Physical Network Diagrams Explained
By Hannah Ash - August 30, 2018When it comes to maintaining and managing an IT infrastructure, network diagrams are critical to compliance, security, troubleshooting, and minimizing downtime. Network diagrams, or maps, are visuals that use symbols/icons/shapes to depict the different objects and connections in a network. Depending upon what you need to document, you may will probably have different types of…
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What is the OSI Model?
By Hannah Ash - August 21, 2018Before you dive into what you may want to document and include in a network diagram, you’ll probably want to have a basic understand of what, exactly, the OSI model is. The Open Systems Interconnection Model (OSI) is, in a nutshell, a theoretical or reference model which defines how the different applications in a network…
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DCIM Software: How to Avoid a Failed Implementation
By Hannah Ash - August 20, 2018If someone were to ask me today, “Hey, you know about this stuff: is DCIM failing users?”, I would set them straight: “No, it’s not the software. It’s the hype that’s failing the software.” AS DCIM continues to gain steam, the more people use it and the more people talk about it. A joint survey…
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DCIM: Hype vs. Truth
By Hannah Ash - August 16, 2018As Frank Sinatra might have sung, ‘2007 was a very good year’. Apple introduced iPhone, the final Harry Potter book was published, and the Departed won an Oscar (hey, I’m from Boston). It’s also the year that DCIM software really made a splash on the tech market and major software vendors took notice and followed…
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A Crash Course in DCIM Software
By Hannah Ash - July 16, 2018DCIM: what is it, where did it come from, and what can you do with it? In this ‘crash course in DCIM’, we’ll look at the history of DCIM, what managers used before the software, if DCIM is delivering on its promises, and what, exactly, you can do with it. In the Beginning: Early Data…
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The OSI Model: Introduction
By Hannah Ash - July 13, 2018When it comes to things to be excited about in this world, learning about the Open Systems Interconnection Model (OSI) probably ranks somewhere between Tacos Tuesday (very exciting) and yeah getting a tooth pulled (very painful). If you’re reading this, you’re probably not getting a tooth pulled — so hey: life is looking up for…
Learn MoreWebinar Registration: Manage Your Inside & Outside Plant
By Hannah Ash - June 25, 2018To accomodate a variety of different time zones and schedules, we are offering this webinar at three different times. Choose the time that works the best for you! Manage Your Inside & Outside Plant Webinar – First Session: Time Zone: 10 AM Sydney 6/29 5 PM Los Angeles 6/28 8 PM New York City 6/28…
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Why My Uber Driver Quit Working as a Network Engineer
By Hannah Ash - March 19, 2018So…I had an interesting ride this morning: my car is in the shop and I used Uber. I had a great ride and my driver got five stars and a tip from me — but that’s besides the point. Over the course of our conversation, he shared that he was a relatively new driver for…
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SaaS or On-Premise? How to Choose the Right License
By Hannah Ash - September 26, 2017Considering a DCIM, network documentation or OSP (gis-enabled outside plant management software) solution? In addition to understanding the features and functions you need, you may also need to discern which deployment will work best for your organization: SaaS or on-premise? There’s no one-size-fits-all answer: what you choose should depend solely upon what your organization specifically…
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Next Time an IT Asset Goes Missing, Don’t Call the Royal Canadian Mounted Police
By Hannah Ash - April 13, 2017In the world of outside plant management, you get used to seeing different headlines related to the industry. Exciting ones such as, “TIA updating outside-plant, residential cabling standards”, if you catch my drift. So, when this gem of a story crossed my desk, “Miscommunication: 68 foot cell phone tower reported missing wasn’t stolen after all”,…
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The 7 Layer Guide to Network Documentation
By Hannah Ash - March 24, 2017For today’s post, we’ll look at the OSI framework and its 7 layers. This is exciting stuff, at least when it comes to how you document the network, so hold on to your seats… What is the OSI? The Open Systems Interconnection (OSI) was created by The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) as a framework…
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Automation: A Better Way to Document The Network
By Hannah Ash - March 22, 2017Network documentation: so much easier said than done, right? Your documentation is only as good as it is thorough and current…so, let me ask you a question: how up-to-date is your documentation? How complete is it? Would you be prepared for a major outage or audit? We understand the myriad reasons why so many companies…
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