be looking at key connectivity solutions such as SD-WAN and MPLS, as well as everything you need to know about managing your business broadband across multiple sites. 

What is Multi-Site Network Management?

Multi-site network management refers to the practice of overseeing a network across multiple physical locations and ensuring consistent connections across all of them. This varies greatly from (and can be more complex than) operating a single site. Your various sites may have different functions, so consistency is crucial to the smooth daily running of your business. It’s most commonly found in retail, franchises, distributed offices and other workplaces that have more than one physical location. 

Key Technologies for Multi-Site Broadband Management

Several key technologies have emerged in recent years which allow network administrators to manage connectivity across multiple sites. 

SD-WAN (Software-Defined Wide Area Network)

SD-WAN (Software-Defined Wide Area Network) is a technology that simplifies the management and operation of a network across various physical locations by decoupling the networking hardware from its control mechanism. 

It can offer your business several benefits, including centralised management, improved performance, enhanced security, scalability, and cost savings. 

SD-WAN allows network administrators to control multiple connections, dynamically route traffic, and reduce dependency on more expensive Multi-Protocol Label Switching (MPLS) dependency, thereby lowering costs. It also offers enhanced security and is easily scalable, allowing your network to grow as your business does. 

SD-WAN optimises network resources, ensures better performance for critical applications, and provides robust protection across multiple sites. Key features such as centralised control and traffic prioritisation can be crucial for the stability and security of your multi-site network. 

MPLS (Multiprotocol Label Switching)

MPLS (Multiprotocol Label Switching) is a high-performance network protocol that directs data along predetermined paths, ensuring private and secure connections. Although more expensive, MPLS offers reliability, consistent performance, low latency (the time it takes for data to travel from one location to another), and strong QoS (Quality of Service). 

MPLS is ideal for organisations requiring high reliability and secure connections, such as financial institutions, healthcare providers, and businesses with critical applications needing guaranteed performance and low latency.

Hybrid Solutions

SD-WAN and MPLS can co-exist happily, meaning they can be combined to provide a tailored approach for your business. This allows you to leverage SD-WAN's cost-efficiency and flexibility alongside the reliability and performance of MPLS. 

For example, your business can use MPLS for critical applications requiring high reliability and low latency, such as financial transactions, while using SD-WAN for less critical traffic and redundancy. Such hybrid solutions can optimise performance while offering cost savings and enhanced security across all sites.

How to Choose the Right Multi-Site Network Solution

Of course, the right multi-site network solution for your business will be specific to your needs, so how do you choose the right one? 

Assess Business Needs

To choose the right multi-network solution for your business, you must first assess your business needs. How many sites do you manage, and what are the bandwidth requirements? 

You’ll also need to understand what applications are critical to the successful day-to-day running of your business. For some businesses, it might be financial transactions or stock control; for others, it might be VoIP calling or video conferencing. It’s also the case that more people are working from home than ever before. This will also need to be taken into account when you’re assessing what you need. 

Evaluate Network Security

Security should be at the top of your list when deciding on your needs. Encryption and secure VPNs (Virtual Private Networks) are critical to maintaining the level of security you’ll need to have complete peace of mind over your network. It’s also a fact of modern business life that bad actors may be trying to gain access to your network from the outside. Firewalls and intrusion detection systems play a critical role in ensuring that this can’t happen and that this risk is minimised. 

Budget and Scalability

SD-WAN is generally more cost-effective than MPLS because MPLS needs dedicated network infrastructure to function effectively. SD-WAN offers greater flexibility and scalability for future expansion, easily accommodating new sites and remote users without significant additional costs. MPLS is more reliable but involves higher costs and may require longer lead times for adding new features to your network.

Best Practices for Managing Multi-Site Business Internet

There are, of course, best practices that you should be following to manage your multi-site network as efficiently as you can. 

Regularly Monitor Network Performance

Continuously track network performance using monitoring tools to identify and resolve issues promptly. This ensures optimal performance and helps maintain reliable connectivity across all sites.

Implement Strict Quality of Service Guidelines

Use QoS policies to prioritise critical applications and traffic, such as VoIP, video conferencing, and Enterprise Resource Planning systems. This ensures that essential services receive the necessary bandwidth for optimal performance, even during peak usage times.

Centralise Network Management Tools

Deploy centralised network management platforms to streamline the administration of network resources across multiple sites. These tools provide a single interface for configuration, monitoring, and troubleshooting, which can enhance your network's operational efficiency.

Schedule Maintenance to Avoid Downtime

Downtime can be very bad for your business. It might even prevent you from doing any business at all! So, plan and execute regular maintenance during off-peak hours to minimise disruptions. This may include updating firmware, performing hardware checks, and addressing potential vulnerabilities to maintain network stability and security.

Common Challenges and How to Overcome Them

Of course, experienced systems administrators will already know that there can be many challenges when it comes to maintaining a network of this nature and that these complications can multiply in complexity the more complex your requirements are in the first place. So what are they, and what can you do about them? 

Bandwidth Bottlenecks

Bandwidth bottlenecks occur when network traffic exceeds the available bandwidth, causing slowdowns and reduced performance. This can happen due to increased usage, outdated infrastructure, or inefficient traffic management.

Solutions: 

• Upgrade Bandwidth: Increase the available bandwidth to accommodate higher traffic volumes.

• Optimise Traffic: Implement QoS policies to prioritise critical applications and efficiently manage traffic. Load balancing and traffic shaping can also help distribute network load and prevent congestion.

Latency Issues

Latency issues occur when there is a delay in data transmission, often due to long distances between devices and servers, network congestion, or inefficient routing.

Solutions:

• Implement Edge Computing: By processing data closer to the source, edge computing reduces the distance data must travel, thus lowering latency.

• Use Local DNS Caching: Local DNS caching stores frequently accessed domain name information closer to the user, speeding up the resolution process and reducing latency.

Network Security Threats

These arise from malicious activities such as hacking, phishing, malware, and ransomware attacks. These threats exploit vulnerabilities in network infrastructure, software, and user behaviour to gain unauthorised access or disrupt services.

Solutions:

• Deploy advanced threat protection: Use advanced security solutions, such as firewalls, intrusion detection systems, and anti-malware tools, to detect and mitigate threats.

• Carry out regular security audits: Conduct frequent security audits to identify and address vulnerabilities, ensuring robust protection against evolving threats.

If your business has multiple sites, the importance of effective multi-site network management cannot be understated. You need your broadband connection to be reliable and safe from external threats. 

But this can get expensive should you follow the wrong approach, and overkill can be very expensive! It is, therefore, vital that you tailor your network to your business needs. Not only can you ensure that you have the multi-site network that your business needs, but it may even be the case that you can save money, too! By reviewing your position today, you could find the holes needing patching while benefiting your business's bottom line!