Network management systems have been in operation for many years in the mini/mainframe environment, but it was only with the implementation of the simple network management protocol (SNMP) in the early 1990s that PC-based local area and wide area network components could be monitored and "managed".
Today network management has come a long way. There have been many new developments, fuelled by the need to embrace more elements of the network within the management "net".
Developments have been driven largely by the needs for cost cutting and productivity enhancements in modern corporate environments where network management systems have to be geared toward the work flow of the organisation they service.
Work Flow
If the network management function does not directly - or at least indirectly - solve a business problem, it is of minimal value to the organisation it serves.
Today, network management is an integrated conglomeration of functions that may reside on one workstation but may span thousands of kilometres, different support organisations and many machines and databases.
This is true end-to-end network management, so long the91holy grail=92 of the software development community.
End-to-end network management systems are characterised by multiple levels of functionality to provide, format, or collect data necessary to manage the myriad objects found in new-generation LANs and WANs.
Controlling The Network
These "objects" are defined as the devices and systems requiring some form of monitoring, control and management. They include routers, concentrators, hosts, servers and applications such as Oracle, Microsoft SMS, Lotus Notes, and MS Mail. The managed object does not have to be a piece of hardware but should rather be depicted as a function96 preferably business driven - provided on the network.
For example, this is true of name and IP addressing services used on networks. The management of IP addressing and machine-naming using the Internet Domain Name System (DNS) is of vital importance today, because it has turned out to be the linchpin of the Internet.
Management Framework
The most common framework depicted in end-to-end network management designs today is centred around the OSI "FCAPS" model.
FCAPS is an acronym for:
Fault Management
Configuration Management
Accounting
Performance Management
Security Management
FRAPS-based management systems should be implemented around work flow processes. They should focus the management tools toward those staff members supporting the managed area in a manner which makes their jobs easier and faster.
Information associated with a problem or symptom should mean something of significance to the support personnel. If they see the problem at a glance, they should know to which specific area that problem belongs and what to do to implement the trouble isolation process.
Additionally, the problems that affect other sites, should be available to those personnel at a glance. The information must be at the fingertips of the other sites` Help Desk personnel so that they know, in near real time, what activities are in progress.
Set of Rules
The spiralling demands placed on end-to-end network management systems have created an almost desperate need for a set of rules96 policies =96 designed to govern the flow of data, voice and video traffic around the network.
What network managers need is a set of policies that, when implemented, will simplify the management process and guarantee that both mission-critical and conventional data traffic are delivered across the network on a timely basis.
From a cost perspective, it is vital that these policies are able to optimise the network=92s existing infrastructure.
Policy Based Networking
For vendors working on policy based solutions, the ground rules are being established, thanks to the co-operation that has been secured from the standards bodies.
The proposed standard with probably the biggest backers is DEN (Directory Enabled Networks), as the initiative is known.
The idea behind DEN is to devise a common method of building applications that combine user profiles with user information such as IP address. This data can then be linked to device and application details.
There is every chance that DEN will be the common management repository the industry is searching for.
A first draft of DEN is imminent. As soon as they are available they will be passed on to the DMTF (Desktop Management Task Force) and IETF for official ratification.
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