r example, the precise features that the new cards installed in a multi-service switch can support. It is not enough to know that the switch is in service. The IIC must know if its new VoIP switch can support caller ID and "find-me-follow-me" service. Such a real time view is invaluable not only for delivering service, but also for capacity planning and network build-out. This enables engineers to have a precise view of where network resources are deployed and where they are most needed given real and projected customer demand. Such information is especially important to mobile providers who must determine which cell sites receive the most traffic and where subscriber growth is most rapid. They must stay ahead of the demand curve to insure customers' calls are not suddenly being dropped because specific cell sites are at capacity. Some IICs are now using auto-discovery tools that can locate and communicate with network elements to maintain inventory in real-time. This approach is generally known as "the network is the database." This is a departure from traditional inventory systems which assumed that the inventory record was correct and the network must match it. When the network is the database, the inventory database synchronizes with the network. Unfortunately, we don't live in an ideal world. Truly robust, real-time network inventory systems are difficult to find in service. This is true for a number of reasons. Most IICs' inventory databases - if they have them at all - aren't accurate to begin with. Making them accurate requires expensive, resource- and time-consuming network audits which most providers are unwilling to undertake. ILECs often face the challenge, particularly in older, large cities, of managing inventory records that have been kept by hand. Often the technicians in the field know more about where things live on the network than any database does. Because networks are constantly growing and changing, the network picture is a moving target, and thus more difficult to track. Some more advanced