The Fallacy of the ‘Set It and Forget It’ Wireless Network for Schools

In an age of ever-increasing network complexity, the number of resources and time required to manage it are in short supply. It’s no surprise that technology leaders across educational institutions seek a wireless network that they can configure once and not worry about it until the next upgrade or when something breaks.

This “set it and forget it” mindset is a dangerous philosophy to subscribe to when you consider the fact that your entire academic curriculum relies on the performance of your wireless network and your student’s data relies on its ability to protect it.

There are several risks involved when you don’t update the firmware for your wireless network. Here are some of the most significant ones:

• Security vulnerabilities: Hackers can exploit security vulnerabilities in outdated firmware to gain unauthorized access to your network, steal sensitive data, or launch attacks on other devices connected to your network.
• Malfunctioning devices: Firmware updates often include bug fixes and performance improvements that can prevent devices from malfunctioning or failing altogether. Without these updates, your devices may not function correctly, leading to potential downtime and lost productivity.
• Reduced network performance: Firmware updates can also improve the performance of your network by optimizing network settings and improving signal strength. Without these updates, your network may experience slow speeds, dropped connections, and other performance issues.
• Incompatibility issues: As new devices and technologies are released, outdated firmware may not be compatible with them. This can lead to connectivity issues and reduced functionality.

Overall, keeping your firmware up to date is essential for maintaining the security and performance of your wireless network. It’s important to regularly check for firmware updates and install them as soon as they become available to avoid these potential risks.

To prevent network performance degradation over time, it is important to regularly maintain and upgrade network hardware and software, monitor network traffic and implement security measures to prevent security threats. With the Nile Access Service, your firmware upgrades and security patches are performed automatically without interrupting your day-to-day operations. Here at Nile, we share responsibility for your success by integrating the following lifecycle management capabilities as integral parts of our solution:

1. Installation and activation of the network elements.
2. Performance monitoring for capacity, availability, and coverage.
3. Proactive monitoring of the service quality across all users and locations.
4. Predictive troubleshooting of any quality changes compared to baseline.
5. Automated generation of support tickets in case of issues detected.
6. Closed-loop automation to achieve behind-the-scenes resolution.
7. Software updates and security patches per maintenance window settings.

For more information on Nile Access Service for K-12 send your questions to [email protected].