Good DCIM Software is Constantly Evolving

Good DCIM Software is Constantly Evolving

By - October 16, 2020

Our company, Graphical Networks, has been in the data center sphere for many years and there’s one constant: technology, and how we manage it, is constantly evolving. To keep up, IT and network engineers need to be able to get information, and visualize, the different environments they manage. Good DCIM software needs to evolve alongside…

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Need Outside Plant Software? 3 Hacks You Should Avoid

Need Outside Plant Software? 3 Hacks You Should Avoid

By - October 14, 2020

Do you manage a large network of outside plant IT infrastructure? Have an effective way to keep track of what you’ve got, where it is, and what’s connected to what? Can you use it when something happens, and someone needs to go out into the field? How can you plan your fiber infrastructure capacity to…

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IT Asset Management and DCIM

IT Asset Management and DCIM

By - October 13, 2020

In my previous article, If Your Data Center Swings Between Availability & Efficiency, You May Need DCIM, I briefly discussed IT Asset Management (ITAM). I’d like to explore this feature in a DCIM solution a bit more, as this is one of the most important features in a Data Center Infrastructure Management (DCIM). What is…

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Data Center Swinging Between Availability & Efficiency? You May Need DCIM

Data Center Swinging Between Availability & Efficiency? You May Need DCIM

By - October 7, 2020

If traditional cars need gas and oil, millennials need avocado and toast, and Teslas need electricity and a battery, it follows that data centers need the following to run: availability and efficiency. The problem? Have too much availability and efficiency is going to suffer and visa versa. The modern data center swings on something a…

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How Does Network Discovery Help Prevent Cyberattacks?

How Does Network Discovery Help Prevent Cyberattacks?

By - September 30, 2020

Over the years, we’ve written extensively about zombie servers, cables that aren’t fully decommissioned, and much more. If we had to sum all that up into just one sentence, it would probably be something like this: IT documentation helps you find resources that are drawing power but not performing any functions. Just as technology and…

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OSP Fiber Management: Save Time, Money, and Stress

OSP Fiber Management: Save Time, Money, and Stress

By - September 25, 2020

If you’re in charge of managing an Outside Plant (OSP) fiber network, you already know there’s nothing like the threat of backhoes and hurricanes to make you lose sleep. What will get damaged…and what else will be impacted? Are you going to have to send someone out in the field on a wild goose chase?…

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IT Audit? Software Helps

IT Audit? Software Helps

By - September 22, 2020

From time to time, when I ask a company why they are looking for network diagram and documentation software such as netTerrain, they say it’s because they just acquired another company and have no idea what’s on their network and what assets the other company has. If you are considering acquiring a company, ask the…

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How Network Diagram Software Helps You Go Home Early

How Network Diagram Software Helps You Go Home Early

By - September 15, 2020

Whether you love Jimmy Buffet or hate him, everyone knows, and probably can relate, to his famous tune, “it’s five o’clock somewhere’ about a worker who’s frustrated with his job and wants it to be five o’clock. What happens, however, when it’s actually five o’clock and you can’t go home?. When people call us in…

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Network Rack Diagrams 101

Network Rack Diagrams 101

By - September 14, 2020

Over the years, I’ve talked with lots of IT folks who need software for network mapping and network documentation such as netTerrain. These discussions tend to focus on items such as, “can this software go out and discover my network? Can it provide monitoring, like polling services to see if a device is up or…

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Is DCIM’s ‘Single Pane of Glass’ a Myth?

Is DCIM’s ‘Single Pane of Glass’ a Myth?

By - September 11, 2020

In IT management, there’s a lot of chatter about the idea of the ‘single pane of glass’. The concept of the single pane of glass is this: instead of IT staff being left to sort through various tools and incompatible systems across departments, an organization’s entire IT staff can trust just one platform to deliver…

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netTerrain Version 8.6: Enhanced Performance, Customization, Usability

netTerrain Version 8.6: Enhanced Performance, Customization, Usability

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Another year, another step closer to documentation heaven…welcome to netTerrain 8.6! This is the fifth (and last) incarnation of the 8.x series (also called “China” — as you may have seen the pretty guide covers that feature beautiful landscapes from the Asian country as well as in the login pictures). For 8.6, we worked on…

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DCIM Cable Management Software: 3 Helpful Reports

DCIM Cable Management Software: 3 Helpful Reports

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If you were to make a list of mission-critical assets in a data center, cables would near the top. They provide connectivity that lays down the tracks on which the data center runs. From copper to fiber and everything in between, data centers contain a wide range of cabling. Regardless of whether the cables are…

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