The document discusses why collecting comprehensive data center asset information is important. Current infrastructure documentation has gaps and is often outdated. Accurate asset data is key for initiatives like service level management, disaster recovery planning, and technology planning during data center changes or mergers and acquisitions. Traditional manual asset inventories are expensive, time-consuming, and result in inaccurate and outdated data. The NetworkSage asset discovery service employs an agent-less discovery process to gather a snapshot of comprehensive asset data quickly and with low impact, and stores the data in a configuration management database for ongoing decision support.

1. Why Collect Comprehensive
Data Center Asset Information?
A High Level Introduction to the
NetworkSage™ Asset Discovery and Inventory Service
Copyright © 2009, All Rights Reserved
Diverse Network Communications, Inc.

2. Why Collect Comprehensive
Data Center Asset Information?
• The current infrastructure documentation has critical
knowledge gaps
– Lack accurate and detailed documentation
– Existing documentation is not current
– Key knowledge holders have left
• Accurate infrastructure data is a Key Success Factor
for Major Business and IT Initiatives:
– Service Level Management
– Business Continuance and Disaster Recovery Planning
– Strategic technology planning (i.e. ROI/TCO, BIA)
– Major data center infrastructure change
• Data center consolidation or relocation
• Server/Storage consolidation or virtualization
– Mergers & Acquisitions
• Due Diligence Analysis
• Application Consolidation
– Asset Management
• Budget and Planning
• Hardware/Software Management
Copyright © 2009, All Rights Reserved, By Diverse Network Communications, Inc. 2

3. Conducting a Traditional Data Center
Asset Inventory
• Compiling Data:
– Usually a manual or mixed process to collect data
– Very expensive and time consuming (measured in
months)
– High impact on operations and application support
staff
– Don’t track enough usable detail
– Inconsistent data being collected
– Requires collected data to be cleansed
– Usually only represent server assets
• Upon Completion:
– Data is usually outdated by the time the process is
completed
– At best is about 60-75 percent accurate
– Compiled into multiple spreadsheets
– Are very difficult to keep updated
– Difficult to assemble usable information
Copyright © 2009, All Rights Reserved, By Diverse Network Communications, Inc. 3

4. What is NetworkSage™?
• An Internet Protocol-based Network Asset
Discovery and Inventory Automation Probe
• Employ an agent-less and non intrusive data
collection process
• Represents a Snapshot-In-Time view of data
center or desktop environments
• Collected data is stored in a ITIL Configuration
Management Database (CMDB)
• CMDB is used as a Decision Support System
• Detailed Inventory of Assets:
– Hardware (Chassis, Boards, Ports, etc.)
– Operating System
– Network Connections
– Installed Software
– Running Processes
– Identifies Major Applications and Database
Instances
– System/Application Dependencies
– Identifies Issues and Risk Areas
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5. NetworkSage™ Supported
System Categories
• Open Systems
– UNIX Systems
– Windows Servers and Workstations
– OpenVMS
• Network Switches and Routers
• Storage Area Network Switches
• Storage Arrays and Tape Libraries
• Network Attached Storage
Copyright © 2009, All Rights Reserved, By Diverse Network Communications, Inc. 5

6. Benefits of Using the
NetworkSage™ Service
• Gathers comprehensive infrastructure data
• Consistent and repeatable data gathering between
systems
• Data gathering process is measured in Hours not
Months
• Very low impact on:
– Operations Staff
– Systems being inventoried
• Delivers results fast
• Inexpensive Service Solution
• Replaces spreadsheets with a CMDB using
Microsoft Access for ongoing Decision Support use
• Allows project management teams members to
analyze the CMDB data
• The CMDB can augment Disaster Recovery
capabilities
Copyright © 2009, All Rights Reserved, By Diverse Network Communications, Inc. 6