The role of the network is changing. It is more critical to business efficiency and its performance is key to the success (or failure) of the company it services.
Chris van Niekerk, country manager of 3Com SA, highlights the demands placed on the modern corporate network - particularly from a security perspective - and examines the new generation of network management tools now available to meet these challenges.
Not too long ago, networks generally supported only particular processes within enterprises. Now they are the driving force of most organisations` core operations and services.
Today, when a network fails or performs poorly, communications are impeded, critical data cannot be shared effectively, transactions slow down to a crawl, and productivity and money are lost.
Adding to these pressures, many new demands are being placed on corporate networks.
Growing in users, size and complexity, today`s networks must support a new generation of sophisticated, high-bandwidth applications, wireless links, and increasingly massive databases.
In addition, more organisations are capitalising on networked telephony solutions. These solutions demand high levels of network performance to support time-sensitive voice traffic and have made network administrators directly responsible for their companies` mission-critical communications.
Doing more with less
Conversely, most network administrators are also feeling the heat from upper management to reduce costs and increase efficiencies - to do more with less.
Forced to maintain their networks at optimal levels of performance and reliability with minimal IT resources, network administrators are turning to network management tools to maximize network value and effectiveness.
Traditional management applications, however, have failed to fill this bill.
Complex and expensive, these open management platforms typically require highly-skilled technicians to use and provide advanced capabilities, such as policy-based management, that only very large companies can use.
Fortunately, network management technology has progressed.
New generation management tools
Today, a new generation of network management applications, many of which are easily available for download via the Web, offers administrators an effective strategy for satisfying the communications requirements of their enterprises.
These advanced solutions provide the intelligence and many of the capabilities of traditional solutions, but without the cost or complexity. Because these applications are simple to deploy, administrators can perform daily operations more quickly and efficiently. They can even automate many routine tasks.
These network management resources let administrators configure and monitor devices throughout the network from a single console, eliminating the need to make time-consuming, onsite visits for every change.
IT departments, for instance, using traffic prioritisation to promptly deliver time-sensitive applications like networked telephony or videoconferencing, now can configure their entire networks via intelligent management software instead of manually configuring each switch.
These sophisticated applications render functions, such as traffic prioritisation, so easy that administrators no longer need to invest considerable resources to optimise their systems.
These network management tools also expedite the expansion of networks to accommodate growth or new networking applications. They offer managers the control they need to extract maximum performance and value from their communications infrastructures. They empower administrators to do their jobs faster and smarter, saving their organisations time and money.
Network intelligence
Today`s new network management solutions offer superior reporting capabilities, allowing administrators to always know exactly what the network looks like, how well it is operating, and how it is being used.
3Com`s Network Supervisor application, for example, can map and inventory every device on an entire network, even IP telephones and wireless units.
These applications can monitor and report on all aspects of a network`s performance. This includes analysing network events and only reporting those that actually cause problems, not the plethora of those that result from the problems. They even can report which devices, including PCs, have been added, moved, or removed since the last report.
With such information, administrators can manage their systems proactively, identifying potential issues before they become problems. To discover that a link incorrectly has one end at full duplex and the other at half-duplex, IT personnel previously needed to inspect the devices - a time-consuming and reactive process that impacted users` effectiveness.
By deploying a new-generation network management solution, administrators can learn of the error automatically and correct it before any problems arise.
By anticipating issues and taking remedial steps, managers can dramatically improve their networks` uptime and make them transparent to users. Moreover, when problems do arise, these management tools can swiftly identify the cause, allowing administrators to minimise downtime and any impediment to productivity.
Managing security
In assessing new network management applications, administrators must also consider their security needs. These tools can play an important role for protecting a system, permitting managers to align security with management of the networks they are trying to safeguard.
An ideal application should communicate with the security components on the network, such as standalone firewalls or the firewall capabilities embedded in advanced network interface cards.
The application should look for weaknesses and hot spots on the system, and identify suspected intrusions and security violations. They should identify any port where someone has tried and failed multiple times to log in. They also should gather vital data from switches, such as SNMP vulnerabilities.
Finally, they must summarise this information for managers so they can take immediate steps to preserve the integrity of the enterprise. The right management tools can provide firms with a significant measure of security and network administrators with peace of mind.
Clearly, administrators will continue to be called upon to squeeze additional performance, value, reliability, and security from their communications infrastructures. And without a doubt, careful control of the network will be an increasingly vital strategy for realising these goals.
Those who turn to the right network management resources will not only make their networks more productive assets, they`ll also find their jobs a lot easier, more secure and more rewarding.
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