Sam Wuertz

The Issue: 

With a growing number of internal servers to manage, Chateaux Senior BI Technologist, Sam Wuertz, set out to find a way to more effectively administer the company’s network. Previously, the owners of each server were responsible for recognizing and remediating potential issues. This method contained some intrinsic issues. Server outages and disk space limitations could not be managed proactively; network level metrics, like bandwidth utilization, were difficult to account for; and inventory tracking and help desk functionality were not available.

The Resolution:

Sam discovered a resourceful solution: free network management software. He utilized a combination of two freely available network management software packages: SpiceWorks and Mikrotik’s The Dude. SpiceWorks allows you to inventory your assets, monitor network devices, and even includes help desk functionality. It also provides free plug-ins that allow for a customized implementation to meet your needs. The Dude gives a better real-time picture of your network environment, including bandwidth, memory, and server identification. Each software package can send out automatic email notifications as user defined thresholds are met such as low disk space, low memory, and server/service downtime. SNMP functions also allow monitoring of disks in RAID arrays, printer toner levels, UPS battery health, and more.

This solution has significantly decreased the time and effort required to manage the network and has enabled us to address issues before they affect the users. We’ve only incorporated a fraction of the available functionality and we look forward to maximizing its capabilities in the coming months!