You need Trenchant Systems !
Most business managers have realised the advantages of using technology to manage business. To fulfil this need a large number of suppliers have emerged to fulfil every requirement.
The products have become complex and expensive. Imaginative licensing agreements have been created to extract even more money from the customer. You now need someone trained to manage licensing agreements to ensure that you are in compliance.
With the greater dependence on Information Technology attracts the criminal mind to look for opportunities to defraud. To protect these systems, the business manager is forced to buy yet more expensive products with expensive support contracts.The problem with these changes is that the advantages which information technology provides have now diminished.
The focus is no longer on applying information technology to release benefits, but managing the systems.
The Internet is now the foundation of everything that we do in our business and personal lives. The latest innovations such as Voice Over Internet Protocol (VOIP), Internet Protocol Television (IPTV) and now the trend is to push key services into external data centres.
This means we depend more than ever on our networks to access our information and perform business transactions.
The Internet is like a collection of Road Systems. We have motorways, B roads, A roads and private roads. Roads carry different types of vehicles with different content. This concept is exactly the same with Data Networks.
To keep your network in a fit state to cope with the current and future demand it is vital that you have a plan to look after your network.
10 Easy ways to get your network ready for the future !
- Document your network. Documentation will help you plan effectively and quickly isolate faults. There are a number of tools which can help you with the task
- Replace older equipment which does not perform at today’s speeds or contain contemporary traffic management features. You may think you are saving money by running working older hardware, but you will be overlooking the hidden costs in reduced performance and inability to deploy modern Internet application
- Review your Internet connection. Your current supplier may not be as competitive in today’s market. Modern fibre networks are being deployed increasing speeds and accessibility. Internet providers are creating higher value tariffs with fewer restrictions. So look around and see if you can improve your Internet connection. I recommend doing this at least every 3 years
- Keep your network secure. The firewall you bought in 1998 is still working, but is it still protecting you against today’s threats? We depend more on our networks therefore there is more to loose. This has seen an increase in attacks and break-ins to steal data.
- Design for failure. Most if us carry a spare wheel of some sorts in our cars. This is to enable us to keep moving in the case of a failed tyre. Even the best network equipment fails at some stage so plan for it. However don’t let the sales men scare you to purchasing 4 spare tyres, use a balanced approach to risk
- Monitor your network. Can you imagine driving in your car with no dash board instruments? No speedometer, fuel gauge, oil gauge temperature or mileage. The dashboard is vital to see if we are maintaining legal speed, or if the car is behaving normally. Well you also need a dashboard for your network. How is it performing?, How fast is it going?, Where it is congested?. A large range of network management tools are available to help in this area.
- Look after the physical cabling. The physical copper Ethernet cables and fibre cables are just as important as the network equipment. Take care not to crush them under chairs, push them into tight 90 degree turns and install them under tension like guitar strings. If in doubt throw it out.
- Use a change control process. When customers ask for help to fix a network outage, one of the first things we ask was when did it stop working, and what changes were made at that time.Configuration errors are often the cause of network outages. Keep track of changes and make sure you can role back to a known state.
- Install an Uninterruptible Power Supply (UPS) on your network equipment. A UPS will not only provide continuous power during a power failure, it will also provide clean constant power to your equipment. Clean power with no brown outs and power surges will increase the lifetime of your equipment.
- Use Anti-Static precautions. When installing memory or components into your network equipment, follow the static precautions shown on the packaging. If the static discharge into the component does not cause it to fail immediately, it will centrally reduce its life span.
