CIT 443: Enterprise Network Management

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CIT 443 Enterprise Network Management

• FCAPS - Accounting Management

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Accounting Management Definition

• A set of functions that
• Enables network service usage to be measured and
  the costs for such use to be determined
• Includes all the resources consumed, the
  facilities used to collect accounting data, the
  facilities used to set billing parameters for the
  services used by customers, maintenance of the
  data bases used for billing purposes, and the
  preparation of resource usage and billing reports

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Accounting Management Systems

• Network infrastructure
• Both LAN WAN infrastructure
• Network services
• Contracts/Agreements
• Invoices

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Cost Management Goals

• Realize network costs and justify them!
• Hold departments accountable for usage
• Transform the IT department into a profit-center?
• Generate revenue to extend, operate and maintain
  the network
• Create a safety net to catch mistakes
• Usage
• Billing
• Accounting
• Become proactive rather than reactive
• Cost Reductions

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Accounting Management Problems

• Disorganization No centrally-managed system to
  track expenses
• Expensive Utilize consultants/auditors to fix
  problems
• Understanding Management aware of IT needs?
  ITs role in satisfying business needs?
• Others?

• Mistakes 10 of invoices are incorrect
• Usually favor the provider
• Inability to detect fraudulent activity
• Manual Processes Too much billing information
  handled by hand (or not at all)
• Uncertainty Utilization, cost, usage trends?

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Accounting Management Solutions

• Record information to a central repository
• Implement and ensure adequate reporting processes
• Automate error checking functions
• Provide notification functions for exceptions
• Multi-Vendor data
• Educate Management
• Available tools?
• Available data
• Accessibility
• Sample reporting tools
• Request quarterly usage reports from Service
  Provider
• Why?
• More often?

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Four Steps to Effective Cost Management

• Know Your Network
• Automate your Processes
• Manage Your Invoices
• Evaluate Higher-End Cost Management Solutions

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Step 1 Know Your Network

• Accurately inventory connectivity
• Document ALL network traffic
• Define data polling intervals
• Document usage of leased-lines
• Ensure bills match usage records
• Organization of accounting systems

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Step 2 Automate Your Processes

• Become proactive!
• Centralize accounting systems
• Automate workflow and notification processes
• Utilize alarms when tasks remain incomplete
• Link processes together
• Service Requests
• Provisioning
• Billing
• People validate and verify automated processes
• Identify money lost due to billing errors
• Attempt to retrieve lost monies?
• Mandate that billing errors are fixed!
• When?
• Service Provider Enable customer-managed accounts

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Step 3 Manage Your Invoices

• Organize invoices within a database
• Analyze invoice data
• What is being billed vs What is being offered
• Understand cash-flow
• Develop methods for detecting fraud
• Audit trail

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Step 4 Evaluate Higher-End Cost Management
Solutions

• Remain Proactive!
• Evaluate systems that meet companies needs within
  the companies budget
• Vendor Billing Reconciliation?
• Return on Investment (ROI) Analysis

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Other perspectives of Accounting Management

• Administration Management
• The goal of administration management is to
  manage a finite set of authorization roles, by
  establishing users, passwords and permissions,
  and policies governing those roles and to
  oversee the operations of the equipment such as
  by performing statistical usage monitoring for
  all network devices.
• AAA
• Authorization, Authentication, Accounting

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Key AAA Protocols

• RADIUS
• DIAMETER
• TACACS
• XTACACS
• TACACS
• Typically relies on LDAP
• To a lesser extent
• PPP
• EAP

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Accounting Management Topics for Further
Investigation

• Accounting Management Protocols
• Usage-Based Billing of Legacy Networks
• Voice over IP Billing
• Best Practices of Accounting Management
• Corporate Implementations of Accounting
  Management
• Methods for Accounting Management Process
  Automation
• Accounting Management of Wireless Networks
• Activity-Based Costing

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Accounting Management Network Elements

• PBX
• Hubs
• Routers
• Switches
• Servers
• Workstations
• Firewalls
• Wireless Access Points
• Printers
• Power Management Systems
• Network SCADA Systems
• Temperature Management Systems (HVAC)
• Physical Security Systems
• Home Appliances?
• Others?

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Questions?

• Read Whitepaper of Cost Management