Seamless Network Expansion for a Growing Medical Practice
Due to business growth, our client, a medical practice, recently leased a new office space near their existing office building. They currently have three buildings within the same facility with fiber optic cabling running between them, which we installed in 2023. However, the new office space is not within the same building complex as the existing offices. They needed a network expansion solution that could function like fiber between the new building and the existing office.
There are many options for connecting buildings to expand internal networks. One common method is using MPLS (Multiprotocol Label Switching) provided by an internet service provider. This allows the internal network to be tunneled over the internet, enabling remote locations to connect their networks back to the headquarters. However, this option can be expensive and complicated, and most small businesses don’t have a dedicated Network Engineer or a Managed Service Provider (MSP) to set this up. Consequently, businesses often look for other solutions to connect their offices, especially if they are within visible distance.
The MSP in charge of the medical practice’s technology turned to us to help find a solution to connect their networks between the two offices. The headquarters houses patient files and documents on a server that employees need to access from the new building.
Why Use Ubiquiti airFiber for Network Expansion?
As a Low Voltage Contractor with a background in network engineering and wireless installation, we determined that the most effective option was to use Ubiquiti airFibers. These units are essentially a wireless bridge, providing a wireless point-to-point connection between two locations to simulate a wired connection. We specifically chose these units because of their full-duplex capability. The Ubiquiti product line is commonly used in situations like this to extend networks to other locations. It’s an excellent solution for our customers to save money and reduce network complexity.
The Importance of Network Connectivity for Business Operations
The installation of these Ubiquiti airFiber units is critical to the success of our client’s new office. Without these units functioning properly, they cannot perform business operations in the new building. The core of their network resides at the headquarters, where their main servers, distribution switch, router, and internet circuit are located. The technology in the new office must communicate with the main servers without any issues. Connection problems, slowdowns, or outages could result in the loss of appointments, ultimately preventing our client from providing their services to customers. Therefore, the integrity of our low voltage installation for these airFiber units is of paramount.
How We Installed Ubiquiti airFiber for a Medical Office
For the Ubiquiti airFiber to work, there needs to be a master and a slave unit. We placed the master unit at the headquarters and the slave unit on the roof of the new building.
Within the new building, we connected two Cat 6 cables to the airFiber unit on the roof. One cable handles the actual data traffic from the airFiber units, while the other provides management access. Management access allows us to make configuration changes remotely, saving us from having to work on the roof, which is particularly beneficial given the high temperatures in Las Vegas and the difficulty of accessing the airFiber unit. This management port can also be connected to the network if the MSP decides to manage it.
We installed the Ubiquiti airFiber on a non-penetrating roof mount, a common choice for these deployments. The mount is weighed down by cinder blocks to keep the airFiber unit stable. Due to the location of the two buildings, the radios had to transmit through some trees, which could potentially affect signal quality. Fortunately, there was a large gap between the trees, so we did not experience any signal loss. If the gap had not been there, we would have worked with the property manager to trim the trees to improve the wireless signal strength.
We installed the units as high as possible to avoid interference with the fresnel zone. The signal propagation of these units resembles a football shape from radio to radio, making it crucial to ensure the units are free from physical obstacles. The close proximity of the buildings resulted in a small and narrow Fresnel zone, making it easier to avoid physical interference. As part of the installation, we optimized the line of sight, conducting extensive testing to achieve the highest possible speeds and bandwidth by adjusting the alignment of the two devices.
Another Completed Network Installation by Low Voltage Contractors
As a low voltage contractor we are happy to be able to provide reliable and cost-effective network solutions for our client’s medical office.This allows them to expand their business and help their operation run smoothly. The cherry on top of this is that we were able to seamlessly integrate with the existing network infrastructure, avoiding the hassle and high cost of MPLS setups. Our careful planning and execution of the network installation process, from mounting the units to optimizing their performance, highlight the importance of expert low-voltage contracting in maintaining business continuity and operational efficiency.
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