Thinking of deploying a professional WiFi network or renovating the one you already have? Either way, you are going to have to get a set of equipment that will make it happen. In this article, Galgus wants to give you a hand to make your task easier. Here are 8 types of devices to take into account.
Did you know that 98% of Spanish companies already have Internet connectivity? Surely, this figure obtained from the survey “About connectivity in Spain”, carried out by CONETIC, does not surprise you. For years now, the country’s productive fabric has begun to realize that it must remain connected in order to survive.
Delving a little deeper into this survey, we find the distribution of the different types of Internet connection used, such as:
- Optical fiber: 87%.
- 4G: 60%.
- ADSL: 46%.
- Coaxial fiber: 16%.
- Satellite: 8%.
- 5G: 4%.
In most of these types, it is essential to deploy a suitable infrastructure for WiFi connection. A set of devices that we are going to talk about from here on.
What WiFi devices do you need to deploy an efficient network?
Access Points
Access points are the cornerstone of a professional WiFi infrastructure. Access points are responsible for generating and projecting a WiFi signal, mainly in areas of considerable size, such as large buildings, hotels or public places.
An access point acts as a secondary network device that connects to the primary one to provide a gateway to the network in places where the router signal (if wireless) cannot reach. In addition, with the right firmware, some access points can act intelligently, optimizing and automating the management of radio resources.
Switches
A switch is a device that is responsible for the interconnection between the different computers on a network, thus forming what is known as a local area network or LAN (Local Area Network).
Scalability is one of the main switches qualities, both when expanding a network and in terms of the scalability of the switches themselves, since they can have from just a few input ports to dozens or more than a hundred.
Software
Software that manages the WiFi network is the orchestra conductor that allows you to take full advantage of the hardware resources you have. At Galgus, we have our patented CHT (Cognitive Hotspot Technology) software, which makes access points monitor their environment and “talk” to each other. Thus, they properly serve the demands of connected devices and, as a result, offer fast, robust and secure connectivity.
In addition, Galgus software allows network management and analytics in the cloud thanks to its Cloud Manager. In this way, incidents can be solved regardless of where the managers are located or the time of day.
Media converters
Among these, the most prominent and which will serve as a clear example to illustrate the usefulness of these devices, are the Ethernet / Fiber converters. These change the format of the Ethernet compatible signal that travels through the copper cabling to be compatible with the fiber optic signal.
Media converters are highly valued because they extend the lifetime of the equipment in a network infrastructure. This is because, for example, when expanding a network from an older one, it is not necessary to completely overhaul it.
Antennas
WiFi antennas have the task of redirecting the signal to one or more desired directions. Therefore, they are elements added to the APs or router and provide extra directivity or power to the WiFi signal. For example, where its range is weakened for any reason or the beam needs to be focused on a specific area.
Depending on the type of radiation pattern, WiFi antennas can be unidirectional, omnidirectional, with a 360° radius of action, or sectorial, with an aperture between approximately 60° and 80°.
PoE power supply
PoE stands for Power over Ethernet. By this we mean that power is supplied to the equipment via the same Ethernet network cable.
The main advantage of PoE technology is the significant savings in cabling, especially in large deployments. In addition to the savings in infrastructure investment, it is also easier to install and maintain. Nor should we forget the relevance that the weight of the cable network can have for certain scenarios and structures.
Routers
Routers are the most well-known pieces of equipment for everyone, you probably have one within your reach right now or very close if not. Basically, a router does the job of distributing network data to the different devices that are connected to the network. The router can connect users to a local network and/or the Internet.
At this point, you may be wondering about the difference between a router and an access point. To simplify the answer, we can say that the access point is connected via an Ethernet cable to the router to emit the WiFi signal of the network to which the router is connected. In other words, it makes a network available to users at a distance beyond the range of the router.
Firewalls
Among the WiFi devices required for a quality network, we must not forget something as important as cybersecurity. A key element here are firewalls.
These elements control and monitor incoming and outgoing network traffic. In this way, it prevents access to unauthorized connections that could be potentially dangerous.
With these 8 types of WiFi devices, you will have everything you need to provide users with a network that meets their requirements. Something that will have an impact on the benefits of your project, increasing its efficiency in several ways. Do you want to talk more about it? Contact us now.
And if you are clear about what you need, you can go directly to our online store and get the equipment you want.
