How can you improve the speed of your network when there is more traffic? The answer is switching, which helps avoid congestion and reduce collisions.

"Network switches are like the tires of a car - you don't think about them until there's a problem," says Gabriel Ruiz, President of ITPointe. "But when there is a problem, it affects everyone who relies on them."

Having an effective switch is crucial to handle the increasing network traffic from video and other bandwidth-intensive applications, more devices used by users, and more data packets going to servers and storage in the cloud.

"When you start using a cloud service, don't be surprised to find that you're sending out 50 percent more internet traffic than before," says Mark Calzone, President of Ash Creek Enterprises. "Your network infrastructure needs to be prepared."

Any small or medium-sized business can use LAN switching to maintain the necessary speeds and availability for their users. This article presents five ways to achieve this, as suggested by experts from two Cisco® Certified Partners who deal with it on a daily basis.

Step-by-Step Guide to Improved Network Speed

1. Segment Your Network Logically, Using VLANs

A traditional network that puts all traffic in one broadcast domain can cause switch links to become overloaded. Instead, take advantage of your switch's VLAN features to direct traffic only to where it needs to go, at the appropriate speed.

According to Joe Cichowski, the technical sales director at Ash Creek, collisions are bound to happen. The goal for each segment should be to have a collision rate of less than 10 percent.

There are various types of VLANs available at both Layer 2 and Layer 3 to segment traffic. Many Cisco switches designed for small and midsized businesses offer the following VLAN types:

- Protocol: This VLAN is dedicated to IP voice or video traffic.

- Devices: This VLAN can be used for wireless clients, servers, printers, or all the equipment on a specific floor in a building.

- Port: This VLAN is created for a particular department or group of users.

- Guest, MAC address, and unauthenticated traffic: These VLANs are used for specific purposes related to guests, MAC addresses, and traffic that hasn't been authenticated.

- Dynamic VLAN assignment: This VLAN type assigns switch ports to VLANs based on the source MAC address of the end device.

- Multicast VLAN Registration (MVR): This VLAN organizes multicast traffic into a dedicated VLAN while allowing users to maintain their other VLANs. Internet Group Management Protocol (IGMP) Snooping restricts traffic to the devices that require it.

2. Ensure Sufficient Capacity

Allocate enough processing power and bandwidth to cater to the needs of your segments, applications, and users. To minimize delays, congestion, and collisions, utilize switch capacity capabilities such as:

A high-performing engine: Silicon chips that can handle traffic without blocking. Switches that can forward traffic at the same speed as the wire may be more expensive, but they can significantly improve performance, similar to upgrading from an old car to a new one. Miercom tests have demonstrated that Cisco switches (which all use nonblocking chips) forward traffic without any packet loss.

Link Aggregation Control Protocol (LACP): This standard feature enhances available bandwidth by combining multiple ports. Think of using LACP on four ports as adding four extra traffic lanes dynamically, rather than quadrupling the speed, explains Ruiz.

Gigabit bandwidth on LAN ports and uplinks: It took a while for links to transition from 10/100 Mbps to 1 Gbps, but small and mid-sized businesses are now rapidly adopting 10 Gbps, with even higher speeds on the horizon. Calzone advises reviewing your infrastructure annually and planning for a five-year lifecycle to manage capital expenditure.

Stacking switches: If possible, stack your switches to boost throughput and have them function as a single device with a unified IP address. Ruiz highlights that a stack of Cisco Catalyst 3750-X Series Switches can achieve a throughput of up to 64 Gbps.

3. Enable High-Speed Routing Between VLANs

To allow users or servers that utilize multiple VLANs to communicate, it is necessary to enable inter-VLAN routing.

According to Ruiz, it is recommended to utilize the routing capabilities of your switch instead of relying on router software. The hardware of a switch can perform routing tasks at a fast speed, allowing for efficient communication between VLANs. By offloading the routing tasks from the router, it can focus on handling WAN connectivity and firewall functions, resulting in improved overall network performance.

Cichowski suggests making full use of both static and dynamic IP routing capabilities offered by your switch.

4. Give Priority to Applications and Control Traffic Flow

To optimize the utilization of your bandwidth, it is important to control access to it, advises Cichowski.

You can utilize the following features of your switch to set performance parameters based on the importance of the traffic and its sensitivity to jitter and latency. However, make sure that the connected devices support these features:

- Prioritize applications based on the 802.1p/q tag, which is a Layer 2 switching capability.

- Prioritize applications based on the IP header, specifically the differentiated services code point (DSCP)/type of service (ToS), which is a Layer 3 switching capability.

- Shape traffic by delaying packets using criteria such as bandwidth throttling or rate limiting.

5. Adjust the settings of the endpoint ports on the switch to achieve the best performance

This can be done automatically, if possible. These settings include storm control, the number of devices allowed, quality of service (QoS), and VLANs.

If the switch has "smart ports", it can automatically detect new devices and configure many port settings using macros. According to Ruiz, having automated QoS settings for IP phones and other devices can greatly speed up the configuration process, and you can always make adjustments to the default settings if needed.

Cichowski explains that Cisco switches also have a feature called the "Facebook for network devices" - the Cisco Discovery Protocol. This protocol recognizes Cisco devices and retrieves relevant data for optimal performance connections, quick problem-solving, and efficient network management.

Combine Your Switching, Cut Costs

By following these five tips, along with utilizing Simple Network Management Protocol (SNMP) or other monitoring and management tools, as well as implementing switch security features like dynamic Address Resolution Protocol (ARP) inspection, IP Source Guard, and Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP) Snooping to prevent attacks, you can achieve excellent network performance. This will also help your company save money. For instance, an international distributor purchased new switches to support their unified communications system. However, these switches were set up in a flat network with no management capabilities. As a result, when they sought ITPointe's assistance, their phone system and network were already down, and they had to replace all the new switches.

When Ash Creek upgraded the switches for a manufacturing company with 200 employees, they were able to save the company hundreds of thousands of dollars by eliminating production line shutdowns caused by network latency.

Accelerate Your Network

When you need to enhance the speed of your network, Cisco Certified Partners can assist you with expert switching and infrastructure strategies. This includes network assessment and design, solution financing and implementation, as well as on-site support and/or managed services.

If you need Switches, Routers, or need more network information, welcome to contact us www.hi-network.com (Email: [email protected])