T-Systems

01. challenges

The main data center – and other organizationally assigned locations – have a very extensive IT infrastructure as the basis for these applications. It is no easy task to maintain an overview and control of a heterogeneous network of this size. The individual departments have therefore always used monitoring software – but usually only in individual areas or for specific tasks in projects.

The main task of the project was therefore to implement a tool with which the entire network can be monitored and its status made transparent. In addition to the monitoring software, almost all of the commercial solutions that came into question were evaluated in the search for the optimum tool. As some monitoring systems had already failed in previous projects due to the complex task and the strict security requirements, the flexible expandability and modification options of the monitoring software thanks to the open source codes were decisive factors in the decision. The overall cost of the project also made the monitoring software extremely attractive compared to commercial competitors, as individual licenses normally have to be purchased for each monitored server and each monitored device.

02. solutions

The implementation of the monitoring software was carried out in several workshops, sometimes in parallel, with the individual departments: First, the individual monitoring software servers were installed in different network segments and security areas. Some of the servers have been implemented as clusters so that even if a monitoring software machine that is currently active fails, uninterrupted operation can still be guaranteed.

Then – together with the network department and with the help of the monitoring software – all routers, switches and firewalls were integrated into the monitoring system. On this basis, the employees from the various application areas were able to integrate their machines into the network layout in the correct position. This took place in individual workshops lasting several days, in which the T-Systems employees – with the active support of NETWAYS consultants – integrated the systems they manage themselves. At the end of the implementation project, after just 8 weeks, most of the systems in Kiel and Magdeburg had already been integrated into the monitoring software. The T-Systems employees who were involved in the project can configure other computers and, above all, special monitoring systems independently, as the corresponding knowledge was built up at T-Systems through the joint setup in the workshops.

03. success

The results of all the monitoring at the various locations converge on a central monitoring cluster so that the operating team and the individual operating departments can monitor the current status of the entire network at a single, central location. Reports on the quality of the services can also be created at any time from the historical data. Thanks to the multiple monitoring software servers, this is even possible from the perspective of a normal user.