LANs to WANs: The Complete Management Guide

To justify system upgrades and network expansion, and to determine the requirements for maintenance and support staff, an understanding of the basic maintenance reporting requirements is necessary. The variables that need to be tracked on an ongoing basis include the following:

• Network equipment replacement and repair;

• Station equipment replacement and repair;

• Software and firmware problems and versions;

• Trunk-related transmission problems on the WAN;

• Wiring problems on the LAN;

• Database updates: nature, scope, and frequency;

• Moves, adds, and changes;

• Vendor and carrier performance;

• User-related problems.

The information that is derived from these variables includes the time spent performing the following tasks:

• Repairing and/or replacing faulty components and subsystems;

• Testing and debugging software;

• Monitoring the service quality of telephone companies, inter-exchange carriers, and other types of service providers;

• Testing/installing wire and cable;

• Performing moves, adds, and changes;

• Conducting database modifications;

• Keeping tabs on vendor response and reliability;

• Conducting or supervising user training.

The collected information can be used in a variety of ways, such as the following:

• Determining the spares inventory—types of components and quantities;

• Predicting the frequency and level of parts replacement or repair;

• Predicting the turnaround time for parts replacement or repair;

• Determining the mean time between failures (MTBF) and mean time to repair (MTTR) of critical components and subsystems;

• Determining the required number and type of labor hours for an appropriate staffing level;

• Determining required support levels from vendors and carriers;

• Determining vendor and carrier performance and reliability in terms of response times, speed of problem resolution, and number of calls requiring escalation.

A series of daily and monthly logs should be maintained so that periodic analyses-can be performed. These logs should be structured to incorporate all the factors previously discussed. On a daily basis, the following logs should be run:

• Trouble activity;

• Software bugs and alarms;

• System maintenance;

• System utilization;

• Moves, adds, and changes;

• Vendor notification and escalation.

On a monthly basis, the following reports should be run:

• Trouble activity summary;

• Software status;

• Parts replacement and repair;

• Preventive maintenance;

• Vendor performance;

• Move, add, and change activity summary;

• Training activity summary.

As noted, the proper maintenance of systems and networks requires accurate record-keeping. Documentation procedures should be strictly enforced regardless of maintenance program—vendor or in-house.