Name: Troubleshooting IT Systems Complexity
Start: 2020-10-22T12:00:00Z
End: 2020-10-22T12:00:46.000Z
Location: BrightTALK
Rating: 5

How to implement improved practices and systems for enterprise environments covering data centres, networks, services etc.

Creating, updating and maintaining Visio diagrams is made a lot simpler and quicker using our AssetGen Visio utilities and special connectors. Many Visio automation features are not understood, so we'll look at approaches and some of our extras to save time and improve consistency - with a toolset you probably already have! With examples covering floor plans, racks, networks, applications and others you will find the 45 minutes spent very useful and enlightening. Good for individuals, teams and managers who all want to spend less time documenting critical IT/IoT infrastructure and projects.

Visio Infrastructure Diagramming - Save time with our free AssetGen Utilities and Connectors

Mapping applications and services to infrastructure is complex, because groupings, systems and flows need to be defined and documented conceptually. Understanding components and dependencies will mix technical and business perspectives - with continuous changes across multiple technologies. 
Applications, services, hardware, virtual and cloud infrastructure can't be seen - so documenting and mapping them is not simple. The variety of technologies and methods of implementation continues to expand to the point that interconnected system become too complex to understand or explain. Most IT management frameworks covering cyber security and service management emphasise the need to assess and understand risks and dependencies - which is difficult enough. The need to maintain the documentation is often beyond any single team and becomes a management problem. Sometimes it’s the basics like lack of data and visualisation standards that are the first hurdle, but you can't have good information or diagrams without consistency of data. Our last webinar in the 2025 series finishes with the really difficult... or you may think different!

How To Document Infrastructure Part 6 - Applications and Services

Unlike hardware, virtual and cloud infrastructure can't be seen - so documenting and mapping virtual systems is not simple. The variety of virtual technologies and methods of implementation continues to expand to the point that interconnected system become too complex to understand or explain. Virtual dependencies are difficult to map consistently, with change impacts and risk assessment/mitigation difficult to predict. This webinar covers documentation methods and dependency mapping of physical to virtual as well as virtual only.

How To Document Infrastructure Part 5 - Virtual and Cloud Infrastructure

Our webinar on copper infrastructure networks complements our January web 2025 on Fibre networks. Copper cabling and connectivity will continue to provide data and power connectivity as well as new technologies such as single pair ethernet. Documentation effort can be reduced by improvement in installation methods and practices, as well as simplifying change processes. Legacy equipment and end points still very much rely on copper, as well as out of band management systems - so why not reduce the number of spreadsheets (that often aren't trusted of used) and cut down on time consuming site survey by addressing the documentation problem! As with Fibre we'll look at issues and methods that make it simpler and easier to maintain copper systems documentation so it can be trusted. Will cover a mix of data, AC and DC power connectivity as IT, IoT and Telco environments all need documentation!

How To Document Infrastructure Part 4 - Copper Networks

Documenting networks is becoming very complex as physical, virtual, cloud and software defined networks all combine to provide connectivity between users and data. There is no such thing as a single network diagram that can represent paths, risks and capacity - more like 100s or 1000s of diagrams are possibly needed. Our host will guide you through the types of information sets and best practices used for consistent and accurate documentation of networked environments. Planning, implementing and managing networks can't be done in one persons head any more, or with telephone call - team based documentation is needed to make sure all understand. With the focus on networks this webinar will help  technical management as well as support governance, risk and resilience needs with evidence of controls and recovery.

How To Document Infrastructure - Part 3 Networks

Documentation is essential for the key processes that cover operating and managing data centres effectively. Our host will guide you through best practices for creating consistent and accurate documentation of the most complex IT environments. Using our in-house developed database driven Visio methods, we will cover how to automate the diagramming process to cover DC diagrams, including floor plans, rack layouts, ODF layouts, service maps, network layouts and more. Whether you are an DC manager, Consultant or Facilities Engineer you will learn quick wins to streamline your documentation process.

How to Document Infrastructure - Part 2 Data Centres

Businesses know their IT infrastructure is mission critical, but that doesn't mean they'll fund IT resources to manage it properly. If you don't invest in management and control then expect increased downtime, unpredictable project, avoidable disruption and overloaded staff members. Our webinar will focus on capturing a baseline for operational management to enable effective control of changes, risk assessment of vulnerabilities and ensuring compliance with company and industry standards

Baseline Auditing Of Critical Infrastructure

There are many ways to document fibre infrastructure, with a lot of manual effort and processes needed before the documentation is trusted. Our first webinar in the 2025 "How to Document" series looks as efficient methods and techniques to plan, build and operate fibre infrastructure where often there is a mix of legacy and new equipment. If understanding fibre connectivity needs site surveys, cables to be pulled and tugged, extra spreadsheets to be created for each task - then maybe there is a documentation problem! We'll look at issues and methods that make it simpler and easier to maintain fibre systems documentation so it can be trusted.

How to Document Infrastructure - Part 1 Fibre Networks

MS Visio is a very capable diagramming tool, though it’s capability can be extended with programming and data linking to improve user and team productivity. In the last of the 2024 webinar series we welcome Jan Rickenbach, Applications Manager at Motan Inc. who will describe how they developed a sales proposal system using Excel/Visio diagramming for complex high volume plastics manufacturing equipment. 
SMS will also show other internal developments that can be incorporated into diagramming. Redacting sensitive data, simple layer management, radio button selection of options, automated connecting of shapes - just a few examples of what will be covered.

Visio Tips & Tricks - Part 7 Extending Visio With Programming and Special Shapes

Creating and maintaining IT focused Visio diagrams is made a lot easier using our free AssetGen Visio utilities and special connectors. This webinar will show you how to use our Visio add-in and data driven  methods to reduce manual effort and improve consistency. Our presenter will cover examples of the AssetGen Visio extensions to show how days and hours of engineering time can be reduced to seconds. If you are an existing Visio user you can use some of the methods immediately!

Visio Tips and Tricks - Part 6 Using Our Visio Utilities and Connectors

Capturing cabling and connectivity requirements, creating outline and detailed design proposals, costing options and approaches all take up valuable engineering time. So why not make better use of existing toolsets like Excel and Visio? In our webinar we'll show how simply and quickly you can create schematics and bills of materials for complex cabling infrastructure. See how special Visio shapes in the AssetGen Cabling Architect V2 (ACA) enable faster design creation and refresh with changes in requirements.

Designing and Costing Cabling Infrastructure Using Excel/Visio Integration. Introducing AssetGen Cabling Architect V2

Par 5 of our series covers the use of Visio for planning and managing multi-building infrastructure - where ICT technologies are replacing older technologies such as security, AV, building management, parking systems and space management. Engineering drawings and BIM systems based on CAD are being replaced by more flexible and convenient MS Visio based schematics for IT and shared infrastructure, often with database or datalinked diagramming. In our webinar we look at the use of data driven diagramming to make diagram creation and updating simpler and faster for transportation, healthcare, education, manufacturing as well as commercial buildings.

Visio Tips and Tricks - Part 5 Building, Campus and Site Infrastructure

Widescale adoption of IP based technologies in manufacturing systems as well as expansion of IoT systems is increasing the complexity of manufacturing systems and systems understanding. Engineering drawings based on CAD are being overtaken by MS Visio based schematics for IT and OT shared infrastructure. In our webinar we look at the use of data driven diagramming to make diagram creation and updating simpler and faster, providing physical, logical and system diagrams for planning, design and operational management.

Visio Tips and Tricks - Part 4 Industrial and IoT Diagramming

Maintaining and updating infrastructure documentation still seems to be a problem for many organisations. In many cases, it is easier to recapture knowledge by site surveys and major audits, then update existing data and diagrams. But this adds delay to projects, adds workload to stressed engineers and costs more if you also pay contractors or 3rd parties for unnecessary discovery exercises. It could be different. Less work, quicker decisions and faster response to requirement changes. Auto-discovery systems may help gather data, but the date needs to be updated into the various information sets and schematics used by IT teams for projects as well as operational support. 
In our webinar we'll show how consolidated data reduces the update effort (compared to 100's of Excel files) and can be used to automatically produce capacity, risk, inventory, connectivity lists, etc. As well as Visio schematics covering floor plans, networks, racks, servers, cabling, applications, services, data flows etc.  Scaling to handle multi-site environments, as well as 1000s of information sets is only possible with the automation techniques we'll cover.

Automated Refreshing of Infrastructure Documentation

Part 3 of our Visio webinar series covers the mapping of hosts, applications and service for high level design and change impact analysis. Areas such as mapping physical to virtual, containers, databases, data flows as well as application environments will be covered. Using data driven Visio automation methods the presenters will show how complex IT systems can be simplified and presented consistently with less effort by IT teams and contractors.

Visio Tips and Tricks - Part 3 Application / Services Diagramming

Infrastructure documentation is often inconsistent, patchy and untrusted - so unnecessary site surveys, audits and workshops are carried out to compensate. This webinar will show how project tasks can be mapped to determine where trusted information sets directly support faster delivery of projects and easier interfacing between teams. Its common sense that good, accurate documentation enables project teams to assess, plan, implement and deliver changes to IT infrastructure efficiently and predictably.

Mapping IT Projects & Tasks To Information Sets

Is spaghetti cabling a result of design, implementation, materials, change management, lack of controls - or all of them? It’s obvious that unplanned, task only and project focused approaches inevitably result in problems later on. If only there was a standard for common sense covering IT infrastructure like TIA TR-60. Join the leaders of TIA TR-60 Infrastructure Life Cycle Management framework to see and understand good ways to sustain good performance and uptime, as well as reducing the cost and risks of change. Warning, some examples may be distressing for IT professionals.

Stress Free Infrastructure and 10 Pitfalls to Avoid

Visio is used extensively in data centre design and management as it enables data driven diagramming of floor plans, racks, cabling, power, networks and systems. Our presenters will show different methods and techniques of applying Visio in combination with Excel and database listings. The end result is less time spent creating and updating multiple sets of diagrams for project and operational information needs. or... you could do it manually in weeks instead of minutes using automation features.

Visio Tips and Tricks - Part 2 Data Centres

For our October webinar, Rene Samuels from the Netherlands is our guest presenter. Rene is often brought in by customers to help troubleshoot system and application dependencies, where complexity and change risks cannot easily be described or understood. By engaging with different IT teams to help simplify and map detailed system dependencies, Rene facilitates the common understanding needed for major transformation and transition projects. We have asked Rene to explain how his approach and the use of the AssetGen system overcome the factors that prevent internal customer initiatives from achieving the results he can deliver.

Troubleshooting IT Systems Complexity

Data Center Documentation

Cloud

Cloud Applications

Network Management

Cabling

Data Best Practices

Data Center Management

Infrastructure Management

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Troubleshooting IT Systems Complexity

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Square Mile Systems