LAYC decided to bring in an independent consultant to assess the state of the network, make recommendations on critical remedies, and consult on ensuring the robustness of its IT infrastructure. “Another organization had told us about what a great job Nortec had done for them, so we called Nortec to see if there were things we could be doing better,” says Diaz.
“LAYC didn’t know the condition of its network, whether they had correct security, if their servers were built properly, if they had the right ratio of servers to users, or if their applications were configured properly,” says Allen L. Brown, Senior Consultant and Engineer for Nortec Communications.
Nortec began by implementing its Network Status Report (NSR). The NSR assesses the network on a variety of metrics and criteria, and provides reports on the current situation. Nortec engineers then use the NSR to provide recommendations on necessary repairs, reconfiguring, upgrades, or new equipment purchases.
Diaz had been right to worry about the health of the LAYC network. “The NSR pointed out that almost immediately LAYC needed to upgrade its servers to replace some really old servers that were in very important roles. These servers were about to crash and held important data,” says Brown.