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1. What is a physical network
data management system?
A physical network data management
system stores, retrieves, and manipulates data relating
to the physical infrastructure of networks. This can
include data and information about cabling, connectivity,
pathways, telecommunication rooms, electronic equipment,
and what's on the desktop. It is a documentation and
management system for the physical infrastructure of
telecommunication, voice, video, and data networks.
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2. What is physical network
data management?
Physical network data management
is the process to collect and maintain up-to-date network
information in a central data repository and distribute
it to IT and network personnel. Maintaining an accurate,
centralized network data model can be challenging. This
network data model should track the logical relationship
between active network elements, as well as the underlying
physical network infrastructure and connectivity through
passive and active components.
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3. Why is physical network
data management important?
Networks for data, voice, and
video communication are fundamental to any business
and the first link in the Information Technology value
chain. Virtually all business processes depend on networks,
including collecting and sharing data, communications,
business transactions, and manufacturing. Managing the
configurations of these networks is not only important,
it is vital.
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4. What kind of information
is managed by a physical network data management system?
A physical network data management
system controls location, configuration, asset, connectivity,
and status information about network devices, cabling,
circuits, and desktop equipment. The network data management
system represents these network and computing components
as objects with relationships in a central data repository.
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5. What are the most common
pitfalls of documenting networks?
The largest effort required to
document networks is gathering accurate and reliable
data. Many companies maintain the same network data
and information in multiple and overlapping data stores,
such as spreadsheets, CAD drawings, and decentralized
databases. When changes occur, there is little to ensure
that these changes will be made throughout the different
data stores. If data is captured electronically, it
can often be bulk-loaded into the KONFIG database.
If network data is not in electronic format, a physical
survey or walk through of telecommunications rooms and
work areas is required. The data can then be entered
into a spreadsheet and bulk-loaded into the database
later.
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6. What are the benefits of
physical network data management?
A key benefit of a physical network
data management system is the shared and controlled
access to accurate and reliable data for the network
infrastructure and computing environment. This network
data is useful to resolve problems, recover from disasters,
and to plan for network moves, adds, and changes (MACs).
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7. What problems does physical
network data management solve?
Accurate and reliable data enables
a physical network data management system to support
and help solve problems in the following applications
areas:
- Cable management for horizontal
and backbone distribution systems
- Asset and inventory management
with the ability to charge back costs
- Problem management for problem
resolution and tracking
- Change management to support
moves, adds, and changes (MACs)
- Disaster recovery for quick
recovery and asset protection
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8. What key functions should
a physical network data management system support?
A complete
physical network data management system supports the
following functions:
- Cable management with powerful
data input and display through interactive graphics
- Database-driven graphics
for up-to-date network views
- "Cradle-to-grave"
asset life cycle management
- Web-based interface accessible
through standard Internet browsers
- Capacity planning
- Problem management with links
to logical network managers, such as HP OpenView
- Circuit management
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9. What are the key components
of a physical network data management system?
A physical
network data management system should include a centralized
data repository for storing network information; a graphic
engine for creating and displaying graphic views of
the network; an application programming interface (API)
for integrating to other applications; a bulk data loader
for loading electronic data in other formats; and a
web interface for accessing data via an intranet.
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10. What is KONFIG® Network
Management?
KONFIG Network Management is advanced
software for physical network data management of data,
voice or video networks. KONFIG stores and models
the entire network infrastructure in Oracle®, including
active components such as workstations, hubs, routers,
and switches, and passive elements (e.g., cables, connectors,
distribution frames, and patch panels). The Oracle database
stores the spatial location, topological information,
asset attributes, and connectivity of each network object.
Using Auto-trol's powerful graphics
engine, Series 5000™, KONFIG Network Management
automatically generates graphic views of the network
directly from the database, and can create and modify
facility drawings and maps. The network map can be overlaid
on a facility drawing or map.
Oracle's
relational database management system (RDBMS) is tightly
integrated with KONFIG. All data for network components,
both active and passive, are stored in the RDBMS. The
new components are added or changes are made to existing
components directly in the database using an intuitive
GUI and graphical tools. Information exchanged between
the RDBMS and the graphics is transparent to end users.
KONFIG uses a RDBMS to establish intelligent relationships
between network components, including their associations
with the network and between other networks and sub
networks. The KONFIG centralized network model provides
organizations easy, shared access to accurate information
for all network assets.
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11. What is Change Management?
As networks grow and become critical
to a business mission, network growth and change must
be managed. After the network is documented, tracking
changes becomes paramount. Making changes to networks
and equipment can be time-consuming and labor-intensive.
KONFIG Network Management can help enhance a network
manager's productivity by automating device moves, adds,
and changes (MACs). Typical MACs might include one or
more of the following:
- Moving equipment to a new
location
- Adding or removing equipment
- Reconfiguring LANs and subnets
- Connecting and disconnecting
equipment to or from the outlet or wall plate
- Connecting and disconnecting
patch cords or jumpers in one or more wiring closets
- Changing system parameters
such as TCP/IP host names and addresses
For example,
upgrading the network card on a PC from an Ethernet
10BaseT to an Ethernet 10/100BaseT requires disconnecting
the cable, deleting the old card, adding the new card
from inventory to the same slot, and reconnecting the
cable. KONFIG Network Management can help manage these
steps by providing the tools for MAC planning, resource
checking, and automatic database updates.
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