INTELLIGENT CABLING
Moving automated infrastructure into mainstream procurement
With a number of standard based resolutions, automated infrastructure management is moving into mainstream procurement according to Osama Abed at Nexans Cabling Solutions.
Automated infrastructure management systems are not new. They have been around in one shape or form since the early nineties. They also polarise opinion in the structured cabling world like possibly nothing else. The range of opinions is extreme. At one end are those who will pay almost any premium to have what they see as must-have technology, and on the other are end users and IT consultants, who would not have an AIM System even if it was for free.
AIM systems, previously known as intelligent infrastructure management systems, are a combination of hardware and software used to manage structured cabling and are all based upon the ability to detect the insertion or removal of a patch or equipment cord. There are multiple methods employed for this detection by various manufacturers of AIM systems and few, if any are interoperable at hardware level. Some require special cords, others special patch panels, some employ RFID technology.
The ability to detect the removal or insertion of a patch or equipment cord may not seem exciting, and on its own does not add much value for an organisation. The key thing is that it is an event, and there are multiple other types of events that occur in any given network infrastructure. The arrival of a new MAC address, a cabinet door being opened, a power threshold being exceeded, amongst others.
In fact, most of us could populate a list of examples in a short period of time. Simple AIM systems do not really do much more than manage the detection of patching. The more developed examples are able to relate all of the events described above to the cabling infrastructure, and it is these that become management tools for an organisation.
For years, a key barrier to widespread adoption of AIM has been the difficulty in specifying or scoping an AIM system and this situation has multiple facets. The scope of any AIM deployment needs careful thought and clear documentation. There is a requirement for the end user or consultant to clearly set out what is wanted and for the integrator to understand these requirements and quote accurately for their delivery.
There are plenty of examples of scope creep and expectation gap in the time between award of a project and delivery where this has not been done or not understood. Couple this with a tendency in some quarters to oversell the capabilities of AIM, including making tea and turning on the aquarium lights, and there is a clear recipe for a dissatisfied end user.
To get it right takes time and commitment, it is easy to get stuck in a vicious circle of what can it do, what do you want it to do conversations, and it is here that we hit another barrier.
34 Issue 02 INTELLIGENT TECH CHANNELS