The MTTF: The key metric to measure IT infrastructure availability

Metrics say a lot about an organization's operations and their effectiveness, helping stakeholders make data-driven decisions. Even in ITSM, metrics are crucial for teams to measure the effectiveness of the help desk and ensure the IT infrastructure works optimally. One such metric for IT teams is the mean time to failure (MTTF), which helps them identify the lifespan of an IT infrastructure component or an IT asset.

Now, if you are wondering how you can get started with measuring this metric, do not worry. In this article, we will learn about the MTTF, how to calculate it, and how to increase yours.

What is the MTTF, and why should your IT teams monitor it?

Assets regularly failing can interrupt your organization's IT operations and result in the deterioration and underperformance of IT infrastructure. The MTTF metric helps you determine the typical lifespan of an asset, device, or component.

For IT assets and components with a low MTTF, it is often more time-efficient, cheaper, and less disruptive to replace them instead of fixing them. This applies especially to IT components linked to crucial operational elements of the infrastructure, like a mainframe server stack or a network access point. If an asset has an unfavorable MTTF because it fails regularly, this indicates that it is unreliable and needs frequent replacement to avoid impacting IT operations.

An MTTF example

In an IT software development company, when a cable was connected to or disconnected from the switch in the data and network server stack, the other network cables would get loose and disconnect or get damaged. This led to files becoming corrupted due to interrupted data transfers.

Further analysis by the network team revealed that the snagless plastic cover kept breaking on the Cat6 RJ45 patch cable. This was due to the cable being procured from a manufacturer that used inexpensive materials. The IT team then replaced the old cables with cables of better quality to ensure there would be no issues, like the loss or corruption of data, in the future when moving cables.

This is a classic example as tracking the MTTF of cables on a regular basis helps IT teams understand the impact of critical assets, like components, so they can make informed decisions about repairs and replacements.

How to calculate the MTTF

The MTTF is the total operational hours divided by the total number of assets used. For example: In a server stack, the Cat6 RJ45 patch cables are operational for a cumulative total of 40,000 hours, and a total of 86 cables are in use. The MTTF is 40,000/86 = 465 hours.

How to increase your MTTF

• Increase assets' lifespans by procuring assets of high quality and decommissioning assets of low quality.
• Prevent large-scale disruptions to business operations by scheduling regular checks on components linked to critical assets.
• Implement a just-in-time inventory process that estimates the time an asset will be operational, leading to reduced overhead costs for asset storage.

Summary

The MTTF helps you understand the life cycle and reliability of an asset. This metric empowers IT teams to achieve higher operational efficiency by pinpointing the root cause of persistent incidents. IT teams can improve their incident response strategy with a clear picture of areas where IT operations are impacted.

Organizations can implement metrics such as the MTTF by using them as KPIs rather than just performance objectives. Metrics point out areas needing process simplification and operational improvements and are not merely targets to hit.