Most small business networks were not designed, they accumulated. A cable here, a cheap access point there, a router the internet company left behind. It works until it does not, and then nobody knows what is plugged into what. We survey first, draw what exists, and fix the parts that actually cause the problems you are having.
The payment terminal and the customer Wi-Fi must not be on the same network, and in a surprising number of shops they are. Separating them protects the payment path and simplifies what you have to answer for.
Alexandria sits inside our 30 mile service area from Ashburn, so a technician can be with you the same day when something needs hands on it. The phone is answered 24/7 and technicians are available weekdays 8am to 6pm.
Survey before equipment
Anyone who quotes you access points without walking the building is guessing. Wall construction, ceiling height and where people actually sit change the answer completely, and a survey costs less than the second set of hardware.
One flat network is the usual problem
When the till, the cameras, the guest Wi-Fi and the office computers all sit on one network, anything that infects one device can reach the rest. Separating them is cheap, unglamorous, and the single highest-value change in most small business networks.
Guest Wi-Fi is not a courtesy, it is a boundary
Customer Wi-Fi should be genuinely separate from the network your business runs on, with its own password and no route to your files. It takes an afternoon and it removes an entire category of risk.
The firewall you already own is probably not configured
Most small businesses have a firewall doing very little because nobody set the rules. We check what is actually enabled rather than what the box is capable of, which is usually a short and slightly uncomfortable conversation.
Questions we get from Alexandria
- Do you actually come out to Alexandria?
- Yes. Alexandria is inside our service area and we drive out for the work that needs hands on it. Most things get fixed remotely the same day, and when a visit is the right answer we quote the time before anyone gets in the van.
- What do you usually find when you take on a Alexandria business?
- Old Town Alexandria is beautiful buildings and difficult wiring. King Street retail often cannot drill where the access point needs to go, so the design works around the building.
- Why does the Wi-Fi drop in one part of the building?
- Usually coverage, interference, or one access point trying to cover too much space. A survey tells you which, and guessing between them is how people end up buying hardware twice.
- Do we need business grade equipment, or is consumer fine?
- For under about five people, consumer gear often is fine and we will tell you so. Past that, the failure mode is not speed, it is that nothing can be managed or monitored when it goes wrong.
- Can you work with the cabling we already have?
- Usually yes, and we test it rather than assume. Older buildings sometimes have runs that will not carry what the equipment expects, and it is better to find that before the install than during it.
- Who owns the equipment?
- You do. We do not rent you hardware you can never take with you.
- How long does a small office install take?
- Most single-location setups are a day, sometimes two if cabling is involved. We schedule around your opening hours rather than ours.
Talk to someone in Alexandria
Fifteen minutes on the phone, no discovery-call ritual. If we are not the right fit we will say so.
Networks and Wi-Fi nearby
Other services in Alexandria