Technologies that manage your network

While most people talk about various products and ways to do network management-related tasks, few talk about the concept or technologies behind it. After doing a story in April 2004 on building a network-management center, this time we'll take a look at the technological developments in the field. We'll look at the main elements of network management, their functions and benefits, and the technologies that let you achieve those functions.

Network management can be divided into five functional areas, as defined by the ISO, for effective management and administration of the network. These areas, often referred to as FCAPS, are fault management, configuration/change management, accounting management, performance management and security management.

Performance management deals with minimizing network congestion and removing bottlenecks. It is also related to analyzing trends and capacity planning for future needs.

Fault management is about detecting faults in the network and fixing them.

Configuration management's job is to assist in installing, configuring, monitoring and controlling the hardware and software present on the network. It also deals with managing change in hardware and/or software.

Accounting management is about measuring network utilization parameters so that network resources are used equitably, and end users regulated properly. It also helps in charging end users or departments for their network usage.

Security management's purpose is to control access so that people who really need access to specific network resources are allowed to use them and no one else. It applies to both external and internal users.

The goal of these functions is to provide a secure and reliable network, which is always available and provides optimal

performance to its users. For easier management and swift problem resolution, it is necessary for the network administrator to manage the network from a single location, from where he can monitor the entire network and control its operation. Single location here does not mean a single system, but a single window to the network, which could be even provided by a group of systems.

In the pages to follow, we look at each individual function and dissect it for its features, benefits and technologies. However, security management is a much more complex topic and requires a story in itself.

Throughout the story, the term network will be used to mean anything that is connected to the network, be it servers, desktops, switches, routers, network links and any software running on them. 

By Anoop Mangla, Sushil Oswal