The world is changing in many ways as the global Covid-19 pandemic upends the way we live, learn and work. We have lots of adults and children now working or schooling from home and using video conferencing and other collaboration tools to do so. For some, this may be an easy adjustment, but for most, the transition to remote working is challenging.

In this post, we will discuss how to deal with multi-users in a home environment operating on lower bandwidth (5MB to 20MB).

Collaboration and learning tools

The sudden rise of remote working and education from home has caused the popularity of learning and collaboration tools to explode. Video conferencing software Zoom’s share price has more than doubled in the past month, and Microsoft’s cloud computing SaaS Azure and collaboration tool Teams has seen an astonishing 784% rise in use!

However, the challenge at home is when your family connects several desktops, laptops and phones on one network, making it difficult for Mum to make that all-important video conferencing call. With Dad streaming Netflix, daughter Jess studying her next curriculum online, and little Danny uploading his TikTok masterpiece, and you might soon have some Wi-fi wars breaking out in the homestead, which is the last thing we need right now!

The answer here is to downturn all these applications by changing their bandwidth use and quality. As a result, you will improve your quality of service (QOS).

What is QOS?

Quality of Service is an excellent, and often unknown, tool that allows you to train your router to distribute your available bandwidth between applications. With smart QoS rules, mum’s Zoom conferencing video call won’t stutter while Jess uploads her assignment online. However, managing QOS on routers can be technically hard. For the not-so-tech-savvy, adjusting the bandwidth use and quality on the applications themselves may be a more straightforward solution.

For example, Zoom video conferencing allows you to adjust the priority for Zoom traffic on their network (Source). Likewise, streaming platforms such as Netflix also have the option to adjust your data usage settings by following the steps here. Ultimately, most applications will allow you to down-turn use and quality to determine which takes priority for the home user.

If you find yourself having trouble keeping the whole family connected and happy, check out your application settings and adjust their bandwidth.

A customer of ours reached out to us recently to help them solve and potentially reduce the outages they were experiencing to their public website. The first step to help remedy this situation was to identify the root cause of the fault.

Digging into the logs, we were able to identify there had been an accidental (perhaps) Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attack produced by around 1200 IP Address crawlers that overloaded both the web server and the application, requiring a server reboot. The resolution for this singular problem was to block that IP Address range to prevent this from occurring again. This, however, was only a partial solution, as this could happen again from a separate range.

This is where the power of Opmantek software began to shine.

Firstly, the engineering team must shift their mindset from a reactive one to being proactive; identify the issue before it becomes a problem and take automated action to prevent an outage. Dependent on how your network is set up, your staffing situation and personal preferences, you may tackle this issue in a variety of different ways.

There are several methods that can be implemented to identify the root cause of the service impact. From NMIS, you could run a service check on the web server that looks to identify if the quantity of connections exceeds a present threshold. You can test the number of open connections on the web server with a command such as;

netstat -ntu | awk '{print $5}' | cut -d: -f1 | sort | uniq -c | sort -n

One step further and we can use a combination of NMIS and opTrend to monitor for a sudden increase in CPU/memory utilization on the server and raise an event from there.

Once the event condition is satisfied the next step is to identify the attack vector and remediate. In this case opEvents could retrieve and parse the Apache logs, identifying the IP Address range, then instruct opConfig is reconfigure the necessary firewalls and applications to block them. Nick Day, Opmantek’s Senior Network Engineer in Asia-PAC, helped another customer by leveraging automated remediation; you can find out how in this blog.

Not comfortable with this level of automation? Once the event is properly identified, engineers could be notified of the situation and using opConfig’s Virtual Operator reconfigure the firewalls/applications to block the DDos attack and restart any services/applications/servers all without giving those operators command line access or sudo/root privilege.

Thousands of businesses worldwide, many of which have never had work from home processes or policies in place have suddenly had to accommodate remote access to company networks, the relocation of hardware assets as staff take key equipment home and increased stress on systems and software as staff utilising home internet connections with limited bandwidth access applications designed to be supported by corporate networks putting strain on resources and creating stress for the IT departments responsible for the digital security of network, software and hardware.

If you are an IT manager coping with the sudden adaptation to an online businesses structure, these 5 Opmantek product features and tools will help to provide you with peace of mind that everything is under control, and if you’re are an Australian Healthcare or Government organisation you can apply to have the entire commercial suite of Opmantek network management and IT Audit tools provided FREE of charge under our COVID-19 Software Relief Program.

Hardware Asset Tracking

Conduct a digital audit of your infrastructure and hardware to keep track of when devices were last seen and where.

Application Monitoring

Keep an eye on the performance of private cloud and SaaS applications that may be slow or underperforming due to higher than normal traffic and other response issues.

Anomaly Detection

Let Opmantek’s machine learning, trending and event management modules alert you when unusual activity occurs on your network or to any of your networked devices.

Remote Configuration Management

Monitor, track and update the configuration of core network infrastructure including security settings and firewalls remotely and get alerts of any unauthorised changes.  Roll out and roll back new device configurations manually or automatically in seconds.

Automated Event Remediation

Use the Event Management scripting tool to proactively trigger automated responses to a variety of common network issues, resolving tickets before human intervention is required and storing logs that can be reviewed and analysed to put more preventative measures in place.

Combined with the scalability, reliability, ease of deployment and low-cost support that Opmantek Software are recognised for globally, if you need intelligent network management that works anywhere and everywhere, download the Opmantek VM today.

The world has changed. 2020 had so much promise and now we’ve had to reshape the way we look at work completely. With most companies transitioning to a teleworking model, there will be and has already been, a significant disruption in productivity. The companies that have leant on remote working or flexible office hours historically are much better suited to accommodate a dramatic shift, the magnitude of which I haven’t seen in my lifetime.

For some workers, myself included, the teleworking landscape is not new. People have transitioned standard workdays to be outside of the office, either from home, co-working spaces or hipster cafes. With this lifestyle being popular for some time now, there is plenty of great advice on how to maintain a healthy balance between work and personal life. I have summarised the most important ones below.

Create a work location

Whether you have an office at home or a make-shift on your dining table, create a space that is dedicated solely to work. You must resist the temptation to work from a laptop on the couch or worse, in bed. This is not only detrimental to your health, but mentally you are starting in the negative, making you less productive. The cognitive shift from ‘on fire achieving goals’ to ‘this is where I normally binge-watch three seasons and a family value meal’’’ is staggeringly quick.

Trust me.

Optimize your workspace

Optimizing may be harder currently, but you should try to make your new workspace as ‘optimal’  as possible. Use a comfortable chair, raise your screens, use external keyboards, good lighting. The more comfortable you are in this space the more focused you will be on working. But more importantly, one crucial point that is handed down from generation to generation; do not work in your PJs. You’ve already decided your commitment from the get-go.

Have your shower. Brush your teeth. Put on casual work clothes. These physical steps do trigger parts in your brain to help get you in the work mindset.

Schedule your workday

Don’t change too much! Make sure you keep that alarm, if it was 5:20 am before you started working from home, keep it that way. Maintain the same regiment that you operated on when you weren’t teleworking. This will be important for you to stay in a work-focused mindset and to create that atmosphere throughout your house.

This is crucial at both ends of the workday as well, maintain a strict start and finish time. Just because the laptop is there, doesn’t mean you’re on the clock. Shut down all your tabs, press the off button and cultivate that defined work/life balance.

Maintain your To-Do List

The management of your task list becomes paramount when there are fewer people involved in the day to day proceedings. Keeping your most important tasks top-of-mind and in your queue will help keep you on track in the days and weeks ahead. Try and put the highest priority and most challenging first every day. Get them done before your brain realizes and kicks in those ten fantastic valid excuses to procrastinate.

Further, lists are a fantastic way to help decrease anxiety! Every part will help over the coming months.

“Organize and contain a sense of inner chaos, which can make your load feel more manageable.” – Psychology Today

Act more healthily

A lot of us will now have a terrific opportunity to be more active than usual. I, for one, am much more comfortable doing ten push-ups at home compared to in the office. The Heart Foundation of Australia recommends that you should get up from your desk every thirty minutes, this means you will have ample opportunity to do some light exercise. Also, the time saved in your commute and getting ready for work can be reassigned to something more movement-based.

Couple this with a healthy diet and you will keep your energy up throughout the day.

Stay Connected

However isolated you are, you should always stay connected. Start creating the habit of regular communications with your friends, family and also your co-workers, ensuring that you’re not doing everyday solo. Your business probably has an instant messenger but if not, get one going. You can have a more personable, casual chat through a messenger that you can’t through email. Plus GIFs are more socially acceptable.

Following these steps and recognizing how you work at your best, will help increase your productivity while teleworking.

And if all else fails, there’s now an abundance of time to prank your flatmate.

Keep calm and stay safe (flatmate).

“How well do you know your IoT network? If you’ve had to stop and think you’ve answered our question”.

Having confidence in your operational capabilities to deliver efficient connections and real-time insights is a myth without effective IoT management. A business’s head can become a murky place swimming with data on their IoT network that often gets pushed into unseen depths. This, however, doesn’t have to be the case. So, how can you throw out a lifeline, simplify and get practical with your IoT management? Below is a list of ways to enhance your management skills to boost your confidence.

1. Cloud Network Management

Rather than trying to maintain traditional device-focused networks, businesses should introduce wan-optimised cloud networks to improve the reliability of IoT connectivity. Cloud computing provides a great base for IoT networks as it has ample storage space for IoT data. Without the cloud, IoT data may have to be stored in multiple servers, which makes it much harder to analyse and compare. If you are currently unsure where all your data is being stored and collected, Open-AudIT can collect your data from multiple networks, ensuring that it is organised, catalogued and easily configurable into meaningful reports.

2. Ensure Scalability

Over 25B units, that is the 2021 expert forecasts for install base IoT endpoints, with services spending $500B on IoT. So it’s time to pivot, businesses need to be flexible in introducing new devices and expanding their IoT network. An IoT network should be ready for the lights, camera and action of integrating new services, apps and data; without the negative effect on their networks. Gartner mirrors the importance of scalability and practical IoT infrastructure management in this podcast.

3. AI

From chatbots to automated customer service enquiries, automation is being introduced in multiple areas of a business. The stronger your communication between devices on an IoT network, the more processes that can be efficiently automated. You’ll have the power for devices to be able to communicate with each other over a query; saving the time of a physical employee transporting information from one database to another.

Why Is Simplifying Your IoT Management Beneficial?

By simplifying your IoT management, you allow your IoT network to work more efficiently. For example, work processes will become more streamlined and everyday tasks can be completed intuitively. This leads to better customer satisfaction and engagement. Employees in your business will also benefit from simplified IoT management as they will have a streamlined workflow and will be able to manage their time more effectively. Open-AudIT will ensure employees have maximum control over network devices, so they have more time to focus on creative tasks. This will help employees to feel more valued, helping you attract and retain the best team members.

How To Start Practical Iot Management?

Before you try to simplify your IoT management before the whistle goes off, understanding of the current condition of your IoT network is essential. Use tools like Open-audIT to see beneath the surface with precise x-ray vision quality device discovery and control. Simplifying the end-to-end process Opmantek tools allow users to gain unparalleled visibility into their IoT network, giving businesses the chance to grow on a global level.

Practical IoT management involves more than just managing IoT data, it involves managing how IoT devices connect and communicate with one another. The best way to start IoT management is by having a clear and thorough understanding of your IoT network. With greater understanding and control of the devices of your IoT network, you’ll be able to make more accurate choices about how you use your data and what software would benefit your network. For more guidance about practical IoT management, talk to our experts about showing you a live demo.