Does your network have servers left running, performing no functions, and just wasting space and power? You may have a zombie server problem. What about network diagrams that are so old and out-of-date they’re cobwebbed over? That’s a lot of dust. Is the network compliant and secure? If not, you’ve got a lot of “Do Not Enter” and “Warning” signs across the network. Is something almost always going to go out…so the lights are always blinking? If you answered yes to one of these, your IT network is haunted.
Worse yet? A haunted network is full of scary surprises. Keep buying more IT stuff because you don’t know what you have in the first place? That’s one expensive haunted house. When something goes down in the network, your IT staff is stuck inside and can’t leave. That really brings out the screams.
If your IT network is getting scary, there’s no time like the present to clean it up. A haunted IT network leads to inefficiency, unhappy internal and external customers, disgruntled teams and colleagues, overtime, and… ultimately…a big price tag.
So, ‘who you gonna call’? Not Ghostbusters, sorry (although that would be nice). How are you going to solve your zombies? How about….IT documentation!
IT documentation helps you de-haunt your IT network in the following ways:
- Eliminate Zombie Equipment
- Get Up to Date Network Diagrams
- Become Compliant
- Stop Accumulating More IT Junk
- Reduce Troubleshooting Costs and Delays
Eliminate Zombie Equipment
With good IT documentation (such as automatic network diagram software), you can eliminate pests like zombie servers. What is that? A zombie server is a physical server that is running but has no visibility and contributes no computing resources. The server is consuming electricity but is serving no useful purpose,
How can software such as netTerrain help? With its real-time power monitoring, netTerrain has a feature to find these underutilized servers. It is up to you to determine if you want to decommission them or start to use it and eliminate the need to buy new hardware.
Get up to Data Network Diagrams
netTerrain’s network mapping solution utilizes SNMP, NMAP, WMI to go out and discover your network and display the network maps (in a web browser so it’s easy to view the diagrams). As netTerrain has a central repository and one database, it is easy for your network staff to view the diagrams and collaborate amongst your colleagues. Save time in manually creating network maps and eliminate the question: when were the network diagrams last updated?
Become Compliant
netTerrain’s network discovery and ability to import data from your existing data sources (network connectors include the following: AWS, Service Now, SNMP, SolarWinds, Spectrum) empowers you to stop the guessing game and have the proper and most recent network documentation to pass your security audit! This is especially important for industries that need to be compliant such: as PCI, HIPAA, etc.
Stop Accumulating More IT Junk
netTerrain reports includes a complete asset inventory list of all of your equipment: you can use these reports and if also using netTerrain for change management (please see my recent article about managing changes by clicking here), you can accurately plan for future purchases or fully utilize your existing equipment and saving you money with unnecessary costs.
Reduce Troubleshooting Costs and Delays
With netTerrain’s up-to-date diagrams, reports, and its powerful searching capabilities, you can very quickly search for information quickly — which reduces the time (and cost) you’re spending troubleshooting and, of course, downtime.
While I didn’t focus on Zombie cables here, there’s much to say about. Click here to read an article about how software such as netTerrain can help you with your zombie cable issues.
To sum up, your IT network may be haunted but a proactive approach (armed with software that helps you get the documentation done…without being too complex and not user-friendly that it ends up as shelfware) can be downright transformative. With proper network documentation and up-to-date diagrams, you can finally get a handle of your zombie servers and cables.