On Site Network Support and Service

Supporting a network can be a huge undertaking especially when something goes wrong. In smaller companies where the onsite IT person usually has other job responsibilities or when the IT support is inexperienced and problem can go from good to bad very quickly or drag on for months.

Our client base is diverse ranging from churches and nonprofits to Financial Institutions and nuclear equipment suppliers. Our varied client base allows us to see a huge range of network configurations as well as implement complicated network solutions. This experience combined with years of hands on learning and training has equipped us to put the pieces together and diagnose and resolve network support issues quickly and efficiently.

Network Repair

Network problems can often be hard to track down if the symptoms are inconsistent or unrelated. We can help you with your network repair by tracking down speed, connectivity or other network issues. Our network technicians have real world hands on experience diagnosing network problems and are on the road resolving network repair issues every day.

Have a network or computer problem that just won’t go away? We can help!

Network Management

From routine maintenance to user administration, networks need to be managed correctly or problems and security risks will eventually occur. We are here to help our clients and let them decide our level of involvement. We can manage and support a network from top to bottom or offer consulting or be brought in to do the “Heavy Lifting” like server migrations and upgrades.

Lack of experience or lack of exposure can lead to big mistakes now and down the road. When in doubt ask the experts at C-Net Systems and let us guide you through the best possible options.

Network Cabling

Our cable installers have 25+ years experience installing telephone and network wiring. From adding a new jack to complete wiring of new buildings we can help you with your cabling needs. We are consistently complemented on our fast and clean installations.

Network wiring has evolved drastically from the days of coaxial cable and BNC connections. New wiring standards have much lower tolerances for connections and mandate portions of the cables to be left untwisted. Higher network speeds are more sensitive to electrical crosstalk and interference. Network performance can be dramatically affected by poor connections and improperly terminated connections.

Servers and Workstations enable users to collaborate and make use of shared information as well as having a common location to share and backup data. Enabling those devices to communicate ,allowing access to those devices from remote locations and securing them from exploits is done through the utilization of many other hardware and software technologies that are also needed on a properly configured network.

Hubs and Switches

The core hardware devices that enables all the equipment to communicate on the network are hubs and switches. Hubs were the original devices in Ethernet networks that repeated the information they received (network packets) and broadcast them to all the other devices connected to it. Hubs are dumb devices that simply allowed network information to be communicated throughout the network.

Switched are basically hubs that learn the network addresses of the devices attached to them and forward the network packets to the correct devices needing the information. Switches reduce unnecessary network traffic and improves speed by allowing data to be sent un full duplex mode which allows data to be sent and received at the same time.

Managed switches further the capability of switches by allowing the network traffic to be prioritized manually to devices that need higher priority like servers and reducing priority to devices like printers.

Routers & Firewalls, It’s All In the Name

Limiting network access and shaping the flow of network traffic is done through Routers and Firewalls. In smaller networks these devices are combined into one unit but in larger networks these devices are sometimes separated allowing for more robust or complicated network configurations.

Routers do what their name implies, they route network traffic to different sections of the network base on a set of rules that is applied to the traffic they receive. Router send traffic to other sections of a local network on large networks for efficiency or rout traffic to the internet for requests that are not handles by the local network.

Firewalls act as a brick wall that only allow network traffic sent to them to get through if it is specifically allowed by a set of rules they hold. Firewalls can be in the form of a hardware appliance that is wired between two areas to be protected or a piece of software that is loaded onto a workstation or Server protecting it. Firewalls are what secure a local network form the internet while allowing specific traffic to enter such as email and remote network access to allowed and secured devices like Terminal Servers.

Wireless Coverage and Access Points

The mobility of laptops, cell phone and tablets has created a need for network and internet connectivity without wires. Wireless access increases networks availability but with that comes added security concerns that need to be addresses through properly securing the network and wireless devices. Out of the box many wireless access devices allow unrestricted wireless access to a network with no security restrictions. Wireless access is often the weakest part of a network and needs to be adequately secured.

Wireless technologies vary between standards and coverage areas. Structural consideration such as walls and their construction and well as interference from electrical equipment or lines need to be addresses. For maximum usability a wireless network needs to be thought out and planned for optimized coverage using the correct equipment for the application. Using the wrong equipment or misconfigured equipment can lead to poor or unreliable coverage.

Wireless access to networks will always be slower than hardwired access and less secure but when properly planned and secured offer freedom and flexibility as well as convenience.

Email Security Software And Email Security Appliances

Preventing spam and removing virus threats from email has become necessary and should be performed on all incoming email before the end use ever gets the message. There are two common ways of preventing spam and email threats, software located on a server or an appliance that filters incoming mail before it gets to the mail server.

Both methods are viable but there are several differences. Email Security Appliances filter email before it ever gets to the mail server which is very secure and takes the burden of scanning incoming email away from the server which frees up resources. The downside of an Email Security Appliance is that the costs are typically much higher and the setup is more complex.

Email Security Software does the same job as an appliance would but the work is done via software on the email server. In smaller environments where there are not hundreds of users, having the scanning do on the email server itself is typically not a problem and the costs are usually much cheaper.

Both types of email security devices rely on their content filters to be regularly updated by a paid subscription which gives access to the latest threats.

Network Security

Protecting systems and servers from unwanted access and threats is an important part of any network. Network Security is done through a blend of security technologies and hardware devices including password complexities and active directory hardening.

Each network is different and the vulnerabilities from network to network are also different. We can do an evaluation of your networks specific requirements and implement the best security measures to protect your network and its contents from intrusion.