Testing the Plan


The complexity of networking technology today makes it important that you test new equipment and software before committing it to production use. You might find that devices do not function as you expected when deployed using your planned configuration. Management software might be cumbersome and difficult for technicians to understand. In the end, if the technicians and end users are not satisfied and cannot perform their jobs efficiently using the tools you provide, it is likely they will complain to your management. Some of them may even try to find their own solutions, which can significantly increase the hidden costs of your upgrade.

During the testing phase is when you'll probably find the most changes to the plan. When tests show that performance doesn't meet your expectations, the plan will be changed and performance measured again. During testing, the laboratory environment should closely mimic the proposed production network.

Evaluating Competing Products

Careful selection of new equipment or software up front can save time and money after the upgrade is finished. Evaluate competing products carefully so that you can select those that best meet the goals of your upgrade plan. When looking at different vendors' products, try before you buy. For a large hardware purchase, many vendors will loan equipment for a trial period so that you can make a better determination as to its suitability to satisfy your needs. Almost all major software applications can now be obtained from a vendor in a "demo" or "evaluation" copy so that you can test the features.

Another very important factor to consider is the vendor itself. You might find a great product that looks as though it will work miracles for your network. However, if the vendor is not reliable, what will you do when you encounter problems later? Things to think about when choosing vendors include the following:

  • Responsiveness Do you get through to the help you need when you call the vendor, or do you have to play telephone-tag to get answers?

  • Availability Does the vendor have a good stock of products, or will you be subjected to back orders that can take days or weeks? When you have to replace a part due to malfunction, can your network wait until the part arrives?

  • Service Does the vendor provide service for the product? Is on-site service available or do you have to return the item to the vendor for repair?

  • Training Does the vendor provide training for the product? Is the training of good quality?

  • Price Price usually comes into play when a product is a commodity item. For specialized products or applications, price might not be as important as the other items listed here.

The Pilot Project

Every good plan should include a pilot project. This involves taking a small part of the network, such as a network-friendly department, and implementing part or all of the project modifications in that localized area. Not only will it help you determine whether you have made the right choices for new hardware or software, but it also will help you further refine the installation procedures that will be used to execute the rest of the plan.

If it is not possible to do this in a "live" environment, create a test lab where you can simulate the production environment or network. Use script files to automate processing and perform stress testing on the new components or applications to see whether they really perform as you expect.

The results of a pilot project or a test lab setup can be used to refine and modify the plan and make it more likely to succeed.

During the pilot project phase, try to avoid "mission creep" (adding goals to the mission the upgrade is designed to perform) and "feature creep" (adding features to the network). Mission creep and feature creep at any point, especially near the end of the implementation process, causes delays, dissatisfaction, and could cause the original objectives of the upgrade to be overlooked or lost. To help avoid these problems, carefully evaluate the goals of your upgrade and the new features it will add to your organization before beginning the process.




Upgrading and Repairing Networks
Upgrading and Repairing Networks (5th Edition)
ISBN: 078973530X
EAN: 2147483647
Year: 2006
Pages: 411

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