This one trick reduced network usage by 75%! How to get the most out of your network.

Firewalling and you, how to get the most out of your network

In our previous article, Buffer-free Netflix in rural Australia. Guaranteed!, we talked about ensuring every user has access to 5Mbps, always. This is such an important part of what we do; ensuring that our users are guaranteed the best internet experience possible. How do we do this? One component is our firewall; it ensures efficient use of the bandwidth delivered to the village.

A firewall helps us control how our services are used. It prevents users from ‘hogging’ the bandwidth by downloading potentially illegal and bandwidth consuming content.

We setup rules to prevent that one person spoiling the connection for others – the person downloading a whole season of Game of Thrones, or an Ultra HD copy of the latest Hollywood blockbuster, all illegally via BitTorrent. It’s important to us that users are able to use the Wi-Fi to contact family and friends on Skype, and unwind by watching Netflix. By having rules in place to prevent hogging, the internet connection is available for bed time stories, daily chats and watching legitimate streaming services, like Netflix & FoxtelGO.

We’re also able to ensure additional levels of security on the Wi-Fi by protecting your network and preventing attacks. Our Firewall can block any sites that our clients may deem as inappropriate and can be controlled based on the time of day e.g., social media sites only accessible after 5pm.

If you have a site with poor Wi-Fi services, there’s a good chance your firewall is unable to filter inappropriate & illegal content, look into this as soon as you can. Our services have reduced traffic by 75% by blocking inappropriate content travelling over the network, ensuring that residents can contact family and friends without interruption, without exception.