• Home
  • News
  • Big Data & Analytics
  • DevOps
  • Security
  • GDPR
  • AI & ML
  • Women in Tech
  • Cloud & Infrastructure
  • CIO
  • Deskflix
  • Events
  • Whitepapers
  • Spotlights
  • IT Leaders 250
  • Research
  • Delta
  • Tech Marketing Hub
  • About Us
  • Newsletters
  • Sign in
  •  
      • Newsletters
      • Account details
      • Contact support
      • Sign out
     
     
    • You are currently accessing Computing via your Enterprise account.

      If you already have an account please use the link below to sign in.

      If you have any problems with your access or would like to request an individual access account please contact our customer service team.

      Phone: +44 (0) 1858 438800

      Email: customerservices@incisivemedia.com

      • Sign in
     
  • Follow us
    • Twitter
    • LinkedIn
    • Newsletters
    • Facebook
    • YouTube
  • Register
  • Events
    • Upcoming events
      event logo
      Is it time you switched to Database-as-a-Service?

      In this webinar learn how to leverage the advantages of in-VPC deployment, multi-cluster management, hybrid cloud replication, and more, all while delivering operational transparency and low TCO.

      • Date: 13 Apr 2021
      • Computing UK, London
      event logo
      How to overcome your Active Directory consolidation challenges

      In this web seminar we explore how best to go about assessing and modernising your AD as we reveal our research findings into AD health and readiness, consolidation challenges, and strategies for success.

      • Date: 20 Apr 2021
      event logo
      DeskFlix: DevOps

      Join us for this season of Deskflix: DevOps to hear from industry experts, leading partners, and your peers on all of the above. Available live or on-demand you’ll learn about best practice, the most common challenges, and gain valuable lessons on how to approach your 2021 DevOps journey.

      • Date: 21 Apr 2021
      event logo
      Desklix: Digital Workplace

      The Coronavirus pandemic has had a huge impact on our lives with most organisations making a sudden switch to mass remote working. As restrictions are progressively eased, the impact continues, with organisations having to decide when to allow staff back into offices, what proportion of remote working should be expected, and how all of this should be supported.Take part in this virtual event to put your questions to the experts, and see what your peers have learnt from the pandemic, and how they plan to apply this understanding to 2021 and beyond.

      • Date: 12 May 2021
      View all events
  • Whitepapers
    • LATEST WHITEPAPERS
      Darktrace 120x194
      Cyber AI Response: Threat Report 2019

      This white paper details 7 case studies of attacks that were intercepted and neutralised by Darktrace cyber defense AI, including a zero-day trojan in a manufacturing company's network. Learn how Darktrace Antigena AI Response modules fight back autonomously, no matter where a threat may emerge, extending to the Cloud, Email and SaaS.

      Download
      Darktrace 120x194
      Cyber AI & Darktrace Cloud

      This white paper explores how cloud is a security blind spot for many organisations who struggle with the limited visibility and control in this new environment, where their existing security tools are often not applicable.

      Download
      Find whitepapers
      Search by title or subject area
      View all whitepapers
  • Spotlights
    • Spotlights

      Welcome to Computing's Spotlight section, where we focus in on particularly important themes and topics of enterprise IT.

      Intel logo

       

      Endpoint Management and Security Hub

  • IT Leaders 250
  • Research
  • Delta
  • Tech Marketing Hub
  • About Us
Computing
Computing
  • Home
  • News
  • Big Data & Analytics
  • DevOps
  • Security
  • GDPR
  • AI & ML
  • Women in Tech
  • Cloud & Infrastructure
  • CIO
  • Deskflix
 
    • Newsletters
    • Account details
    • Contact support
    • Sign out
 
 
  • You are currently accessing Computing via your Enterprise account.

    If you already have an account please use the link below to sign in.

    If you have any problems with your access or would like to request an individual access account please contact our customer service team.

    Phone: +44 (0) 1858 438800

    Email: customerservices@incisivemedia.com

    • Sign in
 
  • Networks

NetScout: don't plan for failure - but do plan

Networks are more complex than ever, but having a plan in place will minimise downtime

IT teams need to be retrained constantly to keep up-to-date with changing technology
IT teams need to be retrained constantly to keep up-to-date with changing technology
  • Tom Allen
  • Tom Allen
  • 06 September 2017
  • Tweet  
  • Facebook  
  • LinkedIn  
  • Send to  
0 Comments

Business networks become more reliable every year, with new standards, interoperability and devices simplifying the IT department's job - at least, such is the common belief.

A study by NetScout has found that that assumption doesn't hold up under examination. Of the 300 mid-large organisations questioned, 48 per cent spend longer than half a day, on average, to close trouble tickets; and 46 per cent admit to being under pressure to reduce that time.

NetScout found that IT professionals, who should be working on key projects, instead spend as much as a quarter of their time handling escalations.

While technology is evolving to solve problems, these open up new challenges: unified communications, for example, can be a complex topic. We also have to consider the skill set of IT professionals - who are in constant need of retraining, often requiring senior staff to be called out to remote sites.

It is important to minimise the above, by ensuring that the correct resources can be applied to any issues that arise. NetScout recommends standardising test parameters and documentation to ease diagnosis.

Plan, prepare, perform

Applying the right resources to a problem will minimise downtime and cost. To make that easier, you should plan ahead; here are some questions that you should think about before the network goes down:

  • Are there IT staff on-site?

  • What is their expertise level?

  • Do you have critical and non-critical sites?

If the site is remote and critical, of course it needs staff! Then it is time to consider what these employees need to do in the case of a failure. If the issue is simple, great; but if not, then standardised testing methods will come in helpful to analyse problems and provide feedback to senior staff at headquarters.

Collaboration once the problem is found is just as important as identifying it in the first place. This can take many forms: senior staff can troubleshoot issues remotely, using the eyes-on knowledges of on-site engineers; or those same engineers can feed their results into a central database, where multiple IT teams can access the data.

Even though networks are more reliable than ever, they are also more complex, and that means that failure can and will occur. Getting to the root of the cause is critical, and planning ahead will greatly simplify that.

Further reading

Top 5 networking mistakes made by IT professionals
  • Cloud and Infrastructure
  • 17 August 2017
The network is a roadblock, but SDN can clear a path
  • Cloud and Infrastructure
  • 07 August 2017
Hampshire emergency services establish unified comms network with Motorola
  • Networks
  • 26 July 2017
Bristol SMBs gain 1Gbps 'full fibre' network access through local council and HNS
  • Networks
  • 21 July 2017
  • Tweet  
  • Facebook  
  • LinkedIn  
  • Send to  
  • Topics
  • Networks
  • NetscoutCollaboration
  • NetScout
  • networking hardware
  • SMB Spotlight
  • smb-networking

More on Networks

We need to forge a radical path to 6G
Peter Cochrane: We need to forge a radical path to 6G

5G is way too inefficient for the IoT, argues Peter Cochrane

  • Networks
  • 16 February 2021
Aruba urges users to upgrade software to meet the deployment lifetime of some switches
Apply software updates urgently to avoid SSD burnout, warns Aruba

Older software versions can cause premature eMMC and SSD degradation, the company admits

  • Networks
  • 09 November 2020
BT picks Ericsson for 5G mobile networks in major UK cities
BT picks Ericsson for 5G mobile networks in major UK cities

BT will use Ericsson's 5G equipment to upgrade EE mobile networks

  • Networks
  • 29 October 2020
The role of AI/ML in the future of enterprise networks

Advancements in network analytics are making it easier to manage SLAs

  • Networks
  • 01 July 2020
Ford has signed deal with Vodafone for private 5G network in Essex
Vodafone to deploy private 5G network at Ford's facility to help speed up production of electric vehicles

The project is part of a £65 million investment in 5G technology by British government

  • Networks
  • 26 June 2020
blog comments powered by Disqus
Back to Top

Most read

Nearly 500 million LinkedIn users' details posted for sale online
Nearly 500 million LinkedIn users' details posted for sale online
Home Office is creating a 'super database' on people's race, health and biometrics, report
Home Office is creating a 'super database' on people's race, health and biometrics, report
IR35: MPs urge government to protect contract workers from the malpractices of umbrella companies
IR35: MPs urge government to protect contract workers from the malpractices of umbrella companies
British software reseller files £270 million antitrust court action against Microsoft
British software reseller files £270 million antitrust court action against Microsoft
The vision thing: When Teams and Zoom won't see you through
The vision thing: When Teams and Zoom won't see you through
  • Contact
  • Delta
  • Marketing solutions
  • Enterprise IT Events
  • Incisive Media
  • Terms & conditions
  • Policies
  • Careers
  • Privacy Settings
  • Twitter
  • LinkedIn
  • Newsletters
  • Facebook
  • YouTube

im_logo

© Incisive Business Media (IP) Limited, Published by Incisive Business Media Limited, New London House, 172 Drury Lane, London WC2B 5QR, registered in England and Wales with company registration numbers 09177174 & 09178013

Digital publisher of the year
Digital publisher of the year 2010, 2013, 2016 & 2017
Loading