Savvy multi-dwelling unit (MDU) property owners know how important their network infrastructure is to the overall success of their business. Without a comprehensive network that provides outstanding connectivity, it’s not only challenging to run necessary business operations, but it’s also challenging to attract and retain tenants.
To this end, we’ve already discussed how important it is to plan for network upgrades just like you would other infrastructure at the property, such as HVAC and roofing.
But, how are you supposed to plan for network upgrades if you don’t know what you’re planning for? The simple answer is you can’t.
That’s why it’s essential that all MDU property owners conduct a thorough network assessment to determine its current status, where the holes are and when certain upgrades might be necessary.
This network assessment can be completed in five steps, which we detail below.
1. Infrastructure
The first step in completing a network assessment is making a detailed list of all its components. This includes the wiring, hardware and software applications that make the network run, and that run on the network.
These components should be assessed throughout the entire property, in residential units and common areas, at the on-site operations and back-office IT, at any off-site locations and even in the cloud.
Make a comprehensive list of all these components. Include the names, model and serial numbers, age of the device and when it was first deployed (if known) as well as its location on the property and role on the network.
This will serve as a great network inventory list that the IT team should keep on file for future uses. As components are replaced, upgraded or changed, the list should be updated.
An overall infrastructure assessment only needs to be completed once, and then updated as components are updated.
2. Performance
Conducting a full performance assessment will help you determine how well the network components are performing, as well as whether your overall network infrastructure is sufficient for the traffic on it.
It’s possible that when you initially deployed the network, it was sufficient to handle the traffic, but it isn’t any longer. A performance assessment will help determine any issues your network might be experiencing.
In addition, this step will also help you identify the types of traffic on your network, where it’s coming from, the average amount of traffic as well as when you experience peak loads.
What you’re looking for during the performance assessment are any errors, overall utilization levels and response time of the components. This is one part of determining whether you’re experiencing any failures, lag or downtime due to the components of your network.
A performance assessment should be completed on a semi-regular basis to ensure everything is working properly. Elauwit suggests this network-wide assessment should be completed once a month.
3. Availability
If you find any failures during the performance assessment, it doesn’t automatically mean you need an entirely new network. It could just mean you need to re-configure how your network is designed and/or deployed, or you may just need to upgrade a component or two.
An availability assessment will help you make this determination.
This step is a survey of the configuration, design and diversity of your MDU network as a whole, and of the specific facilities on your network — i.e., the residential units, the property-wide WiFi, the back-office operations, etc.
The goal of this step is to address the network requirements of your MDU property and how well the components address these requirements. Conducting this process could save you a lot of money by identifying specific issues rather than just thinking the entire network is bad.
An availability assessment should be completed on the same schedule as you complete your performance assessment, as they go hand-in-hand.
4. Security
Security is a major concern for any business owner, and especially for MDU property owners. That’s because MDU networks not only deal with a lot of very sensitive data, but they also have a diverse set of users on their network. This can make them particularly vulnerable to attacks from outside and within.
Conducting a security assessment is crucial to see how vulnerable your network might be. Through this assessment, you should assess:
- The types of data you store
- How you protect the data you’re storing
- The network security tools you deploying
- Your policies for usernames and passwords
- How you prevent unauthorized people from accessing the network
- How you identify potential vulnerabilities and respond to them
After the initial security assessment is completed, follow-up assessments are done in real-time. It’s advisable to have network monitoring tools in place that allow IT staff to constantly identify and assess vulnerabilities and potential attacks as they happen.
5. Management
Your network will only be as good as the plan that’s in place to manage it. For your network to perform properly, it needs to be monitored on a consistent basis to identify issues, problems and concerns in real-time.
Do you have a network management process in place? If so, review whether it’s good enough for your needs and whether it’s working. If it’s not, alter the process to meet your needs, and utilize software tools to make the process easier.
If you don’t have a network management plan in place, it’s time to create one. This plan should detail what needs to be managed/monitored, how it’s going to be managed/monitored and who should be doing it.
A written management plan is essential to the overall performance of the network. Once created and/or refined, it only needs to be revisited once a year.
Have Network Needs? Elauwit Can Help Conducting a network assessment for your MDU property may seem like a large undertaking, but it’s an essential project to complete to ensure one of your property’s most important pieces of infrastructure is meeting the needs of your business and your tenants.
Elauwit, a boutique national telecom service company, can help your MDU property’s network meet these needs. Contact us today to learn more.