What is a good benchmark number for IP router management?

What is a good benchmark number for IP router management?

What is a good benchmark number for IP router management? For instance: number of staff necessary per shift, to monitor and repair, per 1,000 routers and 1,000 circuits.

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For benchmarking of resources, we typically try to ballpark the number of network devices each resource can handle as follows:

  • high complexity network device -- 15 to 20 per staff member

  • medium complexity network device -- 60 to 75 per staff member

  • low complexity network device -- 250 to 300 per staff member

Where:

  • high complexity devices include enterprise switches and IP PBX switches,

  • medium complexity assets include LAN wired and wireless routers, and

  • low complexity assets include hubs and similar low-end devices.

For larger organizations -- those with more than $1 billion in revenue -- economies of scale can help reduce staff needs by 10-20%. For smaller organizations -- less than $30 million in revenue -- an additional 10-20% resources should be planned.

Companies with superior IT capability and maturity -- and above-average application of people, processes and technology -- can reduce IT costs and improve IT productivity, making a 10-20% lower staff headcount not atypical. Simplification of the network through standardization and consolidation are key to achieving this lower staff headcount ratio. Conversely, an organization with lower-than-average capability and maturity can expect to need 10-20% additional staff.

This was first published in April 2006