Intelligent management of integrated wiring system, from “happy to have” to “need to have”

From educational, healthcare and financial institutions to medical, government and corporate organizations, every transaction, communication and facility operation is accomplished through an ever-increasing number of end devices and applications residing in information networks. Accordingly, these organizations need to maintain and manage more connections than ever before throughout the physical layer of the network infrastructure. Especially now that a large number of data centers are emerging, the growing number of application services, servers, storage devices and high-density switching devices also require more cross-connections between servers and switches at the physical layer of the network. All these growing connections from the desktop to the data center form a more complex network physical layer structure.

The challenges and costs associated with network physical layer management and maintenance are becoming daunting—the time spent on troubleshooting, analyzing and resolving network problems has a direct impact on an organization’s bottom line. As the physical layer of the network is becoming more and more complex, the cost in this area will continue to increase. While the existing network management tools and software have been able to help data center managers manage ports to switches and servers, the passive connection of the network physical layer between switches and terminal devices is excluded by these network management systems. As the basic part of the network that all communication and business activities rely on – the physical layer, network managers of smart buildings and data centers are now looking for a way to effectively manage the network infrastructure to improve productivity and response time and reduce downtime and operating expenses.

l Automatic discovery of network devices

l Can automatically detect and record more asset information in addition to connection information

l The open application program interface API can realize the combination with the high-level network management system

Regarding the benefits that the implementation of the intelligent wiring management system can bring to users, it is mainly reflected in the following aspects:

l As the scale of the network continues to grow, as well as the movement, addition and changes of devices during network maintenance, the corresponding connection record documents need to be updated frequently, which will cause network managers to spend a lot of time on the update of document records, while smart The wiring management system enables automatic updating of connection documentation.

l Unexpected interruption of network physical layer connection, without the implementation of intelligent cabling management system, users get feedback that the server or other terminal equipment cannot provide services. There is a problem with the connection of the equipment. Usually, such a connection is not a direct connection. There will be multiple connection nodes in its connection link. What is the problem with the node, the administrator must spend time to find the fault point, and the shutdown will be too long. The loss of time is terrifying. After the implementation of the intelligent wiring management system, the system can automatically identify and alarm the fault point of the physical layer connection, notify the management personnel immediately, and reduce the economic loss caused by the troubleshooting time.

l Attacks outside the network can be prevented by means of firewalls, while attacks inside the network, such as unauthorized access, are difficult to prevent. The implementation of the intelligent wiring management system can also realize automatic discovery of unauthorized access. and alarms to prevent economic losses caused by insider attacks.

l The intelligent wiring management software can be combined with the existing network management system through secondary development to make up for the lack of physical layer management in the existing network management system and improve management efficiency and benefits.

The development trend of intelligent wiring management system is reflected in two aspects of hardware and software:

Hardware: The common intelligent wiring management system is mainly realized by 9-wire link technology and patch panel port detection technology. Electronic distribution frames with contact sensing, etc., based on these hardware products, the automatic identification of physical layer jumpers can be realized, but only this. The development trend of the intelligent wiring management system in terms of hardware is that more manageable information can be added on this basis to realize more automatic control of the physical layer by managers. For example: the specific location of the high-level connection cable in the network, whether the number of plugging and unplugging of the connector exceeds or approaches the standard limit, whether the length, type or color of a single jumper meets the design requirements, etc. And these functions can already be realized by TE’s newly launched Huijue intelligent management system.

The development trend in software is to automatically record and update the connection information of the network infrastructure, facilitate troubleshooting, automatically discover and record the configuration information of the network switching equipment and the information of the terminal equipment connected to the network. Integrate with the network management system of network equipment manufacturers or integrators to fill the lack of network physical layer management by these network management systems, and extend automated network management to the physical layer. .

Due to price factors, the current user groups who choose the intelligent wiring management system mainly include the following: some users who are more sensitive to the physical layer connection of the equipment, such as the equipment downtime caused by the unexpected interruption of the jumper, which will bring greater losses. Users who need to implement remote centralized supervision of network device connections, such as larger office networks and data centers.

At present, the users who have implemented the intelligent wiring management system are mainly the government, banks, tobacco, military and other industries. However, with the increasing dependence of various industries on computer networks and the continuous expansion of network scale, users in various industries will realize the importance of automatic supervision of network infrastructure.

The implementation of intelligent cabling management system will definitely require more investment than ordinary cabling systems due to the addition of management equipment and software. However, in terms of maintenance and management after the network is completed, it can help users save a lot of labor costs and reduce system downtime. Therefore, the investment in the intelligent wiring management system is worth the money. In addition, with the mass production of the system and the cost reduction brought by technology research and development, the cost gap between the intelligent wiring management system and the ordinary wiring system will gradually decrease.

Recognizing the importance of intelligent management at the physical layer of the network and the continuous reduction of the cost of implementing the system, more and more users will change their concept from “happy to have” to “need to have”.