netTerrain Settings: Secrets for Fine-tuning Your DCIM, OSP, and Network Diagrams
By Jan Durnhofer - February 20, 2020One of our mantras as a software company is to try to deliver a product that you can “manage by exception”. This means that, ideally, the software should already be configured in such a way that it accommodates your most likely needs. Only in case of an exception, in which some setting needs to be…
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netTerrain Complaint of the Week: the previewer isn’t smooth enough!
By Jan Durnhofer - February 19, 2020Welcome back to our complaint-of-the-week series. After a rather long hiatus, we’re back again with this series dedicated to unearthing some of the weaknesses you may come across while using netTerrain. Exposing weaknesses…from a software vendor? Yep: as good software is an iterative process of improvement, we have no problem exposing some of the things…
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Zoom & Pan: a Gazillion Ways to Do It, but Stick to the Shortcuts!
By Jan Durnhofer - February 15, 2020As you may know, we usually poke fun at ourselves by writing about complaints customers have in our complaint of the week series that focuses on what our users don’t love about our software for network mapping, data center management, and outside plant. Today, however, I’m turning the tables a bit: I’m putting you, our…
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What is netTerrain?
By Fred Koh - February 10, 2020How did you reach our website? Hear about us from a coworker? Maybe Google or other search engine? Perhaps one of your staff recommended us. However you landed here, you may be wondering: “what exactly is netTerrain?” If you’ve checked out a page or two on our website, read a blog, or maybe watched a…
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Not All Network Documentation is the Same
By Fred Koh - February 7, 2020When I’m talking to network engineers about documenting the network, I always ask the following question, “what does network documentation mean to you?” The responses I get range from: “I just want to document my routers and switches and be able to show this to management” ”I need to document everything — from office workstations,…
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Server Sizing for DCIM and OSP Deployments
By Jan Durnhofer - February 4, 2020Unless a customer purchases a cloud subscription of netTerrain (in which case we provide the server), we usually get a request for help with server sizing during the deployment phase of a DCIM or OSP implementation. This is expected, as the gatekeepers of the IT world have to install the software and they need to…
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Graphical Networks 2019: Year in Review
By Jan Durnhofer - January 31, 2020The holidays are over and now is the time of the new year when I usually get ready to beat my chest a little bit bragging about the previous year’s results. This year is no different: 2019 was very kind to us (in virtually every aspect and statistic). 2019 at a glance: ● …
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What is Network Diagram Software?
By Fred Koh - January 24, 2020Our IT visualization software netTerrain allows our users to create a wide variety of network diagrams — because of this we get a fair amount of search traffic to our website who want to know what is network diagram software, anyways? Before we launch into a long-winded and incredibly exciting (yes, I’m being sarcastic) explanation…
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Network Monitoring Tools: The Devil is in the Details
By Fred Koh - January 23, 2020Early this year, the team here at Graphical Networks plans to release the latest version of our IT visualization software: netTerrain 8.5. In the past, I’ve discussed the differences between network monitoring and network documentation…ad nauseum. To review my previous articles, click here. Some network monitoring systems (NMS) are better than others…for example, can your…
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How is DCIM Software Priced?
By Fred Koh - January 17, 2020Your boss has tasked you to research procuring a DCIM software for your organization… after a series of exhaustive and endless meetings with different stakeholders to determine your set of requirements what you need from a DCIM solution should include from your department and colleagues, its time to finally start the search for DCIM vendors…
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Cable and Circuit Management: You Need Software & Strategy
By Fred Koh - January 16, 2020I’ve often talked about how you can use netTerrain DCIM software to manage your data center’s capacity — such as being able to manage rack capacity and control space, power, and weight availability. With netTerrain’s Environmental Monitoring Module, which is included with netTerrain DCIM, you can also track, and view, power in real-time to increase…
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Make New Years Resolutions for Your IT Network
By Jason Sherman - January 9, 2020Happy new year….it’s back to work again for most of us lucky enough to have had some time off for the holidays, and that means it’s back to the grind. If you’re a network engineer without good and up-to-date network diagrams and documentation, that probably means you’re back to fielding the daily headaches that go…
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