The physical infrastructure is worth its weight in gold - Technology Information

Communications News, March, 2001 by Tom Reedy

EIMS establishes a valuable picture of a company's IT assets.

Each year, executives spend millions, even billions, of dollars upgrading and purchasing new equipment to move forward in the business world. Often, however, what appears as a large expense on the company's financial statements can be lowered by making use of existing assets.

Take for example a company with 500 employees and 5,000 ports. A couple of years and maybe a merger later, the staff has expanded to 3,000 located in four buildings across three states. The network has grown at a considerable pace in order to keep up with user demands--but does anyone know where everything is located?

Systems require constant monitoring to make sure everything is up-to-date. Enter cable management software (CMS). CMS, introduced in the late 1980s, was designed to relieve the burden of asset management and documentation placed on network administrators, as well as to streamline the management of an organization's network infrastructure.

NEXT-GEN BENEFITS

Technology brought new developments to this field, including automatic, real-time documentation from any desktop in the world. IT managers no longer have to take the time to search through patch panels, update reports or personally locate a problem. In addition, nextgeneration products deliver a complete enterprise and infrastructure management system (ELMS). This technology offers network managers benefits such as unprecedented control, protection, security and integration with other systems.

Knowing what you have, where it is and how it is connected puts control in the hands of the administrator. Imagine having real-time, remote access to information to quickly isolate the source of a problem, identify its location and initiate a solution. ElMS provides control over system downtime, assets, response times, and moves, adds and changes (MACs).

EIMS delivers protection over the network, enabling IT managers to know who or what is connected to every port. This technology also tracks redundant and reserved ports, safeguards the company's disaster recovery plans, and extends the life of the company's structured cabling system.

Unauthorized or unintentional changes in data centers, communication rooms and wiring closets are frustrating nuisances. ElMS helps prevent this by monitoring the connectivity of mission-critical network equipment, such as switches, routers, hubs and patch panels. It can immediately take corrective action by setting off alarms, taking a picture, sending alerts, e-mails and pages to alert relevant parties, ensuring a 100% accurately documented network that is monitored 24x7.

EIMS bridges network management software and physical layer management. It can self-discover the physical topology of data centers, communication rooms and wiring closets, while, at the same time, manage and troubleshoot network connectivity through integration with third-party logical layer applications. It can also be integrated with network management software, change control, and help desk software and facility management software.

Each problem--system downtime, troubleshooting and MACs--that affects the IT infrastructure constitutes a cost factor, which influences the overall financial performance of the company. While these issues can never be eliminated, the use of hIMS to document the company's network can reduce their financial impact.

FINANCIAL CONSIDERATIONS

System downtime of less than 1% can cost small to midsized enterprises up to $100,000 per year. While this does not sound damaging to a Fortune 500 company, losing thousands of dollars of potential income each hour could financially destroy a small or midsized company.

EIMS eliminates the need for IT professionals to search through hardware and software on the network to find where a problem exists. Whether a broken or loose network cable, a faulty switch or hub port, an incorrectly connected circuit or cable, or an unreliable server, IT administrators have the information at their fingertips to get the system back up and running quickly.

With ELMS, MACs are automatically updated, eliminating the costs associated with manually updating work orders. It also significantly improves the accuracy of the documentation, and the speed at which an organization can respond and simplify the MAC process. With ELMS, the organization can optimize network capacity, redeploy unused and/or abandoned equipment, extend the life of the structured cabling system, and allow regular reporting on tangible IT assets.

Whether dealing with troubleshooting or MACs, or locating unused equipment, the cost savings associated when using EIMS will be unique in every organization. ElMS adds value to the network and brings together the latest technology to significantly reduce business-related costs and produce positive return on investment.

Reedy is CEO and president of iTRACS Corp., Tempe, AZ.

www.itracs.com

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