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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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 For many others, however, IT teams simply don’t have any network diagrams or have outdated and impossible-to-keep-updated network diagrams….
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Stuck in a Visio Rut? Replace Your Outdated Diagrams
By Fred Koh - April 5, 2021When we first talk to a new organization that’s looking to document its network, create network maps, data center diagrams, and cable infrastructure, we often hear something like this: “Oh, we document everything in Visio and spreadsheets.” So…we ask “how that’s working out?” “It could be better. It is difficult at times to use them,…
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Crash Course: Manage Your Power with DCIM
By Fred Koh - April 2, 2021Data Center Infrastructure Management (DCIM): how do you, and your team, define DCIM? I ask because DCIM isn’t defined by a rigid list of capabilities; what DCIM means depends on who needs it (to read more about “defining DCIM”, click here). If I had to summarize what DCIM is, however, I would define it by…
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Need DCIM? Keep it Simple
By Fred Koh - March 30, 2021What makes a data center infrastructure management solution (DCIM) vendor rank highly in those various top ten lists out there? Well, as I’ve discussed previously, there are numerous factors, such as how scalable or supported a solution is. Ultimately, though, and coming from my perspective as co-founder of a company that makes and sells the…
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What is “Easy DCIM”?
By Fred Koh - March 22, 2021‘Usability’: it’s one word that means a whole lot, right? Before you purchase any new enterprise-grade software, your IT team probably wants to know: how’s the usability, or, in other words, how easy is it for your organization’s users to use a new application to create and foster adopt-ability for a new software program such…
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Faster Network Troubleshooting: 2 Must-Have Ingredients
By Fred Koh - February 17, 2021You know the drill: the phone starts ringing and your inbox is blowing up because something’s wrong with the Network…again. Never before in history has there been a time like today: the demand for the technology that powers business operations is growing exponentially and the IT infrastructure — that lays the foundation for the technology…
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Need Logical Diagrams? 3 Use Cases
By Fred Koh - January 28, 2021Network diagrams, which include both physical and logical diagrams, are a crucial source of truth and actionable information in a well-documented network. Because they show the components of a network and how they are connected, they’re a visual way to understand IT networks. Logical network diagrams show network engineers and administrators how information flows through…
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…Network Documentation Doesn’t Matter? Think Again.
By Fred Koh - January 22, 2021Network documentation, as we’ve blogged about before, has been something of a myth. It exists somewhere…so-and-so has seen it before…maybe that’s it? For many organizations, it’s relegated to the ranks of being some kind of mythical sea monster…you’re fairly certain it’s out there somewhere….somewhere… For other organizations, the idea of network documentation is less myth…
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