Need IT help. Internet slow at work.

[N80]

I work in a doctor's office. Probably 25 people in the building. Computers access is wireless via routers around the building. Our electronic medical record is web based. Internet speeds are visibly slow. Slower than my standard cable modem at home, which uses the same provider. This makes getting work done and seeing patients slower. It has been a problem for a while. Whenever IT people come out to work on the software side of things they always comment about how slow things are. We were told recently that they had upgraded our account with the service provider which was supposed to double internet speeds. It did not and actually seems slower. I complain to admin but get nowhere.

Part of the reason I get nowhere is probably because I'm ignorant about all this. All I can tell them is that the internet is very slow.

So my question here is what are the different points in the access chain that could be the weak link and causing it to be slow? How does (or should) IT or the service provider check these various points to see if they are working properly? If I knew these things I might be able to at least suggest to management (who seem more clueless than me) where they should get someone to look and what they need to measure.

Thanks for any assistance.

 

[/pine]

You should check both the downstream and upstream bandwidth at the modem (before any wireless routers etc, nodes)...Then I would check the bandwidth usage at any and all computers connected to the network wired or wireless...there is the possibility that a single system (computer) is using the available bandwidth slowing the entire network...

 

[RNeumann]

Your internet bill should have the upload and download speeds listed. From your office computer go to Speedtest.net by Ookla - The Global Broadband Speed Test and check the speed against your bill. If it’s slower call your IT person. IT should systematically check everything including the modem, router, hubs/switches, WiFi and wiring to figure out the problem. Beyond that the MD has money- pay to get it fixed.

Btw you can use the Speedtest at home too- verify if the problem is real or perceived between the two locations.

 

[drssg]

Maybe the wrong IT guys are troubleshooting? If you tell them that internet connectivity is slow, that should adequately describe the problem. They should be able to work on it from there. Maybe the software IT guys would have an idea on who to contact?

FWIW, I agree with the next steps /pine describes.

 

[LittleBill21]

your not going to get far, especially if your not the it guy

you start at the MAIN router, and work from there till you see the speed start slowing down.

if everything is wireless, its prolly the problem, but the troubleshooting needs to start at the router, and see if your getting the speeds your paying for.

 

[/pine]

You need to start at the modem...regardless of the type of connection...Not a router...If the modem is a combination modem/router....turn off the radio...!

one malware etc. infected node (computer etc.) could possibly be robbing most of the available bandwidth from the entire network...

IMO the first objective to resolving the issue is...see what the available bandwidth is...i.e., disconnect all nodes (anything that uses the network) and test the bandwidth at the modem...if the bandwidth is satisfactory with what is being paid for...turn the radio on (boot the wireless)...check the bandwidth with only one computer connected via Wi-Fi...if the bandwidth is satisfactory...it is only a matter of elimination to find the bandwidth hogging node...

 

[JimRB]

Rambling.

I happen to use dslreports.com to do speed tests. You start by placing a laptop right underneath an access point and do the test. You take the laptop to the network switch, plug in the ethernet cable, disable the wireless NIC and run the speed test. You have to do this test when every laptop, every smart phone that glommed on to the wireless and every computer is turned off. You do not want some infected computer or some streaming computer to mess up your speed testing. One wireless access point might not be enough depending on the building construction. Some access points lose signal strength going through a few walls, or around a few concrete and steel piers. The access points might be slow. I actually have some $600 access points that seem slow to me. I need to call up tech support and do some testing with them to see. The same laptop that runs slow on wireless works well when plugged in to the wired network. Our offices work from wired connections, the wireless is more for me, our staff and visitors to connect the personal devices to. If they connect to the public wireless network, that bandwidth is restricted.

A Cisco, Meraki or Aerohive access point may work better than a Linksys or Belkin access point. Or maybe not. At least you have a prayer of getting some support with a more expensive name brand access point. OK, your IT guy may get support from India and he or she may not understand the Indian English, but they can call. Aerohive does have first level support in the US which is nice. No lost in translation stuff.

Most of my offices have 100/100 internet connections. One office with 50/50, another with 20/20 and one small office with a cable modem at 50/10. Bumping the 10/10 office to 20/20 was a good thing. They are out in the boonies where a 20/20 connection is $500-1,000 more a month than the 100/100 connections in the big city.

I was at one of my remote offices. We have sub-tennants that had their guy install their network cables. Nothing terminated to a patch panel and they did not use plenum cable which is required by code. A sharp fire marshall will make them take out that network cable.

A round about way of agreeing with what everyone else said. Not all IT companies actually know what they are doing. Cabling and good working wireless can be quite a technical challenge many are not up to. Also your firewall administrator should be able to look at statistics like who is burning up the bandwidth and also watch in real time how much is getting used.

Why would your software IT people need to be on site? If it is cloud based they should be able to do support remotely.

Our firewalls block Facebook, Twitter and other time suck and bandwidth wasters. They also block categories like ****, geolocations like China and Russia, and known malware sites just to reduce the threat vector a tiny bit.

You asked where your ISP responsibilty ends. The internet service provider connects his laptop to their router and runs a speed test. If the speed is what you are paying for, his work is done. Now your IT company has to start testing the firewall, the network switch and the access points. I have had my very expensive firewalls start acting up which resulted in some very expensive support bills. My firewall support guy was quite frustrated and annoyed with the tech support he received. On the other hand, the performance is back and the firewalls are back to blocking bad things again.

 

[mddorange]

I agree with Jim. I used to do this for a living and I was always amazed at how many supposedly IT "EXPERTS" at even big companies weren't even knowledgeable enough that I would consider hiring.

 

[N80]

Beyond that the MD has money- pay to get it fixed.

I am the MD. One of 5. We're just employees. The hospital has the money, but there just doesn't seem to be a "buck stops here" person within management and the IT guys they have sent over have not fixed one single problem in the 2 years I've been there. Either I've fixed them myself or worked around them.

Btw you can use the Speedtest at home too- verify if the problem is real or perceived between the two locations.

That's a good idea, for several reasons. First, the IT guys NEVER listen to the description of the problem so half the time they are trying to solve the wrong one. Second, they assume that you know nothing. And while I don't know much, I already have a better track record than they do. Third, cold hard numbers would be proof. If I just say its "slow" they don't believe me and don't care.

But, between management that passes the buck endlessly and fairly incompetent IT guys I'm feeling like this might be hopeless.

Anyway, thanks to everyone for all the good advice. At least now I can ask the admin folks if the proper steps have been followed.

I'm also thinking that I'll make them hardwire me into the network. I'm on a laptop but it is a flimsy piece of Dell garbage (been through 3 in 2 years) so now I never move it anyway. Maybe that will help.

By the way, I tried to download Speed Test (of some sort) at work but for some reason was never able get it to download. Maybe a security deal.

 

[N80]

Why would your software IT people need to be on site? If it is cloud based they should be able to do support remotely.

We get a mix. There a just a couple of local IT guys so they're around. They do both hardware and software and seem to do both equally poorly. They are now contracting with some big firm, NTD or something. My 'remote' experiences with them have not been good. In fact, I haven't had a good IT experience since I've been with this hospital.