Software to maximize bandwidth

This feature prioritizes and controls traffic that you send and receive, allowing the important traffic to come first. For example, you can prioritize a Skype call over Netflix streaming or online gaming services over general Internet use. As a result, you will get faster access to the service you find critical at a given point in time.

Getting a high-end dual-bandwidth router instead of an old-school one might be a good idea if you stay in a location with too many routers and your WiFi channel gets overcrowded. A dual bandwidth router broadcasts on two frequencies — 2.

By switching to one of these frequencies, you can avoid wireless signal jamming and, as a result, increase your Internet bandwidth. Therefore, you might want to think of acquiring additional equipment that can help you solve the problem of poor speeds.

Devices that extend Wi-Fi range are expensive, but they can tremendously improve the quality of your bandwidth. The way the repeater works is that it takes your existing wireless signal from a router and rebroadcasts a boosted signal over a large area. While it may be an ideal way to increase the range of your WiFi, you have to remember that you have to place your repeater properly. It can be attached to your BT NTE5 Master Socket, and it works by isolating its bell wire that usually picks up radio interference from wireless devices.

Sometimes, this can be a technical problem with your ISP, or you just need to change your current Internet plan to get enough bandwidth, but now it happens more often that your ISP can deliberately throttle your Internet speed. In case there is a technical problem on the side of your ISP, contacting your ISP may be the only thing you need to solve your bandwidth issue. In addition to reporting on historical trends of bandwidth use on your network, it can provide bandwidth monitoring reports and graphs, so you can easily measure how your network has been performing over time and how it looks now.

WhatsUp Gold by Ipswitch provides a complete network monitoring solution. It encompasses monitoring of users, applications, and protocols consuming bandwidth; application performance monitoring; and virtualization monitoring and configuration management.

Regarding network traffic analysis, having insight into bandwidth consumption allows you to more easily manage your overall infrastructure, services, and applications. It also helps you ensure you have an adequate bandwidth for critical business services.

Drawing on these insights, you can create bandwidth usage policies and alerts for capacity planning and maximize your return on ISP costs by optimizing your bandwidth. WhatsUp Gold can help you to reprioritize activities consuming a disproportionate amount of bandwidth and identify illegitimate bandwidth hogs that should be prevented from accessing your network.

It includes reporting capabilities, so you can easily see various aspects of your network performance, as well as mapping tools for visualizing your core, Windows, wireless, and virtual infrastructures. The tool does have its drawbacks.

In addition, the web interface could be improved, as it runs slowly on dynamic or complex network setups. The last two tools on this list are for those readers looking for something free or open-source. These free open-source tools are more limited than premium tools, and while they might suffice for home or small business users, larger enterprises will want to look into more robust solutions. Cacti has been around since and is well known in the network data graphing space. This network monitoring solution provides time-series data graphing capabilities, which you can use for tracking bandwidth baselines or looking at whether your bandwidth has recently spiked.

Cacti has a large community of users who can help you with troubleshooting, and the program is fully customizable in terms of visuals. However, it can be overwhelming and confusing for new users. For a home user, Cacti might be too complex. The Monitor pane shows how your bandwidth is used over time, with a graph updating the information once per second. You can use these graphs for both historical data and real-time bandwidth monitoring. In the Query pane, you can specify a date and look at detailed bandwidth usage information, with the results exportable to a spreadsheet.

Finally, you can use the History pane to see how bandwidth and connection usage has changed over longer periods of time, such as hours, days, and months. For an open-source tool, BitMeter OS is high quality and is suitable for home networks or for playing around with.

Many users will find something in the above list to suit their needs. Plus, it includes the NetPath tool we looked at earlier, which offers advanced monitoring and helps you spot trouble areas quickly. First, consider what exactly you want to use the tool for, and whether you have any existing tools or software already carrying out some of the above bandwidth monitoring or troubleshooting tasks.

If you work in a large enterprise environment and need high availability of your software, choose a well-known and established vendor who has software with good documentation and support communities in case of issues. In all cases, consider the reliability and breadth of utilities the bandwidth software offers, and whether it can scale to the size of your network.

A wide range of tools are available to improve your network bandwidth, from open-source to premium paid. Some offer complete network monitoring and troubleshooting features, while others are more bare-bones and may only offer monitoring and graphing capabilities.

The tool you choose should facilitate these processes, helping you isolate and fix problems, cut down on bandwidth requirements, and plan for future expansion. SolarWinds is a market-leading brand in enterprise-class network management software.

I find their products like Bandwidth Analyzer Pack to be high-quality and powerful, yet easy to use. They are suitable for enterprise use, integrate well with each other, and have a great price point.

Back to top How to Optimize Bandwidth There are four main areas to address when it comes to bandwidth optimization, the process of making the rate of data transfer across your network as efficient as possible.

Determine network topology The first step toward bandwidth optimization and remedying performance issues is to determine exactly how your network is set up.

The main topology types are: Bus— The bus topology is the most basic type, in which all your network nodes are in a line from the main server.

Ring— Ring topologies are set up in a circle. Packets can either travel in one direction or in both directions. This topology is also easy to understand and set up, but can have problems with reliability.

If one node in the circle goes down, the whole network goes down. Tree —A tree topology has one central node or server with branches coming off it.

If one branch goes down, the other branches are protected from failure. Star —Star networks have a central node and then other branches coming off it in a circular pattern, with each node having a main connection to the central hub. This contrasts with a tree topology, where each node may only be connected to others on the branch, rather than the central node. Mesh —A mesh is a pattern of nodes and servers where each one is connected to all the others in various ways.

If one individual part of the network goes down, packets can easily re-route and go through another network pathway. Mesh networks can be complicated to understand and maintain. Hybrid— Hybrid topologies are those in which multiple of the above topologies are combined. This is common in large enterprises where various, differently organized parts of the network have been brought together. Back to top 2. Track and set baselines Before you can figure out how to improve bandwidth and network performance, you need a clear idea of how your network is currently performing.

Optimize network traffic flow Next, you can begin to optimize your network traffic flow itself. Back to top 4. Optimize WAN If your enterprise is large and has remote sites as well as cloud servers, integrating these connections into your corporate network can cause slowdowns and affect performance. Shape your network traffic Traffic shaping, also known as packet shaping, is the process of delaying less-important packets in favor of higher-priority packets traveling across the network.

Back to top 6. Use load balancing to distribute traffic Your business likely has some critical applications that need to function for your company to provide a high quality of service.

Time improvements properly You want to make sure updates and patches are timed to keep everything up-to-date and performing well. Back to top 8. Limit personal bandwidth usage This is an obvious one, but not all enterprises think about it sufficiently.

Back to top Best Tools to Improve Network Performance A few companies dominate this space, and several provide tools useful in different ways.

Back to top 3. Its intuitive web console works with its five most popular tools, so you can access them wherever you have an internet connection: Response Time Monitor—shows you the availability of devices in real time, as well as their latency in tabular form Interface Monitor—shows interface statistics for routers and switches CPU Monitor—keeps tabs on CPU load and sets warning and load threshold alerts for each device on your network independently Memory Monitor—shows memory utilization, including current utilization and total memory available TraceRoute—shows you communication path routes and analyzes the performance and latency of each hop along the path I highly recommend this tool for network engineers, as it has all your everyday and high-use network troubleshooting tools in one place.

IP Address Manager Proper management of your network is key to optimizing bandwidth. Back to top 5. Paessler PRTG Network Monitor With a wide range of supported technologies, PRTG monitors every aspect of your IT infrastructure, including applications, bandwidth, traffic, packets, virtual and on-premises environments, network uptime, and cloud services, as well as ports, hardware and IoT devices, web services and disk usage, and security.

Back to top 7. OpManager With a suite of products intended for network and mobile application management, ManageEngine tools are primarily intended for enterprise mobility management focusing on wireless networks and mobile devices and other mobile computing issues.

Several types of malware will infect systems and utilize valuable computing resources, to spread, infect, destroy or steal and haemorrhaging bandwidth.

Investing in a robust commercial grade business antivirus will root out any malware infections, helping increase bandwidth performance. Cybersecurity best practices recommend that your antivirus software is updated and your systems scanned at regular intervals. Your bandwidth performance may be impacted by several background applications operating on your device. You may, or may not be aware of these background applications.

Often such applications are required to ensure the device operates within expected parameters. You may also have inactive web browser sessions open which, to remain connected, will continuously communicate with the destination to keep the connection open.

In the case of unknown background applications, a robust internet security suite should identify any such applications. You can then review and close any undesired applications.

For known applications, you should close any programs which you do not require immediately. Known as bandwidth throttling, some ISPs minimize network congestion and regulate traffic usage by purposefully throttling internet connections. Using a VPN service could potentially increase your bandwidth performance by preventing your connection from being throttled by your ISP.

Since a VPN provides privacy and security on the web, your online activities are screened from the ISP, meaning the ISP cannot determine whether your connection should be throttled. However, this approach can often be a double-edged sword. Any VPN service will also use encryption and server-hopping to provide you with privacy, thereby, negating any advantages. Our suggestion would be to use a VPN service for its primary intent, i.

Instead, we would suggest speaking with your ISP to determine if more suitable broadband packages are available. It is now common practice to intentionally throttle your Internet speed at times of network congestion. However, sometimes, there could be a technical problem with your Internet Service Provider ISP , which is why your bandwidth is limited.

If your still experience bandwidth related issues, it may be time to consider changing ISPs or business broadband packages to increase your bandwidth performance. Business internet service providers offer a wide range of business broadband packages. Read our guides for selecting the best business internet service and 20 Best Business Broadband Providers to make an informed decision. What are the Best Types of Business Laptops?

Centralized vs Decentralized vs Distributed Networking Explained. What is a VLAN? Understanding Virtual Local Area Networks.

Balancing out traffic flow so that all equipment is used will reduce peak throughput levels on any particular link or switch. This reduces overall bandwidth requirements and saves money. As you can see from the tasks outlined above, your starting point for maximizing your bandwidth is to get information on how your network performs in the moment. You need to find out where the demand for bandwidth lies, both physically and in terms of traffic types.

See also: 6 Best Network Traffic Monitors. A bandwidth monitoring system fulfills these needs. The complexity of the monitor that you choose depends on the size of your network and the typical traffic volumes that it carries. The list below ranges from bandwidth monitors with extensive analytical capabilities for large networks through to simpler systems that would work well for small enterprises.

The top end of the network management software market is dominated by a couple of providers that produce suites of network tools. To get a full picture of your network and implement solutions to maximize bandwidth, you will need a combination of these tools. Fortunately, these software houses understand the complexities of managing large networks and provide modules that fit together to create tailored solutions.

These two tools can be purchased together in a combination bundle, called the Network Bandwidth Analyzer Pack. This set of utilities works with NetFlow v5 and includes an interface so you can configure your Cisco routers to send NetFlow data to your collector. The other tools in the bundle are traffic simulators to help you test your network resources.

Finally, add on the Network Topology Mapper to see the physical layout of your system. The Network Performance Monitor is the core product of SolarWinds and is necessary for your day-to-day network management tasks. This system includes an autodiscovery capability that will trace all of the devices connected to your network and highlight the network equipment.

Autodiscovery creates a starting point for bandwidth maximization. The Network Topology Mapper will be your next port of call. This tool does exactly what it say on the tin and gives you the layout of your network. With the assistance of the mapper you can identify traffic that serves virtual environments and wifi services as well as your wired network.

This displays a visual path of links that carry specific connections. Those links trace through to cloud services. If your network includes wireless systems, you will benefit from the Heat Maps in the Network Performance Monitor.

This gives you a visual display of the signal footprints of all of your wifi routers. With this information, you can see the low signal areas and deadzones that reduce the bandwidth available to your users. Switching between the Network Performance Monitor and the Network Topology Mapper is not a difficult task because SolarWinds built all of the tools recommended in this combination on the same platform, called Orion.

When you buy several of these products, they integrate together. Enhance that integration further with an overview module, which is called the Enterprise Operations Console. It consolidates all of the data coming from multiple SolarWinds servers.

NetFlow is a specific messaging language used by Cisco Systems for its network equipment. This communication standard enables a monitor to pick up traffic flow information. Most network administrators operate a multi-vendor policy, so you may be put off by a network tool that only works with NetFlow. The network analyzer also interprets the sFlow and IPFIX messaging systems, which are vendor-neutral reporting languages for networking equipment. Those network equipment reporting languages supply key data that the NetFlow Traffic Analyzer uses to monitor bandwidth usage.

This is the key module to monitor the results of maximizing bandwidth. Combine this information with the NetPath data and the Network Topology Mapper to see the points of strain on your network where you most need to apply mitigating solutions in order to improve bandwidth availability.

The NetFlow Traffic Analyzer is able to monitor the performance of internet links between sites and out to Cloud servers. This information will help you decide on improvement strategies for WAN optimization. Part of your solution to bandwidth overutilization may be a QoS approach. This is the reverse of throttling because it enables you to tag certain types of traffic and prioritizes its flow through network equipment.

The NetFlow Traffic Analyzer has a tracking module, that monitors the flow of prioritized protocols. The NetFlow Traffic Analyzer includes a section for wireless traffic analysis. This works in combination with the Network Performance Monitor wifi features to help you maximize the availability of wireless bandwidth to your user community.

These two tools can be purchased together in a package, called the IP Control Bundle. You can identify the switch ports pumping data onto the network and trace all the way through to each endpoint. The user element of this module contains profiles of each user on the network including their physical locations.

A panel in the User Details section of the tool shows a searchable list of all of the endpoints that the user account has been active on. This is a useful feature for network security as well as bandwidth management. It allows you to identify unusual activity that may indicate a compromised user account. Thanks to the autodiscovery feature of the Network Performance Monitor, combined with the user and device information in this module, you can monitor for unauthorized devices and users on the system.

In the User Device Tracker , a module profiles each of the network devices operating in your environment including wireless access points. The performance of each device shows metrics such as throughput , packet loss , and response times. These pieces of information show whether your bandwidth has been impaired by faulty equipment or a defective application originating in one specific location.

The profiles of devices identify which switches are being pushed to their capacity. You can trace back through a troubled connection to see where exactly the bandwidth impairment occurred. Many network monitoring software providers produce a tool called a Switch Port Mapper. SolarWinds builds this functionality into the User Device Tracker.

The switch port monitoring service of this tool shows the activity of each port and the protocols that relate to it. For example, you can see which switch ports are participants in a virtual environment.

This enables the connection between hardware and platform performance that support VM systems. As with most switch port monitors, the User Device Monitor enables you to turn ports on and off from one central location.

The IP Address Manager is part of the solution to your bandwidth utilization problems. The addition of this tool to your monitoring suite is particularly useful if you operate multiple DHCP and DNS servers on your network. A major cause of network congestion is the overloading of an individual wire with too many nodes. If you have split up the network and you still face performance issues, then you need to resize your subnets. You can reallocate resources so reduce spare bandwidth in one part of the network and increase insufficient bandwidth in another part.

The IP Address Manager helps calculate subnets and regularly sweeps the network to list active addresses. The IPAM performs ongoing monitoring of address pools and will alert you if one address scope is approaching exhaustion.

You can also set alerts if any IP address conflicts occur. This is a great help if you run an expandable VM system and need new addresses added automatically.

Coordinating IP address allocations is an important issue when you want to maximize bandwidth because clashing address locations can cause delays in transmission and even blocks.

This situation is often confused with bandwidth availability because the effects are very similar. Weeding out IP address problems will speed up your network and make it seem as though you have expanded bandwidth.

Similarly, a failure to update the DNS records with reallocated IP addresses will cause connections to hang and make it look as though the network has maxed out. Resolving those problems will help identify which network performance issues really are caused by bandwidth limitations. Information aids include graphs, charts, dials, and color coding that make successful operations and hazards easy to distinguish. The dashboard can be customized and you can set up limited views of data and controls to enable different members of an administration team to access only those features that they need in order to perform their duties.

The alerts generated by these tools are shown in the console, and you can send them a team member by SMS or email. The ability to set up user groups, individual user accounts, and limited dashboard views means you can give access to non-technical stakeholders , such as board members, to let them check on the status of the network whenever they want. The reporting engine of these tools also helps create documents and slides that give you an edge when presenting to executives. The reporting tool allows for the creation of custom reports.

The above solution is the top-of-the-line combination of network tools to help you manage your bandwidth. However, SolarWinds provides an alternative pack of utilities if you find the combo above a little pricey. SolarWinds points out that this package can also interact with the Network Performance Monitor. This enormous set of tools includes functions that shadow the capabilities of the main SolarWinds products.

Picking through the list of tools in the bag, you can put together a useful suite to help you maximize network bandwidth. The Switch Port Mapper facility produces a report page for each switch in your network and lists its connected ports. The Port Scanner checks the addressing ports on your routers and endpoint devices, showing which ports are open and vulnerable to hacker exploitation.

Real-time network performance monitors examine bandwidth performance, like the Response Time Monitor and the TraceRoute utility. The Response Time Monitor displays the throughput of selected network devices. This live report shows which parts of your infrastructure are unavailable for routing and which are performing poorly.

These points of failure could explain why your users experience slowness or an inaccessible network. The TraceRoute tool is an implementation of a standard network administration utility that you probably already know. It uses ICMP to check on the links that make up the route to a specific destination. This information is presented in a searchable GUI table, saving you from manually diagnosing paths in the command line.

These tools are also very useful when analyzing connections across the internet. This ability will prove useful when you are gathering evidence for WAN optimization. This collection is not as well integrated as the IP Address Manager in the previous section.

This tool runs on the Windows Server environment. You can check it out yourself on a day free trial. It covers networks, servers, and applications. The network monitoring component of the tool has two elements: a network performance manager , which checks on the health of network devices, and a network traffic analyzer.

It is these network monitoring functions of PRTG that will help you to optimize your bandwidth utilization. The PRTG collector gathers real-time reports on network traffic using a range of network device messaging systems.