DCIM & Documentation Software: Easily Import Your Data
By Fred Koh - July 22, 2020As I discussed in a recent article about tracking changes in the network, keeping your network diagrams up-to-date is critical to fostering greater adoption and usage of a network documentation and/or Data Center Infrastructure Management (DCIM) solution. With a proper change management solution in place, you can ensure your documentation will be up-to-date (and, for…
Learn MoreNeed Software for Network Diagrams and Network Mapping?
By Fred Koh - July 14, 2020Recently, I wrote an article (about the three top reasons to replace Visio for network diagrams) which dives into the importance of having an automated solution for network mapping (you can read it by clicking here). So, how do network mapping and network diagrams correlate with each other? According to Wikipedia’s entry on network diagram…
Learn MoreDCIM Software with Cable Management: Do You Need It?
By Fred Koh - July 13, 2020Do you need Data Center Infrastructure Management software (DCIM)? If so, what are your requirements when looking for a DCIM software? If you’re going through your checklist of features and looking at many DCIM software vendors (you can read more about putting your list of DCIM requirements together by clicking here) —- don’t forget to…
Learn MoreHow to Track Changes with IT Documentation Software: Change Management
By Fred Koh - July 12, 2020So, you’ve stepped up to the IT visualization plate and started to use netTerrain — either on a trial basis or as one of our customers…and now, you’d like to avoid your time investment becoming shelfware. Take note: one of the aspects that leads software straight into the abyss of ‘shelfware’ is a lack of…
Learn MoreEnhanced Layer 2 Network Discovery Coming Up!
By Jan Durnhofer - July 10, 2020A key aspect of mapping the network is the ability to automatically discover the entire topology! This is so crucial that, in fact, at least half of the requests we get from our customers involve what we call ‘Layer 2 Discovery’. It’s called Layer 2 (you can click here to read more about it on…
Learn MoreWhat’s Your DCIM Roadmap?
By Jan Durnhofer - July 2, 2020Customers and prospects frequently ask us about our roadmap. While it’s a good question, it’s tricky to answer….not because I feel we have a ‘roadmap problem’ at Graphical Networks, but because, if I have to explain our stance and the reasoning behind it, it would lend itself to a long philosophical debate on the nature…
Learn MorenetTerrain Complaint of the Week: where’s your feature request system?
By Jan Durnhofer - June 30, 2020A customer who uses netTerrain for Data Center Infrastructure Management (DCIM) recently asked us why they couldn’t access some sort of customer-centric feature request database or roadmap tool. It’s a good question (and it’s one that also invites some interesting philosophical debates that are fodder for more than the one heated discussion our team had…
Learn MorenetTerrain Logical vs. netTerrain DCIM
By Fred Koh - June 22, 2020As the executive director of sales at Graphical Networks, I’m often asked about the various differences across our product offerings. This article will highlight the key differences between our network mapping and diagram software (netTerrain Logical) and our data center infrastructure management software (netTerrain DCIM). Graphical Networks has just one IT Visualization platform: netTerrain. What…
Learn MoreGood DCIM Software: What to Look For
By Fred Koh - June 18, 2020Data Center Infrastructure Management Software (DCIM): how do you define it? Ask what DCIM means to your colleagues and management and I have no doubt that you’ll end up with different responses from each person you ask! Over the many years that we’ve been selling our DCIM tool (netTerrain DCIM), we’ve written numerous articles (and…
Learn MoreHow to Win Friends & Influence Bosses (Using Network Diagrams)
By Fred Koh - June 15, 2020Finally…you’re about to head home. Then…the calls start. Then..the emails. The network is slow…or even worse, it’s down. Troubleshooting takes up so much time compared to actually fixing the underlying network issue. How can managers and IT directors help their staff reduce the time it takes to find and fix an issue? Network diagrams save…
Learn MoreNetwork Diagram Software MSPs and Network Consultants Can Use
By Fred Koh - June 9, 2020Need to document your clients’ networks? MSPs and network consultants use netTerrain for just that! Using network discovery and automated network documentation software you can visualize how the devices are all connected — all the way down to the port level. Leverage network diagram software (such as netTerrain Logical) to present your discovered results in…
Learn MoreCommon Questions about Fiber Mapping Software
By Fred Koh - May 21, 2020What’s just as important as keeping network diagrams up-to-date? Your cabling infrastructure (we’ve written about cable management and cable software for many years — click here to explore some of those blogs on cabling). So, what about documenting the fiber plant? Many of our prospective customers ask us how other organizations are managing and mapping…
Learn More