Change Management Crucial in DCIM & Network Mapping Success
By Fred Koh - August 29, 2018Have you been using spreadsheets and Visio diagrams to document your data center and networks? Are you considering upgrading to DCIM or an automated network diagramming solution? I’ve consulted on numerous project approvals and over the years, I’ve found that two key questions pop up time and time again: How, exactly, will you maintain the…
Learn MoreNetwork Visibility for IoT Devices
By Fred Koh - August 27, 2018By now, we’ve all heard about the Internet of Things (IoT) via various news articles, social media posts, and maybe even stock analysts. How you define IoT depends upon what you’re doing: for some, it’s self-driving vehicles, sensor networks for monitoring, ‘smart cities’, or walking into an Amazon grocery store and picking up lunch without…
Learn MoreNetwork Diagram Software 101
By Jason Sherman - August 23, 2018If you manage a complicated network, or if you’re establishing one, network diagrams are a necessity. A good network diagram defines the network’s structure and layout using a variety of symbols that represent the devices and connections between them. A ‘completed’ network diagram for a complex network will, most likely, have hundreds of symbols —…
Learn MoreWhat 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…
Learn MoreCan You Diagram the Network with Visio?
By Jason Sherman - August 17, 2018If you manage a network, you know (all too well) that IT documentation is one of those things you need to do but never seem to have the time to get done. It can be an especially daunting (and joyless) task if you plan to diagram and document with Visio network diagrams. That being said,…
Learn MoreHow Network Diagrams Help You with Compliance & Regulations
By Fred Koh - August 15, 2018Recently, I wrote a blog entitled ‘Network Documentation: Is It Really a Priority?’: in this blog, I discussed the importance of network diagrams and documentation in capacity planning, reducing mean-time-to-repair, lowering expenditures, cutting down on IT clutter, and more. One significant issue I didn’t discuss in that blog is this: regulatory compliance. Graphical Networks, my…
Learn MoreWhere Has All The Good Data Gone?
By Jason Sherman - August 13, 2018So…you’re sick of troubleshooting that takes forever, fed up with buying IT stuff just to realize 6 months later you didn’t really need it or already had it, and you’re completely exasperated by those expenditures that keep going up, up, and away? You’ve finally decided that you want – no, scratch that – need to…
Learn MoreNetwork Documentation: Is It Really a Priority?
By Fred Koh - August 10, 2018Let’s face it: we all say “network documentation is important”… but for some reason it is never truly considered urgent or a higher priority. I hear it all the time. Yet, when the ‘you know what’ hits the fan, we all go desperately scrambling for those uninspired network documents…only to find them outdated and basically…
Learn MoreCloud vs. On-Premise Software for Managing the Network
By Fred Koh - August 8, 20182018 is the year of the Cloud (okay, maybe someone said that about 2017, and maybe they’ll say that about 2019, too). Right now, there is a lot of discussion around what’s better in software today: a Cloud or on-premise solution? There’s no doubt that the Cloud is trending upward. A 2017 tech forecast survey…
Learn MoreMovies that Desperately Needed Network Diagrams
By Jason Sherman - August 6, 2018Sometimes, we all want to see the kind of work we do up on the big silver screen. Although the life of a network engineer isn’t as glamorous as say, the life of an international spy….we still have those dramatic moments at work from time to time (hey: I’m sure there were some Hollywood-worthy lines…
Learn MoreHow To: Network Diagrams with Visio & Spreadsheets
By Jason Sherman - June 12, 2018If you’re a network engineer trying to manage the network — without automated network diagramming software — let me tip my hat to you: you’re probably better qualified than I am to write the introduction to this blog. Network engineers everywhere know, all too well, the pain of troubleshooting, fixing network outages and issues when…
Learn MoreThe Totally Biased Guide to Documenting Your Network: What Can Be Documented?
By Jason Sherman - June 5, 2018Now that you’ve identified what it is that you actually need to document, let’s dive into the details….aka what does that look like in your brain? Imagine you have a crystal ball and look into the future: what does your documentation look like. By ‘future’ I mean that you should set a realistic timeline —…
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