As your business grows and your list of achievements grows ever longer, you will eventually realize that your network cannot keep up with the strain you place on it every day. When your network experiences so much traffic that it buckles under the pressure, or slows to a crawl, we call that a network bottleneck, and it can be indicative of other problems on your infrastructure that must be addressed.
For an example, let’s take a look at an actual bottleneck. The bottom is rounded while the top is more narrow. This design is supposed to keep a limited amount of fluid from passing through it at a time, making it easier to drink without the fluid spilling out.
Another great analogy is a busy highway. Let’s say there are two lanes, and on a normal day, they are both open to vehicles, making it easy for drivers to get from one place to the next. When you close one of the lanes for construction, suddenly things slow down dramatically; the same amount of traffic passes through one lane, and it grows overburdened.
A network bottleneck works in a similar fashion, with the flow of traffic being limited or restricted due to the designs or limitations of the network itself. The flow of data throughout the network is generally governed by bandwidth and the capabilities of the hardware, so if a network is trying to transfer too much traffic, a bottleneck will occur, slowing it all down. Here are some of the common hardware reasons a network bottleneck might appear:
- CPUs
- Graphical processing units
- RAM shortages
Bottlenecks are problematic for network efficiency and productivity, as failure to provide the appropriate resources can mean that transporting data becomes an incredibly slow process. Everyday tasks can take significantly longer to accomplish, leading to issues with deadlines and even sticking to the appropriate budget. Tasks might even be skipped entirely because they are too resource-intensive or inconvenient to pull off!
Depending on how your network was designed, it might have been flawed right from the get-go, only becoming noticeable due to increased growth patterns and traffic. If you are actively looking for network bottlenecks, you won’t let them catch you off guard. ClearView IT can help you find bottlenecks and address them appropriately. To learn more, reach out to us at 866-326-7214.
