As IT infrastructures continue to grow, the complexity of the infrastructure grows as well. IT infrastructures today consist of networks connecting large computing facilities, global computing and software platforms, users who work from home, and users who connect through mobile devices. In addition, new types of hardware and services are being deployed on a daily basis.
This flexibility to innovate helps improve the quality and availability of IT services, but it has also created new challenges for IT teams. Because information is often distributed across multiple platforms and applications, developing an accurate understanding of the infrastructure has become a significant challenge for IT teams to manage accurately.
Troubleshooting is not only time-consuming without an up-to-date view of networks, but it can also expose organizations to security threats and make it difficult to develop future infrastructure plans.
In this article, we will discuss the benefits of using a network inventory system to provide visibility of the IT environment and the reasons why this visibility is important for managing modern IT operations.
So, what's the problem with fragmented infrastructure data?
There are many organizations that have several systems for collecting their infrastructure data.
To begin with, when you have data from multiple sources that do not correlate with one another, the information is no longer reliable in network inventory.
When you try to troubleshoot a problem, it takes longer to find the information required because you have to go to each source to get the information.
In addition, making changes to your infrastructure is tough when the teams responsible for the infrastructure do not know which systems are dependent on one another.
These factors demonstrate how critical it is to create a single source of infrastructure data information that can be accessed through a common interface as per Slurp'it.
What actually is a single source of truth?
A single source of truth refers to the ability to have one centralized repository that contains all of the relevant information associated with your organization's network.
An IT department no longer needs to access many separate sources of data from different locations. Instead, it can view the entire infrastructure as one integrated system.
The single source of truth typically contains:
- A complete inventory of all network devices and associated resources
- Configuration parameters for each device
- IP address / interface information
- Network topology and interconnectivity
- Cloud and virtual infrastructure elements
By consolidating this information, companies can build a reliable platform for managing their entire network infrastructure as per Slurp'it.
How to build an effective network inventory strategy?
The strategy for an effective network inventory will involve an organization not only deploying a new Inventory Tool but also developing processes to ensure that the inventory tool information captured by the system is accurate and the information collected will be of value as per Slurp'it.
The steps in developing your network inventory include:
- Automating the discovery of your assets – This will remove the potential for manual tracking mistakes.
- Establishing standardized formats and naming conventions for data captured, thus ensuring the same infrastructure information is captured consistently.
- Integrating your inventory tool with all operational tools such as monitoring platforms and configuration management systems (CMS).
- Clearly designating who is responsible for maintaining the accuracy of your network inventory.
When all these items are completed, the network inventory system will be a reliable source of information for the entire IT organization.
Why is a single source of truth important for today's IT operations?
Today's computer networks have grown increasingly more complicated than they ever have been before, therefore, there must be an accurate set of infrastructure data for these networks.
With many organizations now utilizing hybrid clouds, multiple locations and regions, and automating their processes, having access to reliable information on how their networks operate will help organizations grow and prosper in network inventory as per Slurp'it.
By having one source of truth, IT departments will be able to better understand the environment in which they operate, resolve problems faster, and make better decisions regarding their infrastructure.
Without a single source of truth, the network operations would become more reactive and less productive.
Why is infrastructure visibility more important than it ever has been?
With increased usage of cloud services, distributed applications & automated operations, there's been an increase in the level of complexity in most environments. Accurate visibility in these environments is vital to an IT team's success.
The ability to have one source of truth will give IT teams an understanding of what their infrastructure looks like and provide timely response capabilities for operational issues, as well as provide informed network change decisions.
Without accurate visibility of the infrastructure, IT teams will continue to manage the complexity of today's networks in a reactive and inefficient manner.
To conclude, IT organizations' ability to see and understand their network environment has become critical to success. Network inventory systems create a single place to collect, organize, and reference all of the infrastructure data about the organization, creating a common source of truth for IT teams to use when managing their organisations' networks. For more information, contact us at Slurp'it!