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Simplifying Life Through Technology
SoundVision LLC is a lifestyle technology company located in Mooresville, North Carolina. We interview vendors, clients and staff with the purpose of demystifying the capabilties of new technologies for your home or business and sometimes highlighting local content that is important to our community.
Simplifying Life Through Technology
Networks & Wi-Fi
On this episode of “Simplifying Life Through Technology,” Mark and Andrew from SoundVision sit down to discuss Networks and Wi-Fi.
Ever wondered how your Wi-Fi works? Get ready for an enlightening conversation as we demystify the complex world of networks. We start with the basics, helping you understand the roles of ISPs, modems, routers, and switches in connecting your devices. We'll also shed some light on the significance of access points in ensuring quality Wi-Fi coverage in larger spaces. But that’s not all! We'll take you on a journey of how a simple click on your device sends signals buzzing through these networks, fetching the content you desire.
There's more to learn in this information-packed episode! We discuss the differences between Wi-Fi and hotspots, offering insights for parents about the implications and limitations of both. Ever turned on your network devices and wondered about the sequence? We'll explain why it's crucial. We'll also delve into the workings of commercial-grade networks designed to cope with the demands of our modern world, boasting faster speeds and tighter security.
Plus, we simplify those confusing terms - IP and MAC addresses, offering a clear distinction between the two. So, join us as we make the complex world of Networks and Wi-Fi a little bit simpler for you.
To learn more about SoundVision:
To listen to more “Simplifying Life Through Technology” podcasts:
https://www.svavnc.com/podcast/
For more information on Cyber Security:
https://open.spotify.com/episode/6aKLiA4nmjCGHP2YeOGeXy
Welcome to simplifying life through technology. My name is Andrew, and joining me today in the podcast room we have our chief executive officer, mark DePetro.
Speaker 2:For our few listeners. I think we're at four or five now. Andrew is going to Italy, Is that?
Speaker 1:correct, that's right Italy, spain and France.
Speaker 2:Oh.
Speaker 1:Italy, Spain and France. Starting Italy, go to the Amalfi Coast, head to Spain, then France and then back to Italy.
Speaker 2:before I head home, how are you getting from Italy to Spain, to France? Cruising Fantastic. We're going to get an update on that in future podcasts, that's for sure. Boys and girls yeah.
Speaker 1:Lots of stories to come. So networks have become very important. Why don't we discuss some of the most common questions about networks in general? Sure, what is a network?
Speaker 2:So, in its most basic definition, andrew network is just a series of components that are connected together, that allow other things to talk back and forth. We talk about cell phones and we talk about video games and we talk about televisions. And now today, good gosh, there's dishwashers and everything. Technology is everywhere, yeah, so the network is the backbone that allows all those things to connect and interconnect.
Speaker 1:Okay, it's like they're home.
Speaker 2:Yes.
Speaker 1:Can you explain to me what the signal path of a network is, like an ISP, for example? What is that?
Speaker 2:So ISP stands for Internet Service Protocol, and that is where the signal from outside, from the internet, that's the service, that bringing that into your home or place of business. So whether you have that through the cable company or the phone company or wherever you're getting that service satellite, that's what's bringing the service into your home and that's where it starts. And then, when it comes in, it is typically. Although there are some different things coming along the pike, the most common thing is it's coming into what's called a modem and the modem is just actually bringing the service in from your ISP, your internet service provider. It then sometimes, if that's all you have in your home, you have what's called a modem router combination. The modem is what brings the signal in, the router sends the signal out. Okay, in the networks that we provide, we break that up. So you have one box, if you will, is the modem and one box, if you will, is the router.
Speaker 1:Is it better to have different modems and routers or is it not make much of a difference if they are combined?
Speaker 2:So they do two different functions. So imagine the modem. Really, all it's doing, its only purpose is to gather the signal coming in from outside the house and present it. Here it is. The router is kind of like a mailman it takes in the signal and then it sends it to various locations. It routes it. Now that could be a hardwired location where you are literally plugging a computer straight into the router. Ok, well, cool, that's one way of doing it.
Speaker 2:Of course, nowadays everybody is in use for the term Wi-Fi, so the router also creates the wireless or Wi-Fi network in the house. But it's all in the router. The router does all that sorry to keep using the same word routing. It does that and it sends signal from one place to another. Now we are talking about the signal path, so there is also a couple of other components, a couple of other things that are referenced a lot.
Speaker 2:The router a lot of times will send signal out via a wire, a hard wire that will go into a device called a switch, and a switch is nothing other than a bank of connections that allow you to hard wire things, whether those are computers, televisions, cameras, anything that has a network connection can be plugged directly into a switch. That is the best, most consistent and fastest connection that you can have directly to the internet. So a lot of things that are critical are hard wired still even today and, as a matter of fact, we have customers that work for financial institutions that can't use Wi-Fi. Also, not only financial institutions, also hospitals, because of some hippo laws and that kind of thing. Sometimes you absolutely have to have a wired connection Station to that building or wherever they are.
Speaker 2:Absolutely. The other component that's most referenced is what's called an access point, and that's a fancy way for saying that thing actually provides the Wi-Fi signal in a particular area. I said earlier that routers do that and they do in a lot of cases not every router, but a lot of cases they provide Wi-Fi. The problem is the size and the scale.
Speaker 2:So if you're talking about a three bedroom apartment, router probably fine to do the Wi-Fi, but if you're talking about 6,000 square foot home or a 10,000 square foot office complex, you need to have more than one location, and that's what access points do. Access points are actually hardwired back to the switch and then they create a bubble, kind of think of like an umbrella, and that umbrella is the Wi-Fi signal that serves their area.
Speaker 1:So those are like your mini routers that you can put wherever you need to be able to get Wi-Fi wherever you want on your property.
Speaker 2:It's important to know. There's only one router Right, there's not more than one. It routes all the signals. So when you go to ESPN and you want to pull up scores, it's actually pulling the signal in, sending it over to the access point that your device was requesting it from, and then that signal is dumped into your device so that you can see it. So that's how it's routed.
Speaker 2:If you will, oh, it even gets routed that high level Absolutely, and so the access point just repeats the signal in an area where you would have poor signal if you didn't have one. So we have a lot of customers, a lot of people that'll say you know, I go to this part of my home, I don't have signal. I go to this part of my home and it's fine.
Speaker 1:I know that well, very common.
Speaker 2:Oh yeah, so in a lot of cases that is an access point that needs to be added to that area.
Speaker 1:You're just too far, so let me read that the umbrella doesn't cover the whole area.
Speaker 2:You're getting wet. That makes sense.
Speaker 1:So what is an IP address and what is a MAC address, and what's the difference between the two?
Speaker 2:There's a lot of acronyms in our world and in the network world in general, and most of the time they're just really easy if you just know what they mean. So IP is Internet Protocol and the Internet Protocol is the address that's on the Internet that you're looking for. So I just mentioned ESPN. Espn has a what's called an IP address. It's just a number that tells the computer where to go and find the information. And what we've done over time is nobody can remember these really long numbers. So we use ESPNcom.
Speaker 2:Well, the computer doesn't know ESPNcom. It knows its Internet Protocol address. So when we do that, it just basically changes it, almost like going from French to English. It translates it into the numerical value that takes you to that location. All it is is just an address that's the same inside your home. If you have three computers, well, each computer has to have an address, so the router knows where to send the information. So again, imagine a post office. If I mail you a letter, your IP address is one unique mailing address, just like the letter. If I mail you a letter, you have an address, physical address, and it goes to that address. Well, we have different addresses. That's how the post office knows to get one letter to you versus one week or to send it.
Speaker 2:Internet protocol is the same thing, it's just a numerical address. It knows that you're asking for this information on computer X versus computer Y and it sends that information there and you said the IP addresses are typically in like a router or a modem type of address.
Speaker 2:Yeah, the router hands those out. So the router actually hands out the IP address inside your home or place of business and the IP address can actually change. As long as the router knows what it is, it can change it because it knows where it's sending it. In essence, the router hands out those addresses online, because I mentioned websites. You're going to a particular address. It's slightly different, but again, just imagine it's an address where we know something's located Similar premise, similar premise. A MAC address stands for Media Access Control. Now, mac address is also very simple. Sounds complicated, it does. It's a serial number. So every component, specific component, has its own MAC address. It's the only component that has that MAC address. So if you have three different access points, even if they're from the same manufacturer, they're the same model they will have three unique MAC addresses.
Speaker 2:So you know that it's that specific product that specific one, just like if you bought two Sony TVs that were the same MAC, same model, same size, from the same place. They have two serial numbers.
Speaker 1:It's your own specific number.
Speaker 2:It's your own specific number and one of the things is so that identifies various things to the network. Another really good example of this is if you're a car person, every car's got a VIN number, vehicle Identification Number. That Vehicle Identification Number tells what make and model car is, tells what year it is, tells where it's manufactured, tells all kinds of stuff about the car. Through that number, the MAC address is the exact same thing for a network piece of equipment Got you.
Speaker 1:Okay. Who would have known it was that simple, that simple. At SoundVision, we understand the importance of service. We now proudly offer new service membership plans specifically designed to provide customers with convenient service to solve issues both rapidly and remotely. Choose from a variety of plans to fit your needs, to ensure your products continue to function to their full capacity without interruption. So why don't we discuss what the difference is between Wi-Fi and a hotspot?
Speaker 2:This is one that happens a lot and actually this is a good one for parents to know. Wi-fi is sort of that ubiquitous term of the network, provides this umbrella inside your home and it is controlled in your network. It goes back to the switch, back to the router, back to the internet service provider. A hotspot does a similar thing, but it's outside the network. So if you have a cell phone, a iPad or any kind of tablet, for that matter, that has cellular service, then you can use that hookup. It can actually create its own network. Yeah, the personal hotspot, it's a personal hotspot. So imagine you're creating your own umbrella over you and it extends to some degree around you and people can actually, if you allow them, they can get on to that.
Speaker 2:Here's the thing that's interesting and important for parents to know is that the Wi-Fi, especially the systems that are installed by a reputable dealer, can have controls, parental controls for various types of websites, which we get a lot for parents, or if you want to turn off the internet at a certain time for whether it's a curfew or studying or whatever, you have control over that. The hotspot you don't have as much control over. Now, clearly, you can take the device? Obviously Right, but in this case, if the device doesn't have a hotspot, it's the only way to access the internet is through Wi-Fi. You can have control over it as long as it's in your network. It doesn't matter where it is, it doesn't matter who has it the hotspot you actually have to physically have the device to control it. A lot of parents may not think about and it's very important for a lot of different reasons in today's environment.
Speaker 1:Well, I know personally my experience with personal hotspots. I always find they're very splotchy or not great signal at all. And it's interesting that's coming directly from your device, which can come from the Wi-Fi.
Speaker 2:Well, the device is creating it and you're limited to the power of the device, you're limited to the connectivity of the device. How good is the signal that the device has coming in? I think everybody that's got a cell phone recognizes that in some areas you've got great signal, in some areas you've got terrible signal. Well, if you're in an area that's got terrible signal, your hotspot's not going to have any better.
Speaker 1:It's going to be terrible too. Yeah Right, that makes sense.
Speaker 2:That's another important thing to kind of keep in mind.
Speaker 1:All right. So networks sound great and all, but with everything comes problems, like power outages for one. How do you deal with that on networks?
Speaker 2:Clearly, networks require power to work. The problem and the question that we get a lot is when there's a power outage, the networks don't always come back up and work properly, so what do you do to get it back to its state?
Speaker 2:Right Now again, this is something that is in our design or in design from a reputable dealer. We'll be taken care of. There are ways that we can set them up so that if there are as power outages, the network can be sequentially powered back up, which is what I'm talking about in a second, so that you don't have to do anything. But it is a question that we get a lot, and so what happens is a network has to be powered up in a particular sequence to work properly. Going back to where we talked about the signal path, it's in the exact order of the signal path. So real layman's quick short.
Speaker 2:You want to power up your modem first. You want to let the thing come all the way up. All the lights come on, they get solid, that sort of thing. It usually takes a minute or so. So think about powering up a computer. That about that much time, right.
Speaker 2:Then you want to power up your router next. Then you want to power up your switches next. Then you want to power up your access points next. As you do it outside of that order, sometimes it'll work, sometimes it won't, cause that was gonna be my question and one of the reasons that it won't. If you go back to what I was saying about handing out of IP addresses. The modem gets an IP address from the internet to tell it hey, this is where I want you to send information to this modem. It then assigns that inside the router. The router then sends IP addresses out to all the other devices which we talked about already, and if that gets kind of klugey and doesn't take, then things won't work. So if you use the power sequence that I just outlined, you should be pretty good.
Speaker 1:Okay, so there's a term that I've been hearing around the AV world, which is commercial grade networks. How is that different from a regular network?
Speaker 2:Yeah, so commercial. The other word that's used a lot is enterprise. For the most part, they're fancy marketing words, but in essence they are networks that use the most current technology, that are updated, that have the latest in cybersecurity, which is another thing that's really important and actually we had a podcast that you can reference. In the show notes that we talked at length about cybersecurity. They have the fastest throughput, so basically the fastest speeds that not only allow one device to connect quickly, but also allow more devices on your network to connect and still have speed.
Speaker 2:So, it not only work, but also work at the same speed that you're used to. You know, in today's world the average person, the average home, has over 50 devices that are connected to the internet. You think there's no way that's not possible. Well, if you just count up phones, computers, tablets, tvs, video game systems, you're gonna be in the 15s to 18s or 20s like that, right there. And then there's other devices in the home now, all kinds of things sprinkler systems, pool systems all kinds of stuff.
Speaker 2:Everything needs internet service, at the very least for updates and at the most for constant communication. And so these quote unquote commercial or enterprise grade networks, networks that we install. I said they're marketing terms, but they really define what the most robust, most efficient and best designed systems are out there that will allow your family or your business to work as intended, regardless of the number of devices on there, and still have the speed that you become accustomed to.
Speaker 1:So a commercial grade network you can have even in your home.
Speaker 2:Absolutely yeah. Don't think of commercial as like a business versus residence. That's not it.
Speaker 1:Some people may think that.
Speaker 2:Yeah, that's one of those that I actually don't like that word. I do like enterprise grade, just to really define the difference in that and something that's off the shelf. Again, it really kind of depends on what your need is. We're really just trying to define the term so that they make sense for people that are interested, not necessarily trying to say one's better than another just like anything, it depends on your application.
Speaker 1:Yeah, what you need it for. So another thing that I have run into with my networks are system updates. How often do you need to do them and why are they so important to your network?
Speaker 2:This is happening all the time and it is only getting more and more. As far as system updates, and how often, I would assume that most people listening to this are familiar with things like cyber attacks that have happened. They know that they exist. There are so many different things, whether they're patches, whether they're features, whether they're updates, almost yearly, if not sooner. We have faster and faster internet speeds that are provided from our service providers, fiber optics now all these things require updates. The amount of updates is dependent on the equipment, dependent on the manufacturer. That's another thing that's nice about the networks that we install is that not only are they updated more often which is a good thing it is we can also update them remotely without our customers even knowing. Well, that's convenient, which means they don't have to do anything From an average layperson. If you think about if you have a Roku or an Apple TV a lot of people have streaming services how often that updates. That's probably one-tenth the time that our networks are getting updated. I wouldn't say it's weekly, but it's really, really regularly.
Speaker 1:Really Okay. Well, Mark, this has been great. Thank you for helping me explain to our listeners some key information when dealing with networks and Wi-Fi.
Speaker 2:Thanks, andrew, enjoy it all.
Speaker 1:Thank you for joining us. You can learn more about SoundVision at soundvisionlakenormancom. You can follow us on Twitter at soundvisionlkn. Find us on Instagram and Facebook at soundvisionlc.
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