How Much Bandwidth Do Data Centers Need?

Data Center Bandwidth Requirements

The demand for information and real-time data transmission is higher than ever. Your data center must collect, store, process, backup and distribute massive amounts of data. The ability for your business network and equipment to handle these demanding tasks is crucial to the success of the business. Bandwidth, also known as IP (Internet Protocol), Connectivity or Internet Access, requirements are based on the internal and external network demands. It is important to know how many systems will be connected and how many users will be accessing the network.

Because technology moves quickly, keeping up the changes may seem daunting, especially for smaller businesses. Knowing what your long-term goals are, such as scaling, can help ensure you don't underestimate bandwidth needs as your business grows in size or geography. 

How To Estimate Bandwidth Needs

To estimate your businesses bandwidth requirements, the amount of traffic between your website and the rest of the internet needs to be considered. Factors to consider that affect requirements are internal connections to the data center, external connections to the internet and how many end users are accessing applications daily. 

Setting a baseline of usage and monitoring your bandwidth utilization also aids in understanding how much access is necessary. During monitoring, if you find that usage continually exceeds more than half of the purchased capacity, you may want to contact your provider for an upgrade.

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Monitoring & Tracking Network Metrics

Businesses need a system in place to monitor bandwidth network reliability, no matter how basic the tool is. Despite how big or small your network is, failing to monitor its usage puts you at risk of losing money and network reliability. Using the insights provided by either an in-house IT manager or open-source monitoring tools, you'll know firsthand how much traffic exists and what capacity is used.

For smaller businesses with limited resources, free monitoring tools are available such as MRTG - The Multi Router Traffic Grapher and Solarwinds Network Bandwidth Analyzer.You'll have important bandwidth performance and traffic pattern insights at your fingertips.

Maintaining Data Centers

Businesses that fail to prepare their network for spikes in traffic or provide redundant, are setting themselves up for poor user experiences. These negative user experiences can cost a business more than what the expense is for ample bandwidth. Slow responses or no response will make it difficult for consumers, users and employees to access or process important data.

If you don't have an IT Manager and you're unsure of what you need to succeed in this era of huge data processing, then contact a managed IT service provider. They can offer IT solution options that fit your business model regardless of the size of your enterprise.