Data Center Outages: First Good News Then Expensive News
By Fred Koh - June 14, 2021New research from the Uptime Institute is in…when it comes to the quantity of data center outages in the year 2020, there weren’t any increases. That’s right: less data center outages. In fact, despite the impact of COVID-19, Uptime’s research shows that, on the individual facility level, there are less outages. Cheers: good news! The…
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Telehealth: What’s the Toll on Healthcare IT Networks?
By Fred Koh - June 10, 2021The past year or so of the pandemic have been a dizzying blur: it has meant great hardship and change for many of us. Now that the pandemic is finally, and thankfully, lessening, everyone’s starting to take stock of the permanent changes that have come out of this time. One major change is, inarguably, telehealth….
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Buying Network Documentation Software? Why a Demo is NOT Enough
By Fred Koh - June 3, 2021Do you need network documentation? Maybe you’ve done your homework and found software vendors that offer network documentation? Maybe you’ve contacted their Sales Dept. to schedule a demo. Almost at the finish line, right? Well…not quite. Sometimes, demos are not enough. Hey, you wouldn’t buy a car without giving it a test drive first, right?…
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IT’s Upcoming Silver Tsunami: DCIM Can Help
By Fred Koh - June 1, 2021The data center workforce that will be needed in the not-so-far future is predicted to grow from 2 million workers in 2019 to 2.3 million workers in 2025. As the baby boomer generation continues to work beyond what used to be the average age of retirement, there’s a big question mark hovering above multiple industries…
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Do You Really Need Rack Diagrams?
By Fred Koh - May 28, 2021Here at Graphical Networks, we make IT documentation software called netTerrain. netTerrain comes in two main flavors — Logical and DCIM (as well as an add-on outside plant network module). As folks come to us looking for IT documentation software, we’re often asked, “hey, what’s the major difference between your Logical and DCIM solutions?” The…
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Use Network Diagram Software? Integrating Network Tools Should Be Easy
By Fred Koh - May 26, 2021Network diagrams, as we’ve often discussed in this blog, are just visual depictions of the network. They can be as simple (think: post-it notes) or as detailed as you need (think: automatically generated logical diagrams that show the network in real-time). They map out what you have in the network, where it all is, and…
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OSP Network: 3 Ways Software Improves Efficiency
By Fred Koh - May 21, 2021Your fiber plant and OSP networks can be incredibly complex. If there is a problem with a connection, how do you know what you’ll need to fix it, where exactly it is, and so on without an up-to-date map/diagram? How can you plan for, and manage, fiber capacity? Outside Plant Software (OSP) software can help…
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So, What is an Automated Network Diagram, Anyways?
By Fred Koh - May 18, 2021A network diagram can be anything that visually depicts the network. A basic diagram could show a router or switch, and its connections to other networking equipment. Diagrams can be as simple or complex as you need them to be, and they come in many different shapes, sizes, and flavors. Some network diagrams may be…
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How to Define DCIM in 2021?
By Fred Koh - May 14, 2021From its inception about 20 years ago to now, Data Center Infrastructure Management (DCIM) has evolved a great deal. The earliest definition of DCIM was that it was a part of building information software (BIM) intended to assist facility managers in creating digital, schematic diagrams. Today, DCIM is described as a solution that helps IT…
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No Network Diagrams? Signs You’re at Your Breaking Point
By Fred Koh - May 10, 2021As a software vendor that makes network documentation software (netTerrain), I spend a good deal of time discussing the many merits of automatic network diagrams. For many organizations, these diagrams have become essential to daily work. For many others, however, IT teams simply don’t have any network diagrams or have outdated and impossible-to-keep-updated network diagrams….
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Buying DCIM Software is Like Buying a Refrigerator
By Fred Koh - April 30, 2021When it comes to significant purchases, a few things come to mind: new home, booking a cruise, a new car, selecting a college, and the more mundane home appliances (such as a new refrigerator). All of these purchases are, in some way, investments that you hope will pay off by delivering you the desired results….
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Need a Cable Management System Software Solution?
By Fred Koh - April 23, 2021Keeping spreadsheets current by hand is a daunting task….but what if you’re tracking your cabling in spreadsheets? How daunting is that? Yikes. As my company, Graphical Networks, makes software that helps organizations manage cabling through cable management software (in addition to other capabilities), I speak with a lot of people who are interested in getting…
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