Electrical Connection Autumn 2017

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74 E L EC TR I C AL CONNEC T I ON AU T UMN 20 1 7
TAKING AIM AT AIM
A fter more than two years of
development, the international
standard for Automated
Infrastructure Management (ISO/IEC
18598 Information technology - Automated
infrastructure management (AIM) systems
- Requirements, data exchange and
applications) is now officially published.
The growing importance of AIM has
already led the industry’s standards-
defining organisations to recommend
the technology in a variety of standards,
but the ISO/IEC 18598 standard is
the first one strictly dedicated to AIM
to specifically address its varied and
powerful capabilities, from connectivity
management to integration with external
systems and processes.
The standard defines ‘AIM’ as an
“integrated hardware and software
system that automatically detects
the insertion or removal of cords, and
documents the cabling infrastructure
including connected equipment enabling
management of the infrastructure and
data exchange with other systems.”
AIM systems enable personnel to see,
manage and optimise the connected
environment in real time, enhancing the
ability to:
> Plan and execute changes to the network.
> Troubleshoot connectivity issues in
real time.
> Discover and track the location of
connected devices.
> Manage and monitor capacity and
asset information.
One of the key aspects of ISO/IEC 18598
is the inclusion of a common data exchange
framework to enable interoperability and
integration with external systems.
To illustrate the capabilities of an AIM
system, the ISO/IEC 18598 standard
refers to intrinsic and extrinsic benefits,
as listed below.
Intrinsic benefits are enabled by
functionality within the AIM system,
and include:
> Accurate and automatic
documentation to replace error-
plagued manual tracking.
> Change management to help reduce the
cost of moves, adds and changes.
> Incident management that can decrease
downtime and mean-time-to-resolution.
> Capacity management, that enables
higher port use and improves planning.
ASSETMANAGEMENT
Extrinsic benefits are enabled with
other systems by the use of data exchange,
and address:
> IT-related systems such as IP telephony
management, helpdesk support and
information security systems.
> Building management systems:
including energymanagement, lighting
management, security and access control.
> Data Centre Infrastructure
Management (DCIM).
> Configuration Management Database
(CMDB) applications.
The publication of ISO/IEC 18598
acknowledges the growing market
momentum of AIM systems as well as
the critical role AIM systems play in the
planning, administration, and growth
of enterprise networks. The publication
also provides guidance those responsible
for specifying an AIM solution, providing
a common specification that will enable
broader market adoption of AIM in
buildings and data centres.
For more information on AIM
technology and the ISO/IEC 18598
standards, download and read
CommScope’s recently released white
paper: The business benefits of automated
infrastructure management in connected
and efficient buildings.
> CommScope
AFTER MUCH DELIBERATION,
THE ISO/IEC AUTOMATED
INFRASTRUCTURE MANAGEMENT
STANDARD HAS BEEN RATIFIED.
MATIASPELUFFO FROM
COMMSCOPE REPORTS.
STANDARDS UPDATE
BY
MATIAS
PELUFFO