Is Your Home Network Ready For Smart Technology?

We are seemingly awash in smart devices in our daily life.  We depend on our smartphones to stay connected to everything, our computers, our tablets, our smart TVs that stream from the Internet, smart lights, smart speakers, and smart cameras. Some of the technology that powers them emanates from right here in the Seattle and Bellevue area, home to Microsoft, Amazon, and many smaller technology companies. 

The common thread across all smart devices is that much of the intelligence that makes them “smart” comes from their connection to powerful cloud applications.  What makes the Amazon Echo a smart speaker that can do so much is the link to Amazon’s cloud platform, which can connect it to many other services that can do things for you.  And for that to work, you need an always-on, robust network connection. 

As we add more and more devices to our homes to control and manage functions like lighting, climate, and entertainment, we need networks with the capacity to handle it all.  Is your home network system up to the task? 

Read on to learn more.

 

SEE ALSO: Four Big Trends In Home Automation

 

ISP Equipment       

Internet Service Providers typically bundle equipment with their Internet service plans.  Such bundles will include a router and modem (often integrated into one device) that provides your connection to the Internet as well as the router function that connects your devices together and to the Internet.  The problem with ISP equipment is that it tends to be a one-size-fits-all solution.  Some homes are larger and may have more difficult areas to reach with a single router for Wi-Fi.  Some homes have heavier data usage from streaming 4K video or online gaming.  These solutions may work for the “average” home, but may not work for yours.

Just like there are different computers for different needs, not all routers and networking equipment are the same. Routers are just special-purpose computing devices that run systems optimized to handle networking tasks.  For a home with many smart devices and a large amount of data traffic, a higher-end router may be needed.  That could be one with better radio hardware, a stronger processor, and a good history of software updates to fix security flaws and bugs – just like in our computers and smartphones. 

If your home is having trouble with connectivity and you have the standard home network system from your ISP, it may be time to take a closer look at your setup.

 

Security

Security is a prime concern for just about any activity on the Internet.  From privacy issues to hacking, we have to keep our information safe – not to mention financial accounts and any other sensitive data we access over the Internet.  As more smart devices and technology control more things in our homes, network security is paramount.  Obviously, if you use smart locks in your house, you don’t want someone hacking into your network and gaining access to such devices.

Like computers, ongoing maintenance and monitoring of a home network are critical.  Many people leave the default administrator login and password the same on a router, making it susceptible to a hacker taking over a router and potentially wreaking havoc, infiltrating computers and taking over smart devices.  Router administration interfaces should be protected by strong login credentials.  Routers also support many protocols, and there are some which are less secure than others.  Some of these protocols should be closed off for security purposes, depending on your usage. 

 

Professional Assessment, Design, and Installation

If you want a network that can support your needs today and will also support all the smart devices you will have in your house in the future, a professionally configured and installed home networking system is the way to go.  We can listen to your current issues, what technology you might add in the future (for example, smart locks), and also suggest ways you might want to prepare your network for optimum security, capacity, and performance.  For instance, if you would want smart cameras to monitor the outside of your home, we can run the wiring to the right places.  If you anticipate setting up a new home theater in a bonus room, we will ensure the network infrastructure is in place to support it when you’re ready to install it.  Of course, we also do home theaters too.

Call us today at (253) 353-4432 for a no-obligation consultation to get your network up to speed.