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Tel: 020 7680 7200 Email: info@trescray.co.uk

Solutions > IT Cabling > Intelligent Infrastructure Management (IIM)

 

Without a strict change control process, wiring administration points (such as those found on frames and patch panels), quickly become difficult to trace and impossible to document. Consequently, troubleshooting and Moves, Adds and Changes (MACs) become costly, time consuming and difficult to plan.


Despite their drawbacks, frames and patch panels provide unparalleled flexibility to quickly route voice and data services throughout a building and are extremely cost effective compared to other alternatives. Consequently, they are used in the routing of IT services in 99.99% of all commercial buildings.


Lack of resources (time, people, and budget), unauthorized changes and the failure of change control processes are most often cited as the reasons why network infrastructure documentation is inaccurate and incomplete.


The irony is that over 50% of network problems are directly related to the physical infrastructure. Accurate documentation and management of the physical layer should therefore be one of the highest priorities when budgets are tight and resources short. However, as every technician knows, manual methods of documentation can be time consuming, unreliable and at best, a pain to implement.


The challenge has been to find an automated solution that automatically discovers and monitors connectivity of all vendors equipment found in wiring closets, self-documents and provides real time and remote access over the Internet. The ideal solution would reduce the amount of time and money required to manage and maintain the physical infrastructure


The Solution is at hand …
Cable Management Systems which can keep an automatic record of connectivity in real-time and provide a facility to plan and execute Moves, Adds and Changes in a controlled and efficient manner are now available. These systems work by detecting the physical connections in the cabling infrastructure and reporting the information to a management station on the network. This allows the network manager to monitor and manage the infrastructure without having to visit the comms room.


There are several systems on the market there are general benefits common to most of them;


Reduced Downtime
Some systems can indicate the location of the equipment at fault on a CAD floor plan, and indicate when it has been successfully connected.


Improved MAC process
Moves, Adds and Changes are simplified by the use of computer generated work order. These work orders can be monitored anywhere in the world via a web connection.


Improved Asset Utilization
By identifying the active connections to network equipment, the Patching System will provide the network manager with visibility of equipment utilisation. This way spare network capacity can be tracked, preventing un- necessary spending on expensive network hardware.


Improved Security
With the ability to integrate with a camera you needn't worry about who is conducting unauthorized moves, adds and changes. You can have their picture e-mailed to you!


Faster Disaster Recovery
The ability to know the current state of your network at any given point in time, including all the users and their associated services and equipment is useful. In a disaster recovery situation such information is indispensable. The patching system database can provide this.


Reduced Cost
By significantly improving the efficiency and accuracy of your moves, adds and changes (MACS), and by reducing un-necessary expenditure elsewhere on your network hardware, significant cost savings can be brought.


Essentially there are three method of automatic detection of patch leads used by the leading intelligent patching systems:


1. An additional wire in the RJ45 socket and panel as used in the Brand-Rex SmartPatch system
2. A sprung loaded pin on the RJ45 which makes contact with a metal contact above the outlet on the panel as used in the ITRACS and Molex RealTime systems.
3. A micro-switch in the patch panel's socket which switches when a patch lead is plugged in.


1. & 2. have a distinct advantage over 3.; they inherently provide confirmation of which two ports are connected by a lead. Where a micro-switch is used, there is no physical detection from one end of a lead to the other for and so it is possible for a user to plug in two un-connected patch lead ends and for the system to think they are connected together.



Is Intelligent Patching right for you?
Typically these systems provide a return on investment for organisations who have frequent moves and changes, need to manage remote locations, multiple buildings on a site or manage a cabling system of more than 1,000 outlets. As authorised partners of 3 of the leading systems on the market Trescray are able to advise on the system best suited to you.

Please contact us if you require more information and are thinking of implementing an IIM system.