So, we have several projects going right now, but I thought I would give a quick status update on where we are with one of them and perhaps give some insight into where we are as a company.
We are just now wrapping up this 7-site project that was very different from our previous projects. Most were in Houston, but one is in Atlanta. We came in and assessed their current network, drew a plan to upgrade and correct some networking issues as well as some topology concerns, we noticed, and then executed on these sites with all new hardware and cabling. We procured the equipment, shipped it, mounted all of it in newly installed racks and plugged it all into newly run and trimmed-out cat6 cabling… after these new networks with all new Wi-Fi coverage were installed, we called on our preferred vendor for VoIP to ride on top of that network with QoS VLAN segments for that service as well as VLANs for each of their groups. It was an interesting project.
I want to give a shout out to Uplevel Systems at https://lnkd.in/ef6GSV6 for providing the network equipment for this and many of our other projects. These guys are amazing. They provide service unequaled in the space and have always been very responsive. During the course of finishing the Atlanta site, we had an MFP printer that was not responding. It showed up on the dashboard, the link lights on both ends were working and, for all we could tell, should be showing on the network.
I reached out to Uplevel support and asked what was going on from their end, and here is what they said…
-This is a weird one.
-The device is connected, all right. I went into the low-level switch diagnostic interface and saw that the link was up (which is why it\’s green on the dashboard).
-A quick cable test shows that there seems to be 90 meters of cable (270 feet?) on that port, but no cable errors. Of course, with 90 meters of cable, it\’s awfully hard to detect a cable error without a Fluke tester … but at least there\’s no obvious shorts or opens.
-However, the switch is sending packets down that port like mad but getting nothing back in return at all. I see 21126 packets transmitted to the printer but 0 received.
-I assume you\’ve had someone power-cycle the printer? If so, I\’d suggest disconnecting the cable from both ends (i.e., printer and switch) and then re-seating it. I can\’t see anything obvious to point at, but certainly there\’s something wrong at the low level (can\’t be receiving ZERO packets, at least one should have shown up if the device is connected).
-Also, one option to try is to just move the cable from port 17 to port 18 or something … could be a switch port issue. Also, we could try remotely rebooting the switch after hours – just let me know if you\’d like to have us do this.
All of this done through their equipment from a site that is literally thousands of miles away. #getbetterservice
Speaking of big projects, we discussed a 7-site project that had good success in bringing a new client into the 21st century with SDWAN services, robust security that examines each packet of data coming in and segments the network with QoS enabled VLAN segments.
Today, we are dealing with a new construction project in Florida. This place will enjoy the same thorough network experience, but in addition to the network, we are handling their Cable TV/Satellite programming as well as their Fiber internet coming into the building.
This site has 5 different wiring closets that serve their resident rooms with copper network. Everything is held together with fiber internet, fiber interconnect backbone between the closets, fiber service from the Cable TV service, and all tied into our preferred network vendor for this client.
#construction #success
Why do we use Uplevel Systems? Mostly, it\’s their superior business model that includes an active advisory-style engineering crew, like you saw in our last post. However, I would be remiss if I didn\’t mention that their equipment plan includes a 3-year technology refresh, where, upon request, they will send a new set of equipment to install every 3 years. Talk about never needing to worry about planning a refresh and install …
#business #network #technology
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