Managed IT Services - Why You Need A Router

 

  Introduction:We found that some of our new clients who haven't worked with us yet don't have a firewall installed on their Network. They opted for the modem provided by their Internet Service Provider. This device in 90% of the cases isn't built to do the heavy lifting of managing the network and keeping the bad guys off of it. If this is how your network is set up, here's a some things to think about.

  A few reasons to think twice about using a modem for your network - We all love convenience and this is a big benefit of using the ISP's modem. It's easy and after the technician who sets up your internet service is finished, your start adding computers printers, Wi-Fi devices, etc. tothe network. No tinkering no fussing because the basic Network functions are working.

As with most things like this that are super easy like this, there are some pitfalls.

  • 1 - Default administrator ID and password might public information - If you're using default settings from the ISP, the default password for your network could be published on a forum, or even an online how to guide.

     

  • 2 - You don't have sufficient control over your network - suppose you need to add some new equipment or change an IP address range or redirect some traffic on the network so a new piece of equipment will work. Or suppose you suddenly have poor phone service after adding a mid-day data backup. If you are using the ISP's modem, you don't have control you need to solve network problems like these.

 

  When you have your own router, you have control - we recommend our clients get their own router. There is no good reason to risk your business login information going viral on the internet. There are many options out there for routers. They can be sized and scaled to work in nearly any environment or situation.

When you have your own router you can manage and direct the traffic on your network in a way that suits your business. This little fact is probably not obvious, but if your internet service providers equipment fails, you may loose your internet, but you'll still be able to print, save share documents with other devices on the network.

Also, you can manage the level of security that you need for your network. So, for example if you have remote employees and you want them to be able to access certain files or servers you can manage the settings in the router's firewall. This kind of control doesn't exits when you are using your internet service providers modem.

Since your router gives you control over a number of important things, you can maintain a high level of security such as setting permissions for certain users and computers or disallowing certain activities for users and computers.

  Conclusion -If at all possible, get yourself a good business class router with plenty of features security features and options for routing and traffic management. With so many hackers, cyber criminals, rogue software and the need to keep your business competitive, relying on your ISP's equipment isn't going to serve your business well. If you need help advice or direction getting set with a good business class router, contact your trusty managed services IT technician. If you technician recommends using your ISP's equipment, contact us.