Network Reliability: How do you measure it?

Network reliability is essential for maintaining business operations and ensuring that services are always available. This article explains what network reliability means, why it’s crucial, and how to improve it.

What is Network Reliability?

Network reliability measures the length of time infrastructure operates without disruption. Reliability is assessed using several equations. The first is the mean time between failures (MTBF), which is the network operating time between outages.

To arrive at that figure, network administrators divide the total service time by the number of network failures. So, if over the course of 100 hours, there were three network outages adding up to 4 hours of downtime, that would equate to 96 hours of service time, and MTBF would be 96 divided by 3 — or 32 hours. The MTBF calculation can be seen here:

MTBF = Total operating time ÷ Number of network failures

The second way to calculate network reliability is to look at the failure rate, which gives network administrators the average time between failures. To arrive at that figure, IT staff divide the number of total failures by service time. In this case, that would be 3 divided by the service time of 96, resulting in a .03125 failure rate, or a little more than 3%. Administrators then deduct that failure rate from 100% to measure network reliability, which, in this case, is 96.875%. The failure rate and network reliability calculation can be seen here:

Failure rate = Total number of failures ÷ Total operating time

100% – failure rate = network reliability

Organizations should also look at how efficient and responsive their IT teams are to an outage by evaluating the mean time to repair (MTTR). IT teams can calculate MTTR by adding the total time spent on repairs over the course of a specific time range and then dividing that period by the number of repairs.

MTTR = Total repair time ÷ Total number of repairs

Why does your business need it?

Network reliability isn’t just fundamental for maintaining current operations. It integrates with every facet of your business and is strategic for driving positive outcomes. A reliable network will:

• Ensure Uninterrupted Business Operations – Network reliability minimizes the risk of disruptions to operational continuity that erode stakeholder trust and impact productivity. It’s essential to maintaining the critical uptime that high-stakes industries require.
• Support a Seamless Customer Experience – If your business interacts with or supports external stakeholders through digital channels, a reliable network is table stakes for maintaining customer satisfaction, brand trust, and competitive advantage.
• Facilitate Secure Data Transactions – For sectors where data security is paramount, such as finance and healthcare, a reliable network secures the integrity and confidentiality of data, safeguarding against potential cyber threats.
• Enable Effective Communication and Collaboration – With remote and hybrid work becoming a permanent fixture in the work landscape, a robust network supports effective team collaboration regardless of physical location, which is essential for keeping a business agile.
• Foster Business Growth and Scalability – Network reliability is a cornerstone of scalable business growth. A growing enterprise needs the flexibility to expand its network without compromising quality of service.

How is Network Reliability measured?

Measuring network reliability is a multifaceted process that involves assessing various aspects of network performance and network stability.

• Availability: This is one of the fundamental metrics for network reliability. It measures the percentage of time a network is operational and accessible. High availability signifies better reliability. Network availability is often calculated using the formula: (Uptime / (Uptime + Downtime)) x 100.
• Mean Time Between Failures (MTBF): MTBF quantifies the average time between network failures. A higher MTBF indicates better reliability. It helps in predicting when the next failure might occur, enabling proactive maintenance.
• Mean Time to Repair (MTTR): MTTR measures the average time it takes to repair a network failure once it has occurred. Lower MTTR values indicate quicker recovery and better network reliability.
• Redundancy Metrics: Assessing the effectiveness of redundancy mechanisms, such as network failover systems and backup links, is crucial. Metrics like “redundancy ratio” and “recovery time” help evaluate the network’s ability to handle failures gracefully.

Key Metrics for measuring Network Reliability

• Packet Loss: Packet loss occurs when data packets fail to reach their destination. High packet loss rates can degrade network performance and reliability, impacting applications and services.
• Latency: Network latency measures the time it takes for data packets to travel from the source to the destination. Low latency is essential for real-time applications like voice and video communication, and VoIP (VoIP latency).
• Jitter: Jitter refers to the variation in packet arrival times. Consistent jitter is crucial for maintaining the quality of voice and video calls as avoiding issues like VoIP jitter.
• Throughput: Throughput measures the amount of data that can be transmitted over the network in a given time. Ensuring sufficient throughput is vital for handling data-intensive tasks.

Conclusion

Network reliability is, unfortunately, one of those IT pillars that people only really notice when there’s a problem. It doesn’t have the marquee appeal of generative AI or cloud-native application development. Don’t let that dissuade you – a reliable network is as vital as ever.