Network management Toolkit

Managing the cost of complexity

Robert L. Bogue Tech Republic

Published: 06 Jun 2005 11:45 BST

The need to balance the level of complexity in your systems and networking is inextricably linked to the need to manage the costs of complexity itself — and the benefits that sometimes come with making the decision for the component which adds the complexity. For instance, fifteen years ago I was running a LAN. When I was managing it, we had a Token Ring environment because of the IBM AS/400. We were faced with a need to put in a small fibre connection to the plant across the street. At the time, doing that with Token Ring was extremely expensive. As a result, I added Ethernet (10Base-T) to our physical network.

We saved several thousand dollars but it required that I train technical staff not only on how to make a Type A/Type 1 cable for Token Ring using a shielded twisted pair, but also on crimping RJ-45 connectors and how to get the pair ordering correct for Ethernet. It helped that the IT world was going towards Ethernet, and we would have had to make the transition one day anyway.

It is decisions like that one, and the hundreds that you make each year, that add complexity to the environment. It could be something as minor as buying a different network switch than you normally buy because your model isn't in stock, and you need the new switch in a hurry.

For each decision, you have to evaluate whether the complexity being added to the environment is justifiable given the initial savings.

Understanding the need for balance
The natural tendency is for systems and networks to get more and more complex up to the point where the system architect can no longer adequately manage them. At that point a backlash begins. In other words, a resistance to complexity starts to appear.

Sometimes the constraint on complexity comes too early. The additional complexity of the solution prevents us from implementing it even when it is in the best interests of the organisation. However, the opposite is sometimes true. We allow things to get too complex and end up creating unnecessary challenges for managing the environment. Learning to create the appropriate amount of complexity in an environment is essential to reducing costs.