Understand How A Network Operation Center Works

Understand How A Network Operation Center Works

NOC Definition It means "Network Operations Center." This is the central location where the servers and network equipment of a company are located. The NOC can reside on or off a corporate campus. Small businesses and organizations often have an internal NOC, where local technicians manage and monitor servers. Large companies can have an NOC configuration in a location specifically designed to host server computers.

What Does Not Stand For Network operations centers, often referred to as data centers, are almost always connected to a broadband Internet connection? Large NOCs, such as those used by web hosting companies, are generally connected directly to the Internet backbone. This gives the servers the most excellent possible bandwidth.

Although NOCs are used by all web hosting companies and ISPs, they are also useful for companies whose services are not related to the Internet. Many companies use an NOC to manage internal communications, manage employee email accounts and back up data. Because maintaining an Internet connection is vital for most companies today, most NOCs are controlled 24 hours a day, seven days a week, with automatic alerts that notify technicians when there are servers or network connections. Death.

A network Operations Center, or NOC, is like a company's nervous system, which monitors the performance and health of a telecommunications network at all times of the day. Not all companies need NOC help, but those who need it are at serious risk if they don't need it. Internal monitoring, for example, may seem an attractive option because of its low cost, but it does not provide the kind of 24-hour support that today's companies need from their specialists. network assistance

It is preferable to consider the NOCs as the first line of defense against a large number of failures suffered by telecommunications networks, although that is not all they do. But what makes them work? What kind of technology is required to ensure efficient operation at all times? to explore

The Anatomy of a Network Operations Center

NOCs perform a variety of functions, although their main task is still to respond to various alerts, including communication line problems and power outages. NOC engineers are responsible for managing these alerts, extracting resources to compensate for any drop in performance, and sending equipment to repair any physical damage to the line. Also, NOCs can do the following:

Develop reports on network performance, optimization, and condition.

Install, update, and resolve software issues on any device connected to the network.

Monitor and manage the firewall and network security software.

Detects and analyzes network attacks from external sources.

Network device software patch.

Provide antivirus support.

Back up, data stored on network devices.

It is a lot to manage a single team, but the NOCs and their qualified engineers are trained for this task. But they can't do it alone, and that's where A / V technology comes in. Modern NOCs seem to be taken from a movie, with an impressive array of visual and audio technologies that provide a wealth of information to NOC engineers. Part of this A / V technology includes:

Video wall screens: A video wall consists of a set of filters, arranged in a grid pattern and joined to function as a single display unit. The strength of a video wall lies in its modularity because the screens can be divided to deliver multiple images at the same time, in high and high resolution. A popular application of video wall technology in NOCs is to maintain a visual network map as the primary objective. When there are alerts, they are first represented on this map, which gives engineers instant information about the location of the problem and whether it is related to a specific device or a line problem.

In addition to this visual map, NOC video walls are used to track weather conditions, with radars and forecasts that may be relevant to the location of network assets. It is also common for NOCs to reserve space for information dissemination, which can also help NOC engineers react to events that may affect business operations.

The NOC video walls are connected to workstations located on the NOC floor. Therefore, in case of an alert, NOC engineers in your office can display the details of the signal on the video wall screen. Therefore, instead of people gathered around a few monitors to review the information, everyone at NOC can see the relevant information for alerts and respond more quickly.

Workstations with additional screens: Of course, a large part of the information processed by a NOC is visual; It is therefore essential that engineers and technicians can analyze this information in the most significant possible space. In addition to the rugged workstations, the dual-screen configurations provide technicians and engineers with much more workspace to work with. More space means that more data can be monitored at the same time, which improves the efficiency and speed of response.

Integrated audio inputs and outputs: audio is generally considered secondary to NOC performance, but can still play an essential role for NOC technicians. Some NOCs can be very important, making it difficult for engineers and technicians to speak and be heard. The audio inputs installed on each desk can raise the voice of a speaker so that it can be captured anywhere in the room. This audio is played through a processor that collects and directs the input signals to the speaker outputs. These speakers can be mounted on the walls of the room or integrated directly into the ceiling. In most cases, wall speakers are the preferred option as they are easier to install and allow the audio to be dispersed well. However, in rare situations where aesthetics are essential or regulations do not allow wall speakers, ceiling speakers are a reliable alternative.