Networks grow in complexity and are never in a static state. As new services and applications are added, the dynamics change. "Therefore, to control this changing environment, one needs to consider the Kolmogrov complexity theory and focus on flows of traffic," says Andy Brauer, chief technical officer of the Networks Competency at Business Connexion.
"Total network management is one issue. Being able to respond to a problem quickly and make a business decision based on the information that the management tools provide, is possibly even more crucial," he says.
There are many tools in the marketplace available to assist the network manager. However, it is the tools that provide root cause analysis after doing event correlation and those that can provide integration into the "bigger picture" that are growing in popularity, says Brauer. Many new intelligent analysis engines are also coming to the fore in an attempt to adequately provide intelligence, he adds.
"SNMP (Simple Network Management Protocol) is the most common component used to provide network management information. However, while the uptake of SNMPv3 seems to be a bit slow, there has been a trend of late towards WBEM (Web-based enterprise management), WEBM and XML. CMIP (Common Management Information Protocol) and FMIP are still in the marketplace and need to be incorporated into the management strategy to create an integrated view for the network manager.
"Network management has traditionally followed the FCAPS (Fault, Configuration, Accounting, Performance, Security) model. As we move into next-generation networks and the packet-switched network becomes carrier grade, we will see enterprise and service provider tools converging into NGOSS (new generation open source software) or EMOSS (Engineering Mission Operations Support Services) models. The ability to provision new services will be come a necessity in the ever-increasing pace of network service demand," he says.
Wireless billing, VOIP, QOS, IPv6, P2P, IPS "intrusion prevention", security and faster provisioning are all areas in which management tools could be improved, notes Brauer. "These important aspects of the network, which managers have to keep a handle on, combined with the need for more intelligence, are areas that vendors will have to access for new tool sets."
Traffic flows and peer views of traffic volumes are becoming the preferred way of looking at networks and the bases of ITIL, Cobit and Sabanes-Oxley have become a way of life. These methods raise the level of data network management and lay down the foundation for improved productivity in a controlled way.
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