Need Layer 2 Network Diagrams?
By Fred Koh - September 1, 2021I just wrote an article that gives you a checklist to run down before you purchase automated network mapping software (you can read it here). One of the items mentioned in this checklist is the need for Layer 2(L2) discovery. By Layer 2 discovery, I mean: how are network devices connected to each other? A…
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The Automated Network Mapping Software Checklist
By Fred Koh - August 27, 2021Before you buy automated network mapping software (software that helps network operations to understand all the devices on a network and how they are interconnected through network discovery), you typically go through the process of making sure you really need it, make the case to the bosses upstairs that they really need to fund it,…
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DCIM Software? Your Expectations vs. Reality
By Fred Koh - August 16, 2021If you read some of the Data Center Infrastructure Management (DCIM) vendor’s descriptions of DCIM software, you could be tricked into thinking DCIM is as seamless and easy as slipping on a pair of Google glasses and bam: you’re immediately slash power costs, planning for capacity by clicking a button, and gaining control of the…
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Convince Your Boss You Need Network Diagrams with 5 Statistics
By Fred Koh - August 12, 2021Do you manage the network? Is relying on Visio and spreadsheets driving you crazy? Know you need network diagrams but you’ve got to make a strong case to the bosses upstairs? If just promising them that you’ll get more done, reduce downtime, meet Service Level Agreement (SLAs), lessen the burden of overtime, and keep crucial…
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Why Don’t You Publish Your Software Pricing?
By Fred Koh - July 26, 2021When exploring purchasing software, whether it’s looking for a network diagram tool, a Data Center Infrastructure Management (DCIM) software, or Outside Plant (OSP) software, one of the first things that crosses people’s mind is…how much does your software cost? We don’t publish our prices online because the cost is based on two things: what do…
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Got Fiber Plant Diagrams?
By Fred Koh - July 20, 2021During the intervening years since we first launched netTerrain Outside Plant (OSP) — it’s an add on module to netTerrain Logical or netTerrain DCIM — we’ve fielded many questions about the type of GIS-enabled maps that netTerrain supports as well as netTerrain’s ability to import existing maps/diagrams. What’s netTerrain OSP (Outside Plant Software)? First, what’s…
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Beavers vs. Your Outside Plant
By Fred Koh - July 16, 2021When we first saw this news story back in April of this year, we said, “we have to write a blog about this.” What’s it about? Well, you probably “wood”n’t believe it, but: beavers caused some massive headaches in a Canadian town. Yes: beavers. If you’re new to working on the outside plant, that may…
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Need to Replace Your DCIM Software?
By Fred Koh - July 14, 2021Using a Data Center Infrastructure Management (DCIM) solution? Whether it’s something free (like OpenDCIM) or something you paid for, there may come a time when you decide you need something that your current DCIM solution doesn’t offer, or if your DCIM vendor has moved on to focus on other products and is not supporting its…
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Outdated Hardware/Software Headaches? Network Diagrams/DCIM Can Help
By Fred Koh - July 9, 2021In 2016, Dimension Data released their then-annual Network Barometer Report which showed that 42% of network devices were either outdated or aging. While this statistic is a few years old, I doubt the numbers have radically changed since then. It’s all too easy for software and hardware to become outdated…but the price you pay for…
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DCIM’s Impact on Data Center Efficiency: 2010 vs. 2021
By Fred Koh - June 28, 2021Lately, we’ve written a few blogs about how data center infrastructure management (DCIM) software helps data centers achieve greater efficiency which made me think, it would be interesting to look at where we started over a decade ago and where we are today. Did you work in data centers ten years ago? What changes have…
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Network Documentation: Do You Really Need the Bells & Whistles?
By Fred Koh - June 24, 2021One of my employees recently forwarded me a Reddit comment thread about network documentation. The original poster asked: what’s good for documentation software? A Redditor name-dropped a big name company in network documentation software and said “don’t buy it.” They went on to describe having been promised many great things to come out of the…
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2021’s IT Hardware Shortage: How DCIM Software Can Help
By Fred Koh - June 16, 2021It’s been a difficult year and a half….well, that’s an understatement. The explosion in demand for new tech to accommodate the sudden shift to remote work, the shuttering of factories, and the process of restarting these factories and opening up the supply chain again has led to the current silicon chip shortage. Now, as the…
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