Your network is the nerve centre of your organisation’s operations, and it is important to manage and maintain it so that any disruptions are short-lived. The ability to recover from failures and cyber attacks quickly indicates network resilience. It allows your organisation to maintain continuity and continue to run smoothly even when things go wrong.
The Importance of Network Resilience
Nowadays, just about every organisation requires a working network in order to operate. With networks down, even simple tasks become difficult or impossible to complete. When your organisation cannot function, it affects productivity and will leave customers with the impression that the organisation is unreliable.
In short, network failures mean that businesses lose revenue, and customers lose faith in them. Businesses become, and are seen as, ineffectual, and when things return to normal, staff are left to untangle queues and backlogs.
There are other issues, too. For example, important data may be lost or stolen during a crippling cyber attack, placing organisations at risk of compliance issues and harming their reputations. With so much at stake, the importance of network resilience cannot be overstated.
Resilient Network Design Characteristics
Network resilience design begins with acceptance of the fact that anything can go wrong. Hardware fails, software glitches, and issues that would be all-but impossible to anticipate can occur.
Redundancy and Diversity
To overcome both predictable and unexpected failures, resilient network design requires redundancy and diversity. This means that multiple alternatives are in place, so that if one component fails, another is available. It’s an approach that safeguards your network against issues like server failures, routing or switching issues, and power source disruptions.
Scalability and Flexibility
Networks must be designed for flexibility and be scalable. That way, they cannot be overcome by a sudden influx of user demands. Resilient networks are unaffected by changing requirements, maintaining performance and stability.
Network Security and Network Monitoring
Protecting networks from intrusion requires a combination of policies, protocols, and technologies. At the same time, to maintain resilience, early diagnosis of network performance issues will be key. Network monitoring detects emerging performance issues and anomalies that may indicate a weakness or an attack. With diligent network monitoring it may be possible to detect and stop issues that would otherwise have led to disruptions before they happen.
Backup and Recovery
Moving on to rapid recovery, if a worst-case-scenario were to become a reality, storing copies of crucial data and network configurations in a secure, off-site environment makes it possible to recover if your systems are disabled. Having an efficient recovery process ready to use helps you to recover from disruptions rapidly.
Testing Network Resilience
Once you believe you have achieved a resilient network, it must be put to the test. Simulations of disruptive events help with the identification of any gaps that could lead to network failure. These range from cyber attacks to natural disasters.
Prompt action on the part of employees and network management professionals will be vital. Once again, simulations are helpful since they allow role-players to practice their emergency responses. At the same time, you can evaluate training needs and address any gaps.
Poor Network Resilience Examples
Network resilience minimises a wide variety of risks and prevents scenarios that might otherwise be extremely disruptive. Easily observable examples of poor network resilience include:
- Services that are slow or unstable
- Networks that fail because the hardware is out of action
- Operational disruptions because key processes cannot be completed
- Undetected cyber attacks leading to data theft or disabled systems
Resilient networks, on the other hand, stand a strong chance of warding off disruptions like these. This protects organisations and their customers from the consequences of service interruptions and cyber crime. Although achieving network resilience requires investment, the losses it can prevent are of incalculable value.
How to Improve Network Resilience
To achieve a resilient network, you should get expert assistance. A single oversight could have serious consequences. We recommend:
- Achieving redundancy for all business-critical systems. This should be done at machine, device, and site level
- Searching for and addressing single points of failure that may disable networks or important network elements
- Taking steps to ensure a constant power supply. For example, generators and uninterruptible power supplies should be available for emergencies
- Upgrading and maintaining your network at regular intervals, checking hardware and software to ensure that it is up-to-date and in good working order
- Testing backup systems periodically, making use of off-site data centres to spread and limit risk
- Implementing round-the-clock network monitoring
- Ensuring that cooling systems are in good order and can work when you are using your backup power supply
Resilience and Vigilance With Advantex
Secure, reliable, and scalable networks are an essential requirement for any organisation in today’s world. Advantex offers you the advantages of future-proof network designs, customised solutions, and our comprehensive expertise. We are trusted network and IT infrastructure providers serving businesses across the spectrum, educational institutions, and charitable organisations. Contact us for a full assessment of your network resilience needs.
