Damien High School's Network Manager is only 200 Miles and an iPhone Away
InterMapper network monitoring software keeps remote network manager in touch
February 21, 2008, Hanover, NH – Bill Wiecking uses InterMapper network monitoring software to manage Damien High School's network, from 200 miles away. Wiecking lives on the big island of Hawaii and Damien High School with its 250 Macintoshes that serve 500+ students is located on Oahu.
Wiecking has eliminated the cost and time required by frequent flights between Hawaii and Oahu with a combination of InterMapper network monitoring software and Apple technology. “I've made InterMapper a favorite page so I can look at Damien's network whenever I want on my iPhone. I can always get a connection. If someone calls me from Oahu and says 'the net is down' I can see exactly what's going on.”
Their InterMapper implementation and Wiecking's iPhone serves Damien High School well. “I used to teach at Damien High School where I was also the network manager but now work at Hawaii Preparatory Academy. Damien couldn't find someone for the network management position and asked me to keep helping them. With a simple remote connection to the InterMapper network management tool, I'm able to see what's happening on Damien's network, gather information, and notice potential problems before I get a call. I can see every port, note packet loss, even tell if a wire has been crimped in a window.”
Damien High School's network includes 250 Macintoshes and 4 PCs that serve 500+ students. InterMapper has been monitoring the school's network for a long time. “I was one of the first guys using it I think,” says Wiecking. The network is built to grow and currently includes two 24-port NetGear gigabit switches, and 16 other managed NetGear switches. Wiecking also uses InterMapper to “diagnose wireless connections, as it has great detail on the wireless access points.”
“I look at the network five or six times a week,” reports Wiecking. “The first line of defense in network management is to constantly watch things. Key to running a network is knowing what's going on normally so that you can quickly spot an anomaly.”
Wiecking uses InterMapper's network maps and reports to look at the Damien High School network for all angles, even inside out. “Airports can plug into a phone or fax machine so if internet access goes out, I dial into the Airport and look at the network from the inside. I can call the ISP and tell them exactly where the break is. If you can tell your ISP where the problem is, it can usually be fixed in two minutes. If you have to wait for them to run diagnostics or send a technician, it can take hours or days.”
“InterMapper is a great way to save money,” says Wiecking. “With InterMapper you can see choke points and build up before there are a lot of problems. You can also see where you've overbuilt and deploy resources better. You can plan maintenance; maybe schedule work for spring break when you won't have to disrupt service or pay top dollar to respond to emergencies.”
“InterMapper is so easy to use that I've been able to show non-technical people what to look for and use maps and reports to explain what work I'm doing and why,” adds Wiecking. “When you deliver good service and people understand what you're doing you develop trust.”
Wiecking feels so good about the network management service InterMapper enables him to deliver that he included it in a recent MacWorld presentation. “I talked about network management in schools. You have to remember that, at many schools, the Physical Education teacher or librarian serves as the network manager. I showed them InterMapper's network monitoring capabilities and they immediately saw that having a picture of the network makes things a lot easier. It's much better to know what's going on with the network than to have to run out of a class and fix a big problem. InterMapper is like a smoke detector. It's always there when you need it.”