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In today's increasingly complex business environment, managing change is a challenging task. While managing change, improving reliability and security is also crucial. A stunning revelation by a report is that human error causes an estimated 70% of connection failures. This underlines the importance of introducing intelligence to structured cabling.

Can a well-managed system obviate the necessity for introducing intelligence to structured cabling by maintaining an accurate and diligent record? Though it can obviate the need for an intelligent patch, intelligent structured cabling solutions like IIM (Intelligent Infrastructure Management) can offer many benefits with greater accuracy and at a lower cost than a manually well-managed system.

Infusing Intelligence
It has been a great move to add intelligence to structured cabling, but it could not be done without overcoming some challenges. The intelligence system in structured cabling has to be able to learn first and then modify its action according to ongoing changes/events in the cabling system. In other words, it has to acquire rationality. As cabling has passive collection of cables and connectors, it is a challenging task to apply the idea of an “ability to learn”. But if the physical cabling infrastructure is assumed to be part of a larger working active network, then it is easier to understand how to apply the idea.

A good intelligent structured cabling solution will do essentially two things: provide the network manager with additional knowledge and information about the physical connections within the network itself, and inform the manager about the actual locations of attached devices, etc. If the best intelligent system can be programmed to take specific actions like raising alarms, disconnecting power, or taking a picture, one can realize the full potential of the intelligent solution. Changes or events that occur in the network such as changing a patch cord, plugging-in a device, or using a swipe card will actually decide the kind of specific actions to be taken by the intelligent solution. Though the potentials of intelligent systems are vast, not all solutions bearing an 'intelligent' tag will perform the same functions.

We need to first understand the difference between intelligent patching and IIM. Intelligent patching basically focuses on patch management in large networks. High churn rates and large volume of MACs made it relatively easy to justify RoI. But, as we have already mentioned, the application of intelligence into the network means that we can do a lot more than just look at the patching area. There are some intelligent solutions that offer limited help-only intelligent patching. But IIM solutions have been enhanced to provide intelligent monitoring of the complete end-to-end channel from source to final user device.

A Big Step Ahead
Through IIM, information from the existing network management tools can be combined with information about the physical cabling to provide a hugely powerful and versatile management tool. IIM basically provides the missing link between the logical network and the physical infrastructure. The advantage is that it combines information from different systems in real-time. The event could be a patch change in the communications room; connection or disconnection of a user terminal; and activation of a security alarm or a door controller, an IP camera, or a temperature sensor. Once physical data is included into the process, a non-IIM system can also identify these individual events. But in this system, the precise location of the event or device will not be identified. IIM identifies the precise location of the event for you also.

Once IIM identifies problems and locates them precisely, appropriate technician can immediately be sent to the identified location without wasting valuable time looking for problems and their locations. It also helps in asset management as it tracks and identifies the locations of each asset.

Having said that, a tidy cable management cannot be replaced by the intelligent structured cabling. At the minimum level, any intelligent solution will identify the location of each end of the cord for you to manage. Similarly, improving the productivity of the maintenance staff will not deliver savings if the time saved is not utilized effectively for additional tasks. How to obtain the maximum benefit out of an intelligent patching system is a perennial question. A review of internal processes and procedures is essential to adapt working practices in line with a particular internal process or procedures.

Rational Choice
A decision on whether to go for an intelligent system or not for your company has to be on the basis of the benefits that a particular intelligence solution can offer over the cost of the solution. Any purchase decision on the intelligent solution should be made after recognizing the fact that different types of business or application will have different needs and perceive different benefits. Although this will always include an RoI justification, cost savings may manifest themselves in completely different ways.

Since IIM is so versatile, it becomes more difficult to provide a 'rule of thumb' indication of where it becomes viable based on scale alone. A much more consultative approach is necessary, and it is very important to work closely with the end-client to understand where the operational savings can be realized. These operational savings may be from improved maintenance productivity, reduced downtime meaning less lost business, enhanced security, or even reducing cost by enabling remote or outsourced maintenance. IIM is also becoming an important tool to assist with regulatory compliance. In the aftermath of the Enron collapse in the US, new regulations such as Sarbanes-Oxley mean that CEOs can be held personally responsible and need to be able to demonstrate that they are in control. IIM can help deliver that control by providing accurate, real time data, documentation, and history reports.

The Markets
IIM has found large-scale enterprises as its niche market, as they benefit from IIM's cost savings from fast effortless MACs and accurate asset management. Available switch ports can be identified and utilized saving on unnecessary additional switches. In addition, network security is also improved. Typically, it was only viable for installations of several thousand ports, but new hardware and software products have come into the market which enable IIM to become feasible from as few as 500 points.

Data centers do not generally suffer from a high number of MACs, but they are usually highly complex and densely packed infrastructures where reliability is paramount. They also typically feature constant expansion in very limited time scales, thereby introducing increased risk of accidental disconnection, despite the need to provide 24/7 support for e-commerce transactions, etc. IIM can assist by ensuring that regular expansion requirements make optimal use of any existing ports while maintaining accurate records of the complex array of interconnections.

Converged Networks
Building management devices onto a converged IP platform introduces many benefits for integrated control. VoIP, CCTV, door access control, and intrusion detection devices can all be physically pinpointed, monitored, recorded, and controlled via a central interface, reducing the complexity of the physical cabling required to support them. The individual tools also become far more powerful when linked together. For instance, the activation of an intruder alarm can automatically trigger the nearest camera to zoom in and increase frame rate, etc. RoI calculations would be very different in all these cases because the potential savings would be realized in different areas and would make a different contribution to the overall project. However, independent post-installation analysis on some of the earlier intelligent installations has revealed that the initial RoI estimates have proved to be fairly accurate, typically being around three years.

Intelligent Products
It is well known that the LAN market is ever changing and evolving. This situation will undoubtedly be a driver for the market of intelligent systems. Hardware like patch panels and patch cords, software, and analyzers, which detect port connectivity and feed the output to the software database, are the main elements of the intelligent solutions. These elements are undergoing changes to make intelligence more affordable, flexible, and adaptable to a variety of different environments. In particular, new software versions designed to provide a more innovative solution are available.

A common theme for the cabling industry is future-proof feature, but it is important to recognize that this is as much, if not more, about flexibility than megabits. Many users see the potential of IIM but are looking to spread the upfront cost while maintaining the ability to add intelligence at a future date. Upgradeable panels are now available to meet this demand. These panels enable standard cabling to be installed in a first phase with no additional cost, but can subsequently be upgraded simply by swapping the front plate of the panel and adding the analyzers and software.

While convergence and complexity are prime factors driving the demand for intelligent solutions, and product developments are constantly reducing costs, making IIM more feasible in a wider variety of environments, it is prudent to go for structured cabling with a brain.

Kannan K
kannan@cybermedia.co.in