Ask Slashdot: Management Software For Small Independent ISP? 141
First time accepted submitter Vorknkx writes "I work in a small ISP. Most of our customers have cable modems but some of them are using Canopy or Ubiquity products. To manage all that, we're using a number of programs and solutions not necessarily made for such a task that are kept up to date simply using copy and paste. We have an Access database for all our internet customers, an Excel document for our wireless users, The Dude to monitor every user and a custom-made web application to monitor traffic. Needless to say, we're starting to hit the limit and juggling between all these programs is a complete pain. Is there some kind of all-in-one solution that would allow us to eliminate all the copy and paste while keeping the same functionality?"
Solving the right problem (Score:2, Insightful)
So, you have an access database to track your Internet customers, and an Excel sheet tracking wireless customers.
Why? How did this come into being? Who thought two different solutions to essentially the same issue were a good idea? Or did no one notice? Why haven't you consolidated these (preferably in the database? Did no one know how to make that work?
I'm not trying to cast aspersions on the technical chops of people I've never met. Maybe there are really good reasons you have the solution you have. Maybe it was really the result of a series of "right decision at the time." But as an outsider, it certainly doesn't sound that way.
I'm sure there are some suggestions that could be made to integrate your existing tools better. I'm sure there are off the shelf tools that you could use.
What I'm worried about, however, is that the big problem is that have a technical capability problem, and you're trying to solve it as a tool problem. If that's not accurate, great. But I've seen company after company try to solve a "we don't have the tech skills" problem by finding "the magic tool" that will compensate. And I've rarely seen it end well.
I realize this isn't directly a response to your question. Just a suggestion before that, before you start tinkering with zoomier tools, you take a hard look at who's going to install, configure, maintain, and administer the tool, and make sure you're confident they're up to the task. If not, solve that issue first. Tools won't fix it.
Re:mysql,nagios,php,rancid etc. (Score:4, Insightful)
Small ISP, and you dont even imagine the number of small mid companies governed on an excel sheet with the balance on cell A11 with green or red.
Typical. (Score:5, Insightful)
"I work in a small ISP."
This sums up the problems with most "Ask Slashdot" stories.
This "small" ISP could have 50 clients or 15,000.
There is no way to know.
Budgets? Staffing? Your guess is as good as mine.