A typical Technology Infrastructures are composed of the following components:

• A Wide Area Network (WAN) - such as the Global Internet WAN. (See examples Figure 1.)

• One or more Local Area Networks (LANs) - Composed of Routers, Switches, Wireless Access Points (WAPs), and other LAN components. (See examples Figure 2.)

• Multiple End-Point Networking (EPD) Devices - PCs, MACs, tablets, smartphones, and all other IPv4/IPv6-compliant devices. (See examples in Figure 3.)

The primary function of Technology Infrastructure is provide ubiquitous access to applications and database Servers attached to both LANs and/or the Global Internet WAN. These applications and databases can located on:

• Internet and Intranet Web Servers.

• Cloud Computing Provider (CSP) Servers.

• Legacy Application & Database Servers.

(The conceptual diagram in Figure 4. shows some of the remote management services provided by our Technology Infrastructure Management Console.)

All businesses ranging from small home-offices up to Fortune 1000 Companies with tens of thousands of employees, have a technology infrastructure of some type. These infrastructure can either be a Managed Technology Infrastructure or an Unmanaged (Ad Hoc) Technology Infrastructure.

Managed Technology Infrastructures

Most large successful companies have managed technology infrastructures composed of dozens of LANs, and thousands of end-point networking devices. The management of these technology infrastructures is generally a formal process that is either outsourced to a network management service provider, or supported internally by a staff of network support specialists from the company's IT department. All components of the managed technology infrastructure fit within a predefined architectural framework, and are configured and optimized to meet the optimal service levels required by the business.

Ad Hoc Technology Infrastructures

Most small companies have limited budgets and no IT staffs, and these companies generally have Ad Hoc Technology Infrastructures composed of:

• Incompatible networking components that was purchased from different vendors to meet specific business requirements.

• Network components and EPN devices that were installed using the "out-of-the-box default parameters, or parameters that do not enable these components to perform at optimal levels.

• Network components and EPN devices that are missing important firmware or BIOS revisions. In many instances, these revisions are designed to solve serious performance problems or correct security flaws.

• Network components that are not even shown as assets on the company's books. In many instances, new network components will be purchased even though components capable of performing the same task is either already installed or is setting in shelf in an equipment closet. 

There is little or no formal management of Ad Hoc Technology Infrastructures, and the only time the infrastructure is elevated to a level of importance is when it fails and there is a negative impact on the business. Most Ad hoc technology infrastructures are little more than "a ticking time bombs" just waiting to explode and seriously damage (or even cripple) a company's ability to perform its core business operations and processes.