Networks

Networks

1. Names of the performance factor

   • Viruses, Spyware, Malware: Computer viruses can cause Internet performance to degrade significantly. Also, 'Adware' or 'Spyware' that gets onto your computer unknowingly when you download software, or visit infected sites, can also slow Internet speeds.
   • Servers: the server handling the requests may be overloaded.
   • Retransmission: When packet loss does occur, those lost packets are retransmitted-. This retransmission process can cause two delays; one from re-sending the data and the second delay resulting from waiting until the data is received in the correct order before forwarding it up the protocol stack.
   • Distance from the Access Point. The further away you get from an AP, the more the signal strength drops, (in a roughly inverse cube relationship with the distance).
   • Difficulties in limiting signal propagation. Particularly in open plan office areas it’s difficult to control exactly how far a WAN AND LAN signal travels. This can limit the benefit from deploying multiple access into such an area. This can be managed to some degree with semi-directional antennas and manipulating radio power settings, but these have knock-on effects themselves.
   • Poor Antenna Placement. Antennas, including some that are highly directional, need to be oriented in a certain way in order to control the spread of signal transmissions and maximize signal strength.