Facilitating Centralized Management

Just connecting computers to a network meant that some sort of similarity existed among them (or else the computers would not be able to communicate), and a maintenance capability may have been available in the early networks. However, it wasn’t until much later (in the mid ’90s) that maintenance personnel started using networks to assist with the management tasks associated with the network’s operation and maintenance.

It came about as a direct result of standardization and interoperability, which meant computers worked the same way and could work with each other. This was a drastic change to the original networks, where all the different networked components had different computer programs, or software (a set of instructions that control the operation of a computer) running them. Having more similarities meant lower support costs. These savings were usually due to economies of scale brought about by buying more similar computers and obtaining a lower per-unit cost. Companies soon began

 directing technicians to purchase similar equipment to obtain the benefit of those savings. Once that happened, the network could be used to help maintain those similar components, and this further increased efficiency and reduced the total amount companies would spend on a particular component over that equipment’s usable lifetime, called total cost of ownership (TCO).

Managing Software

Using the network helped reduce software costs. Savings occurred when all users on a network used the same software and when software was bought in bulk quantities for a discount. Centralizing the installation of that software also reduced operation costs because the installations could be accomplished remotely—over the network. The computer programs that were needed to perform the installations were stored on servers and made accessible over the network. The maintenance personnel would then simply log on to the network from a client computer and install the needed applications using the installation software stored on the server.

Within the past few years, even more savings have been achieved by having the centralized server initiate the software installations or updates on the client computers without the need for maintenance personnel to actually visit any of the clients.

Maintaining the Network

Purchasing similar equipment for use on the network meant that network maintenance costs were reduced because there were fewer dissimilar components. Maintenance workers no longer had to attend numerous training sessions on many different components, which meant they could spend more time maintaining the actual components.

Backing Up Data

Along those same lines, a network minimizes the time spent backing up (saving extra copies, called backups) of necessary files. In the event of a hardware or software failure that causes information or applications to be lost, vital information and necessary applications can be restored if sufficient backups exist. The backup process is normally a regular activity in a company

and all transactions between scheduled backups are recorded so that the files can be restored as completely as possible. Technicians can access the backup files and recorded transactions from a central location without having to physically visit the source computers.