What is a Network Audit?
A network audit is an in-depth assessment of your existing solution including hardware, configuration, architecture and security, enabling you to see clearly where your current network is not giving the performance you need.
What are the benefits of a Network Audit?
A network audit performed by a specialist can capture information that in-house staff may not have the time, resource, experience, or equipment to check. A professional network audit also has the benefit of responding to your unique concerns, and of giving qualified advice that relates specifically to your business and its network requirements. Our aim is to help you fully understand your network and to give professional guidance on where changes can be made to improve performance.
- Full network audit report including inventory, configuration analysis and network topology
- Examination of network equipment including switches, routers, cabling and fibre
- Traffic light report of recommendations ranging from green (no action) to orange (action within 6-12 months) to red (urgent action)
- Advice on how to future-proof your network for the next 10 years based on emerging technology and changes in your sector
- Security concerns or risks highlighted to avoid cyber-attacks
- Recommendations for reducing management & ownership costs
- Fault finding and diagnosis
- New network design
Not sure where to start with your network?
Improving performance requires a thorough understanding of how your network is performing. Our network engineers have a vast amount of experience in helping organisations map out a route to an improved network, whether you’re troubleshooting, auditing, or planning a new network.
What Does an Audit Involve?
The exact assessment of a network audit will be determined by working together with Redway Networks to outline your requirements. Our specialist network engineer will visit your site to carry out a full inventory audit – documenting all networking equipment including switches, routers, cabling and fibre. Each device will be physically viewed as well as tracing all cables to understand the network structure. An in-depth review of the network can then be carried out to assess the optimal network configuration, including identifying any redundant or legacy devices.
What Happens After the Network Audit?
Once we have carried out the network audit, our engineer will document all of their findings and recommendations to provide you with a comprehensive report. This review will then be presented into a traffic light report highlighting in green what is working currently, recommendations of updating devices within the next 6-12 months will be highlighted in amber and urgent changes will be emphasised in red making actions and recommendations clearly definable.
Example Traffic Light Report
1.1) COMPANY/SITE NAME – Main Comms Room
- Remove the two old unused servers from the bottom of the comms rack and remove all of the cables it uses from the switches.
- To ensure that wireless access points will work correctly, a new POE switch will need to be purchased. This will, in effect, replace the TP Link switch which has four SFP ports. I recommend: {SWITCH
RECOMMENDATION} - Minus the switch mentioned in section 2, two other NetGear access switches exist that should be replaced. I recommend: {SWITCH RECOMMENDATION}
- To tidy the cabinet, I recommend removing all existing cabling and replacing them with cables that are colour coded and correct lengths. Existing horizontal cable management can be utilised, but further horizontal management should be purchased. I also recommend two vertical management strips – one either side of the cabinet. I recommend: {CABLE MANAGEMENT RECOMMENDATION}
1.2) COMPANY/SITE NAME – Block A
- It is recommended that the cables are removed and more appropriate length cables are purchased and installed along with vertical and horizontal cable management. The switch should also be mounted in the rack. I recommend: {CABLE MANAGEMENT RECOMMENDATION}
- Due to there being no POE capacity in this building, a POE switch will need to be procured. I recommend: {SWITCH RECOMMENDATION}
Why Choose Redway Networks?
Redway Networks are networking specialists and have a team of highly experienced network engineers. Whether you are a small primary school, a large warehouse or a global entity we can assist with your networking requirements. Redway Networks have a vast amount of experience in planning, designing and installation of network solutions to provide maximum performance from your network. Our expert team can provide support with network troubleshooting to resolve existing issues or are highly skilled to design and implement an entire new network. Whatever your needs, we will work with your business to assess your requirements and provide recommendations on hardware and design to give you a robust and reliable network, as well as being fully prepared for the IT challenges of the future.
Contact Us