ZNDP 014 – What is Best Practice?

Consultative Leadership, Network Design, Podcast, ZNDP

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Best Practice
Best Practice

Hey Ziglets, in today’s episode we are going to ask and answer the question “What is Best Practice?” and how should we handle Best Practices in today’s Networking World.  Lets do it!

The overall Theme!

Over the last two months or so, we have been focusing on a theme for each of our ZNDP episodes.  We still have a number of topics to cover but here is a quick review of some of the previous episodes that have a direct correlation to today’s topic at hand.

ZNDP 011 – Network Design…But Why?

  • We asked and answered questions:
    • Why should you care about Network Design?
    • Why it’s so important for you to make technical decisions to meet business needs
  • If you haven’t listened to this episode check it out here!

ZNDP 012 – Evolving your Design Mindset

  • We asked and answered questions:
    • Why do you need a Design Mindset?
  • We talked about making Business Design Decisions and incorporating a proper Design Framework
    • We showed the Design Framework in action with a four step process
  • If you haven’t listened to this episode check it out here!

ZNDP 013 – Business Benefits and Business Outcomes

  • In our last episode, episode 13, we answered the questions:
    • What do businesses really care about?
    • Why should you care about business benefits and business outcomes
  • We showed a direct correlation with a three step process:
    1. The Technology Benefits and outcomes should directly relate to the Business requirements, constraints, and drivers that were determined and identified in the Design Framework that was show cased in Episode 12: Evolving your Design Mindset.
    2. The Business requirements, constraints, and drivers should directly relate to the Business Outcomes and Benefits the Company is focusing on and expecting.
    3. Repeated Validation of these correlations throughout the project.
  • If you haven’t listened to Episode 13, you can do so here!

What is Best Practice?

If I had been asked this question fifteen years ago when I was young and naive, I would have said Best Practice is the bible.  I can hear myself stating “Because it’s best practice”!  No way did I fully understanding the implications of what was being done.

Best Practice Variable

I would have filled in the “Best Practice” variable with my own personal biased Design, Solution, or Architecture.

  • For those that have been following along you know which one I am going to pick here… A Routed Access Design with EIGRP as the IGP!!
  • A lot of us in the network field make “best practice” calls without fully understanding the design implications of those decisions.  I know I’ve been guilty of this, so when I say “us” i’m totally including myself.

My Best Practice Evolution:

A Design should always be tied back to the customer’s business requirements!!

Examples:

  • Lets start with a simple example – Why do we enable an OSPF interface as a point-to-point interface?
    • Is there a business requirement for it?
    • Probably a better question to ask and answer; is there a business requirement that we are breaking because of this “best practice” decision?
  • Now how about a more complex and realistic example – What about implementing sub-second fail over for an IGP versus less than 5 second fail over for an IGP?
    • Are we implementing sub-second fail over because its “best practice” or are we correlating this choice to a business need?

Two great quotes:

“Use of best practices may apply for a majority of implementations, but these are not customer specific or applicable in all situations. A qualified design expert knows when to deviate from best practice while providing a justifiable and supportable solution”

“Best practices are a baseline from which we work in the absence of specific requirements that would justify deviation. Knowing why it is a best practice is important so that you know where to create a new best practice specific to your design and customer.”

By VCDX Boot Camp: Preparing for the VCDX Panel Defense by John Arrasjid, Ben Lin, and Mostafa Khalil

Zig’s Take on all of this?!?!?!

My opinion, if there are not any relevant business requirement for a specific design situation and we are not violating another business requirement, then best practice is probably the way to go but we need to understand the full picture before making these decisions.

In the end it really boils down to doing what is right for the specific situation that you are presented. I’ve seen a lot of people in this field looking for the “one fits all” solution or answer, but there isn’t one.  A lot of these people take the “easy” way out and in the end they are doing a disservice to the networks and customers they touch.

A lot of my customers are “breaking” what some would traditionally say is best practices but they are doing this because it is what they need to do in the situation they are in.  They have business requirements and business outcomes that must be met.  Everything comes back to these items and we all must remember that.

This is important information and yes it’s a different way of thinking all together but its highly valuable!

Call to Action:

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Hosted By: Michael “Zig” Zsiga

Guest Expert: None

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