< PreviousOptical networks need to become increasingly intelligent and programmable, to dynamically respond and handle changing demands and unpredictable traffic requirements, especially as we start to gear up for 5G. In addition, network providers are also continuously striving to maximise their return on investment, while improving system performance, network efficiency and service availability. This means a smarter approach that leverages predictive analytics to change the way optical networks are built, operated and monetised. Evolving the Network Historically, optical networks were built to operate in a static mode. While this met our need perfectly a decade ago, when it comes to changes in connectivity patterns and meeting a surge in bandwidth or new capacity requirements, this would typically mean new hardware, along with lengthy planning and developing cycles. In today’s digital-first economy this is no longer a valid option. To meet increasing demands, network providers are deploying next-generation technologies such as programmable coherent modems and reconfigurable open line systems, that enable improved system performance and network efficiencies. However, these advanced flexible technologies can bring increased operational complexity due to the extensive real-time monitoring points and knobs that can be adjusted for different applications. To solve these challenges, advanced software applications are required to abstract operational complexity, and give providers unparalleled visibility into their optical network. A smarter approach is needed to leverage predictive analytics to change the way optical networks are built, operated and monetised. optical networks www.networkseuropemagazine.com 40Today, optical networks are evolving to become more agile, intelligent, and application-aware – with real-time monitoring and the ability to fine-tune and adjust the network to handle a variety of applications as and when needed. Think faster service turn-up, troubleshooting, and dynamic network adaptability – key requirements needed to support today’s data-intensive applications. These advancements change the game when it comes to simplifying network operations and allowing providers to maximise the value of their deployed network assets. However, it is not only the way networks are designed that is evolving. Providers are leveraging software and advanced analytics to create a smarter optical network – one that drives actionable intelligence and allows providers to extract the most value from existing network resources. The role of analytics With advanced software applications that combine software-defined networking (SDN) and real-time analytics, network providers gain new levels of visibility into the ‘health’ of the network. By providing visibility into an active channel’s performance, it is easy to understand if the channel is performing as it should or if the margin is lower or higher than expected. This real-time visibility allows network providers to convert available system margin into optical capacity using deployed network assets. An essential part of day-to-day optical network operations is the ability to fully monitor the fibre plant and quickly address any potential issues. With embedded system instrumentation and intelligence, network providers can be alerted to any faults, with the exact location pinpointed – preventing downtime and reducing expensive, time-consuming troubleshooting. Traditionally, real-time visibility into the performance of the optical network has been limited, making it impossible to detect silent failures and localise spans that are contributing the most noise to the system. This means that a troublesome network path often appears to be in perfect working order and a provider will not get an error until traffic is switched onto this path, causing network downtime and service interruption. However, software advancements leveraging real-time analytics are resolving this challenge for the first time and providing instant visibility into the state of the network - even on ‘dark’ sections of the network where no wavelengths are deployed. Fundamentally, advanced software and analytics are allowing providers to re-imagine their optical networks. The benefits of modernising optical networks with next-gen technologies are clear-reduce network footprint, energy and support costs; scale to support new end-user apps, services and use cases; and enhanced end-customer experience. As providers continue their network evolution journey, advanced software tools and increased automation are required to fully operationalise and realise the benefits associated with a modernised network. This is the key to enabling a smarter network - one that uses predictive analytics and increased automation to drive actionable insights based on the current state of the network. So, what’s next? Network providers across the globe share a common goal: to drive down network costs and increase profitability. As providers strive to create more adaptive networks that deliver the exact level of performance required at any point in time and also gain unprecedented visibility of their network, they can better support end-user demands for high-bandwidth content and services essential to our daily lives. With intelligent software and analytics capabilities, providers can achieve the optimal balance of network performance, efficiency and availability, creating a programmable infrastructure that can easily tune, control, and dynamically adjust capacity to meet today’s digital lifestyle. n With intelligent software and analytics capabilities, providers can achieve the optimal balance of network performance optical networks www.networkseuropemagazine.com 41 Digital devices backbone of every organisation are you managing them properly? digital devices www.networkseuropemagazine.com 42Many of the above mentioned digital devices are used as corporate units for business purposes. These are often connected to the corporate network and locked to ensure that devices only run work-approved applications and processes. They include the following device types: • Laptops, mobile phones and tablets connected to the corporate network • Monitoring and control devices on production floors, in hospitals, or testing facilities • Interactive flat panels, digital kiosks and signboards • Virtual Reality (VR) or Augmented Reality (AR) devices • Android TV devices, including Smart TVs and set-top boxes • Customer-facing devices with registration or records management applications • Point-of-Sales devices such as digital cash registers or payment card readers In some cases, organisations open their network to employees’ devices to incorporate a Bring-Your-Own-Devices (BYOD) setup. This allows employees access to the network via personal devices such as mobile phones, laptops, and tablets. In these cases, the network administration imposes certain rules on connected devices to protect valuable corporate data. No matter the industry or type of device setup, efficient digital device management can have far- reaching positive effects. The importance of managing connected digital devices Managing company devices is more straightforward when dealing with tens or even dozens of units. Administrators and technical teams can fill their workweek inspecting and maintaining each device to ensure optimal performance. However, the real challenge starts when corporate fleets run into hundreds or thousands of devices. Think of cable or telecom companies that issue set-top boxes to subscribers. Nadav Avni Marketing Director Radix Technologies Digital devices are far outpacing human beings in terms of sheer numbers. Statista estimates that as of 2021, there are 13.8 billion IoT and 10 billion non-IoT devices connected to the Internet. Considering there are currently only 7.9 billion people on the planet, digital devices already outnumber us roughly three to one. Therefore, effective device management, in any organisation, is increasingly essential. es are the very organisation ging them properly? digital devices www.networkseuropemagazine.com 43Or delivery and logistics teams that provide drivers with geo-enabled tablets. Or even service agencies that deploy hundreds of digital billboards across the country. It becomes an impossible task to perform physical audits for each device, much less perform firmware updates, software fixes, or inserting new scripts. Given that these devices already connect to the network, what’s needed is a way to centrally monitor, manage and support all company devices regardless of location. Digital Device Management in a corporate setting Mobile Device Management (MDM) is a software solution that provides IT administrators and support teams with the ability to connect to corporate single-purpose devices to monitor, assess, maintain and secure them. MDM is a key component of Enterprise Mobility Management (EMM), which is the overall strategy of managing devices, wireless networks, and other mobile computing services in a business environment. Within EMM domains, single-purpose devices often have restricted functionality. This means that the use of non-designated applications, access to certain device settings, and the ability to connect to other networks or devices are either limited or barred. With MDM, devices are confined to an organisation’s EMM. Additionally, MDM handles the management of single-purpose devices, including updating software or firmware, installing new applications, or running scripts. It can also lock devices when data security or device safety requires it. Key features of mobile device management Mobile Device Management software ensures that all connected devices run the latest software or firmware versions. It also ensures the security and integrity of the devices so that they do not pose any danger to the corporate network when connected. MDMs should work across all digital devices and platforms It’s important that MDM software supports not just smartphones but other digital devices as well. This includes tablets, computers that run on different platforms, and Internet of Things (IoT) devices. Especially with the growing popularity of BYOD systems, the ideal MDM software should be compatible with the full range of internet-connected devices and multiple operating systems. It’s important that MDM software supports not just smartphones but other digital devices as well. digital devices 44 www.networkseuropemagazine.comMDMs should be cloud-based and accessible anywhere The point of an MDM is to provide remote access control and management of deployed digital devices. These units could be assigned literally anywhere, so staying connected to the MDM software is critical in case of needed updates and additional installations. Running under a leading cloud provider helps improve connection and performance between the MDM software and fleet devices. Apart from providing end-to-end security and encryption, AWS also reduces both latency and redundancy. This results in a fast and secure connection every time. MDMs should provide tools to all stakeholders It is perhaps obvious that MDMs directly benefit IT administrators. However, the ideal MDM software should also benefit other stakeholders in an organisation. For instance, efficiently running MDM software also supports company managers, as it ensures optimal performance for fleet digital devices. Managers can also appreciate that device maintenance sessions are minimised, which directly translates into less downtime. Project managers also benefit from an optimised MDM operation. If the MDM software features powerful analytics and reporting systems, it is much easier for PMs to gather metrics and compare the results. Detailed information delivered on time by MDM software also helps project managers make more informed decisions. Understanding of key privacy policies worldwide With the arrival of more comprehensive internet privacy laws, software solutions must quickly discern what information can be gathered. At the same time, MDM software should have the ability to monitor devices and alert administrators of possible breaches. This requires MDM software updates to implement new privacy laws such as the European Union’s General Data Protection Regulation or HIPAA regulations on patient data confidentiality. n MDM software should have the ability to monitor devices and alert administrators of possible breaches digital devices 45 www.networkseuropemagazine.commission-critical digital servicing 46 www.networkseuropemagazine.com The Uptime Institute’s 10th annual data centre survey found that outages are occurring with disturbing frequency and are becoming both more damaging and expensive. One-third of survey participants admitted to experiencing a major outage in the last 12 months, and one in six claimed it had cost them more than $1million (+£731K). What’s interesting is that 75% of survey respondents stated that downtime could have been prevented with better management, training and improved processes. Consequently, a well thought out and meticulously followed proactive maintenance or digital servicing program is essential to safeguard against the risk of IT or network malfunction. Whether downtime is caused through neglect, failure, human error, or through wear and tear of the IT, power or cooling equipment, one can never completely remove the ability to mitigate major events. However, with a smart and diligent approach to planning, we can at least reduce its impact on business, if and when such an event occurs. Traditional servicing models Today, preventative maintenance typically means regular inspection and testing of mission-critical systems, including timely replacement of consumables such as batteries, which are crucial to ensure the reliability of uninterruptible power supplies (UPS). Other critical replacements can include capacitors, filters and humidifier cylinders, updates or replacement of intelligent software and firmware, alongside a detailed and up-to-date record of the status of any such repairs with key stakeholders. In the past, much of the physical maintenance was calendar based, with manual checks being made at regular, specified intervals. As always, the trade-off between cost and reliability is often determined by when such checks were last made, or the criticality of the systems. This, for example, might take place quarterly, half-yearly or annually. In many cases, the more frequent the support, the more reliable the operation but the greater the cost, which could often be a key deterrent to decision-makers. If budgets were tight, then maintenance was less frequent, which undoubtedly creates risk for business and mission- critical assets. Evolving your service plan More recently, one of the major issues has been the adoption of edge computing. With a greater number of systems deployed over a larger geographical area, it is no longer practical or cost-effective to have service personnel on-site. Therefore end-users have begun to look to technology as an enabler to overcome this issue. During the last decade, software systems have had to quickly evolve, especially to meet the accelerated demands for digital transformation experienced during the last year. Now, with the growing availability and capabilities of intelligent management software, and the proliferation of distributed IT, remote management of multiple sites from a single software application is becoming more common. Wendy Torell Senior Research Analyst Schneider Electric Data Centre Science Centre With increasing demands for mission-critical system reliability, prevention of data centre and edge computing downtime is far better than a reactive cure. Anticipating that an outage or power event could happen at any time, and taking steps to minimise the likelihood of disruption, is of course preferable to dealing with any potential problems after they have arisen, but what steps can operators take in the quest to mitigate downtime? mission-critical digital servicing 47 www.networkseuropemagazine.com The evolution of mission-critical digital servicing modelsmission-critical digital servicing www.networkseuropemagazine.com 48 Distributed assets in real-time Not only does such software provide a cost-effective means of monitoring the status of distributed assets in real- time, but it also helps to move the practice of preventative maintenance from a traditional ‘calendar-based’ model, to a conditions-based model. Further, armed with immediate status information, maintenance visits for data centres and critical IT can be kept to a minimum, ensuring costs remain manageable. Instead via proactive alarms and data-driven algorithms, customers can check the health and status of their equipment at any moment, ensuring any issues are proactively rectified. Driving operational efficiency This not only drives operational efficiency and uptime, but it also reduces cost, especially where time was incurred for maintenance of systems that were in acceptable working order. Due diligence however, remains absolutely critical, but utilising IoT-enabled technology to streamline costs, operations and maintenance removes much of the headache from the traditional approach and allows digital servicing to be performed at the time when it is most beneficial. Digital twins and condition-based maintenance Condition-based maintenance is considered the next evolution in digital servicing and utilises artificial intelligence (AI) and big data analytics to continuously provide an estimate of how well an individual component or a specific system is performing. This data-driven approach provides end-users and external service partners, such as trusted vendors and managed service providers (MSPs), with up-to- the-minute insight and schedules intervention only when necessary. Data is crucial and the more information gathered by such remote monitoring systems, the more accurate the algorithms can be in calculating performance, and telling whether or not it is in need of repair or replacement. The growing adoption of intelligent systems alongside big data analytics, AI and machine learning is producing a more sophisticated calculation of critical components such as battery life expectancy in UPS. One such example is the evolution of digital twin technology, in which the provision of a digital replica of a physical asset, deployed in a data centre or edge environment, can be modelled and analysed. Monitoring the difference in performance between the actual and digital systems can alert an operator if the performance of the real-world system has degraded below mission-critical digital servicing www.networkseuropemagazine.com 49 expectations, and should a component fail or be in need of maintenance or replacement, critical service teams can be dispatched to quickly remedy the situation. Calculating risk Frankly, the condition-based approach offers a more cost-efficient solution to maintaining the health of a system without impairing reliability. However, the next evolutionary state in preventive methodologies is risk-informed maintenance, which builds on the analytical capabilities of modern approaches via next-generation data centre infrastructure management (DCIM) software. This enables maintenance to be planned based on an assessment of risks, effects of failure and calculated costs. Risk-informed maintenance Such a strategy attempts to balance the Probability of Failure (PoF) and Consequences of Failure (CoF) of each asset, yet the promise of risk-informed maintenance is that interventions across a number of sites or installations can be prioritised with limited maintenance resources. However, to ensure reliability, such an approach will depend on an operators ability to accurately calculate the probability of failure, meaning the software is absolutely crucial to the process. As of today, a fully risk-informed maintenance program is probably beyond the means of most mission-critical facility operators. Nonetheless, the proliferation of data being captured by today’s systems and the continuous improvement in data analytics and AI is leading the industry toward a situation where risk-informed maintenance will, in future, become the norm – improving operational efficiency as well as the reliability of mission-critical infrastructure. Expertise is essential However, what’s crucial to remember is that expertise is essential, and no matter how technology is used to reduce downtime and mitigate risk, none will ever remove the need for technically competent maintenance staff to effect any changes and upgrades. Especially when, despite all precautions, a critical malfunction occurs. As technologies continue to evolve, the human element becomes ever more critical, and when transitioning from preventative to remedial modes, one will always depend on its ability to collaborate with expert technical personnel. That much remains unconditional. nNext >