Fiber Mapping Software: OSP vs. GIS
By Fred Koh - April 24, 2023Do you have fiber management headaches such as: not knowing how much capacity you’ve got, how much capacity you need, where everything is, or not knowing what you need to take with you to fix an issue? Need a tool that will help you easily document and manage your fiber plant? Are you sick of…
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Streamline IT Asset Management (ITAM): How DCIM Software Helps
By Fred Koh - April 20, 2023Introduction: What is IT asset management (ITAM) and why you need it IT asset management (ITAM) is important because it assists organizations in managing their IT assets throughout their entire life cycle, including acquisition, maintenance, and eventual decommissioning. This ensures efficient resource allocation and effective utilization of assets. If you have headaches related to efficiency,…
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Fiber Mapping Software & Fiber Strand Documentation: What, How, Why
By Fred Koh - April 18, 2023As a fiber professional, you understand the importance of documenting and mapping fiber strands in your fiber plant documentation — which involves not only documenting the plant itself but also individual fiber strands. Clear fiber documentation and mapping are crucial for troubleshooting issues and making changes to your fiber plant in the future. To manage…
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Beam Me Up, Scotty: Migrating to a New DCIM Solution
By Fred Koh - April 3, 2023Are you lost in space: stuck with an outdated DCIM system, and feeling like you’re aboard a malfunctioning starship? Perhaps you’re dealing with high costs, limited features, poor customer service, or your DCIM vendor has been acquired or discontinued support (or, maybe even worse, you’ve received no communications from your vendor in a long time…
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Industry Spotlight: Fiber Mapping Software for Municipalities
By Fred Koh - March 23, 2023Municipalities play a critical role in ensuring smooth operations within their communities — from managing communication networks to essential services like fire and police stations. With technology rapidly advancing, the demand for fiber, and demands on the folks who manage fiber, have never been greater. If you manage municipal fiber, hats off to you: your…
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Fiber Mapping Software: Time to Upgrade from Google Earth and Spreadsheets?
By Fred Koh -Over the years, we’ve been to countless meetings discussing various organizations’ need for an Outside Plant (OSP) solution, we’ve attended many BICSI events, and have many of netTerrain customers using netTerrain to manage their fiber plant (close to 400 organizations!). So, what are the main fiber plant headaches that many companies are trying to solve…
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Reducing Data Center Carbon Footprint with DCIM & PUE – A Comprehensive Guide
By Fred Koh -Did you know that data centers account for a whopping 2% of all global carbon emissions? Here in the US alone, 0.5% of total greenhouse gas emissions are attributed to data centers. That’s more than the emissions of the airline industry! Data centers are one of the largest consumers of electricity worldwide, with all the…
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Upgrading IT Documentation/Visualization Software Shouldn’t Be Hard
By Fred Koh - March 8, 2023IT visualization and documentation software is essential for successful troubleshooting, capacity planning, cost control, and security, among other things. To keep up with today’s rapidly changing technology landscape, it’s crucial to keep your IT visualization and documentation software up-to-date with the latest vendor version. However, upgrading can be a daunting task, if your vendor does…
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Industry Spotlight: DCIM for Healthcare & Hospitals
By Fred Koh - February 20, 2023As a data center manager in healthcare, you certainly face unique IT challenges that require specialized solutions — hats off to you! From regulatory compliance to uptime and critical patient data, the stakes are high. Not to mention the explosion in reliance upon technology that the recent pandemic helped bring about — from telehealth to…
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The Power of IT Documentation for Network Specialists
By Fred Koh - February 8, 2023As a network documentation specialist, you know that keeping track of all the details of an organization’s network infrastructure is no small feat. From maintaining current network diagrams to inventory and configuration information, there’s a lot to keep track of. And let’s face it, trying to remember which switch is connected to what, where that…
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Here’s Why Most Network Engineers Still Use Visio/Spreadsheets
By Fred Koh - November 18, 2022If you’re stuck still using Visio, spreadsheets, or a combination of the two for your network documentation, you’re not alone. I talk to network engineers from a variety of organizations every day, and I’ve learned this: most network folks are stuck using Visio and spreadsheets for documentation…despite the abundance of tools on the market and…
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Buyer, Beware: DCIM Pricing Add-Ons
By Fred Koh - November 10, 2022Do you need data center infrastructure management (DCIM) software? Before you select a vendor and solution, proceed with caution: when it comes to what you need and the pricing structure you agree to, make sure your i’s are dotted. Why? DCIM software is priced differently…depending on the vendor. Afterall, most software vendors are motivated to…
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