The six phases of the Cisco Lifecycle Services are:
- The Prepare Phase
- The Plan Phase
- The Design Phase
- The Implement Phase
- The Operate Phase
- The Optimize Phase
*This process is often referred to as PPDIOO
The Prepare Phase
- During the Prepare Phase define the business goals.
- These goals provide a foundation for a business case to justify the financial investment required to implement the technology change.
- The company considers possible business constraints, including budget, personnel, company policies, and schedule limitations.
After the business case is accepted, the NetworkingCompany staff assists in the development of the high-level technology strategy and solution.
This strategy identifies:
- Advanced technologies that support the new network solution
- Current and planned network applications and services, and their priorities based on business goals
- People, processes, and tools required to support the operations and management of the technology solution
RFP & RFQ
- The Prepare Phase is typically done before a company issues a Request For Proposal (RFP) or Request For Quotation (RFQ).
- RFPs and RFQs describe the requirements for the new network. They include information about the process that the company uses to purchase and install networking technologies.
The Plan Phase
- l The network designer performs a comprehensive site and operations assessment to evaluates the current network, operations, and network management infrastructure.
- l The NetworkingCompany staff identifies all physical, environmental, and electrical modifications.
- l They assess the ability of the current operations and network management infrastructure to support the new technology solution.
- l All changes to infrastructure, personnel, processes, and tools must be completed before the implementation of the new technology solution.
- l Custom applications that add to the feature and functionality requirements for the new network are also identified in this phase.
- l The NetworkingCompany staff creates a document that contains all of the design requirements.
The Project Plan
In this phase create a plan to help manage the project. The project plan includes:
l Tasks
l Timelines and critical milestones
l Risks and constraints
l Responsibilities
l Resources required
The plan needs to be within the scope, cost, and resource limits established in the original business goals.
The Design Phase
In the Design Phase, the NetworkingCompany staff uses the initial requirements determined during the Plan Phase to direct its work.
The design requirements document supports the specifications identified in the Prepare and Plan phases for:
l Availability
l Scalability
l Security
l Manageability
The design must be flexible enough to allow for changes or additions as new goals or needs emerge. The technology must be integrated into the current operations and network management infrastructure.
Planning the Installation
At the end of the Design Phase, the network designer creates plans that guide the installation and ensure that the end result is what the customer requested. Plans include:
l Configuring and testing connectivity
l Implementing the proposed system
l Demonstrating the functionality of the network
l Migrating network applications
l Validating network operation
l Training end users and support personnel
Any new equipment and technologies are specified and tested. A review of the proposed design confirms that the business goals are met. A final proposal is generated to continue with the implementation of the network upgrade.
The Implement Phase
The Implement Phase begins after the NetworkingCompany completes the design and the customer approves it. The network is built according to the approved design specification. The Implement Phase verifies the success or failure of the network design.
Testing the New Network
Testing all or part of a new network solution in a controlled environment helps to identify and resolve any implementation issues before the actual installation.
After the issues have been resolved, the NetworkingCompany staff installs the new solution and integrates it into the existing network. When the installation is complete, additional testing is done.
System-level acceptance testing checks that the new network meets the business goals and design requirements. The results of this test are recorded and become part of the documentation provided to the customer. Any training required for the staff needs to be completed during this phase.
The Operate Phase
The Operate and Optimize phases are ongoing.
They represent the day-to-day operations of a network.
This monitoring helps the company achieve maximum scalability, availability, security and manageability.
After the new network is installed, stadium personnel manage the network to ensure that it is performing to the design specifications outlined in the Prepare and Plan phases.
Defining Policies and Procedures
Policies and procedures are needed to handle network issues, such as:
l Security incidents
l Configuration changes
l Equipment purchases
Updating these policies and procedures after an upgrade reduces downtime, operating costs, and change-related issues. If there are no policies and procedures in place, it is important to create them.
The Optimize Phase
Optimizing the network is a continuous process. Its purpose is to improve network performance and reliability by identifying and resolving potential network problems before they happen. Doing this ensures that the business goals and requirements of the company are maintained.
Common network problems that could be discovered in the Optimize Phase include:
l Feature incompatibilities
l Insufficient link capacity
l Device performance problems when multiple features are enabled
l Scalability of protocols
As business goals change, the technology strategy and operations may not adapt. At some point, a redesign may be required and the PPDIOO cycle starts again.
When a business or organization decides to upgrade or replace their existing network, they usually generate a (RFP) or (RFQ). In the PPDIOO model, this occurs at the end of the Prepare phase.
Responding to the Request
l response document should be as detailed as possible.
l The response should be written with the target audience in mind.
l Technical terms and concepts need to be explained where necessary.
l To ensure that the response document is easy to read, a table of contents is used to organize the material. An introductory letter is included to introduce the material.
Pre-bid Meeting
Prior to the deadline for submitting RFP responses, the customer may schedule an informational meeting(referred to as a pre-bid meeting or pre-submittal conference).
The purpose of the meeting is to provide:
An opportunity to review the project scope with the customer
Additional information and documentation identified, but not included in the original RFP
Clarification of formatting and project timeline details not included in the original RFP
The meeting enables the contractor to get an estimate of the number of other companies that are interested in submitting a bid on the project.
The RFP
- Businesses usually send a copy of the RFP to contractors.
- Responses to an RFP help the customer compare services, products, pricing, and support offered by the different contractors.
Typically an RFP for a network project includes:
l Business goals for the project
l Anticipated project scope
l Information on the existing network and applications
l Requirements for the new network.
l Business, technical, or environmental constraints
l Preliminary schedule with milestones and deliverables
l Legal contractual terms and conditions
When responding to an RFP, it is important that every item listed on the RFP is answered. The company that sent out the RFP may reject an incomplete proposal.
The RFQ
- Businesses use an RFQ instead of an RFP when the technical specifications of the project are already known.
- staff can write an RFQ to obtain the costs for the necessary services and equipment.
- An RFQ is usually much simpler to respond to than an RFP, because the costs associated with an RFQ can easily be obtained or estimated.
- An RFQ can vary in content but will generally have three main parts. Like an RFP, the RFQ response may have formatting requirements. Proposal deadlines may be strictly enforced.
most account managers are responsible for:
l Meeting their assigned sales and revenue goals
l Communicating information about new products or technologies to customers and potential customers
l Directing local sales, service and support teams
l Planning and budgeting for sales and support projects
l Responding to customer requests for proposals, demonstrations, quotations and information
l Negotiating and maintaining sales or service contracts
These engineers, as well as network technicians who work with them, are responsible for:
l Evaluating the customer’s current network
l Determining if a network upgrade or addition can meet the technical requirements
l Ensuring that the proposed changes can be integrated into the existing customer network
l Testing and evaluating proposed solutions
A network designer is responsible for:
l Analyzing customer goals and constraints in order to determine the technical requirements for the new design
l Evaluating the current installed network
l Selecting the technologies and equipment capabilities to meet the defined network requirements
l Diagramming the placement and interconnection of various network devices and services
l Designing and supervising proof-of-concept testing
l Assisting the account manager in preparing presentations to the customer
Responsibilities of the post-sales field engineer include:
l Provide installation assistance and acceptance testing.
l Support and organize troubleshooting of components or systems.
l Resolve technical problems the customer may encounter.
l Provide customer training and assistance with managing and configuring devices.
The following skills are essential when working with clients:
l Listening and accurately summarizing information
l Corresponding with clients in a style, format, and level of detail appropriate for the intended audience
l Presenting well-organized technical material in a logical fashion
network project, business managers analyze the feasibility of the project based on how it contributes to business success. They must consider:
- Profitability – Can the project reduce costs or help the business avoid costs in the future?
- Business growth and market share – Can the project help the business grow more efficiently or create competitive advantages?
- Customer satisfaction - Can the project improve the customer experience and increase customer loyalty?
Prioritizing Goals
In consultation with the stadium management, the designer prioritizes the business goals. The priorities are based on which goals present the best opportunities to contribute to the success of the business.
After the NetworkingCompany obtains the list of the prioritized business goals, the Plan Phase begins.
Technical requirements include, but are not limited to:
l Improving network scalability
l Increasing network availability and performance
l Enhancing network security
l Simplifying network management and support
This list provides direction for the following decisions:
l Selecting network equipment
l Choosing protocols
l Designing network services
Every company wants to have the most advanced and efficient network available. In reality, various business constraints affect network design. Common constraints include:
l Budget - Limited resources may require some compromises in design due to the costs of equipment, software, or other components.
l Company policies – The design must take into account the customer’s existing policies regarding protocols, standards, vendors, and applications.
l Scheduling - The project time frame should be aligned with the customer schedules.
l Personnel - The availability of trained personnel at the implementation and operation phases might be a design consideration.
Top-Down
The top-down approach adapts the network infrastructure to the needs of the organization. Top-down design clarifies the design goals and initiates the design from the perspective of the required applications and network solutions, such as IP telephony, content networking, and video conferencing. The PPDIOO methodology uses the top-down approach.
Bottom-Up
A common approach – but one that is not recommended – is the bottom-up design. In this approach, the network designer selects network devices and technologies based on previous experience rather than from an understanding of the organization. Because this approach does not include information on the business goals, the proposed network design may not be able to support the required applications.
A typical network management architecture consists of the following elements:
l Network Management System (NMS) – A system that uses an application to monitor and control managed network devices, such as CiscoWorks
l Network Management Protocol – A protocol that facilitates the exchange of information between network devices and the NMS, such as the Simple Network Management Protocol version 3 (SNMPv3)
l Managed Devices - Network devices that are managed by an NMS, such as a router or switch
l Management Agents - Software on managed devices that collect and store network management information
l Management Information – Data collected by the NMS
CiscoWorks LAN Management Solution (LMS) is a suite of powerful management tools that simplify the configuration, administration, monitoring, and troubleshooting of Cisco networks. It integrates these capabilities into a best-in-class solution that provides the following benefits:
l Improves the accuracy and efficiency of the network operations staff
l Increases the overall availability of the network by simplifying configuration and quickly identifying and fixing network problems
l Maximizes network security through integration with access control services and audit of network-level changes
SNMP is the most common network management protocol to use. The protocol enables network administrators to gather data about the network and corresponding devices.
SNMP has four main components:
l Management station
l Management agents
l Management Information Base (MIB)
l Network management protocol
As part of a network management system, SNMP tools can respond to network errors or failures in several ways. Generally, when a network fault occurs, or when predefined thresholds are met, the SNMP tools can react by:
Sending an alert on the network
Sending a message to a pager
Sending an email to an administrator
