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NETWORK MANAGEMENT: Who Wants a Compromise?

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VoicenData Bureau
New Update

With increasing acceptability of Net-centric computing, expansion of the

Internet, and the trend towards replacing the traditional shared-media,

frame-based LANs with switch-based frameworks, network management gets even more

complex.

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The importance of having an up-and-running corporate network needs no

explanation. Everyone understands the importance of a five 9 reliability. But

what is important is making that a reality. There exist failure points–faulty

software in routers and switches, increased bandwidth traffic that crashes

servers, human errors, configuration problems, power failures, major carrier

outages, and even the applications that run on the networks hinder the network.

The answer then is management–end-to-end management of networks, systems,

desktops, and applications.

All this appears very easy, simple, and cheap. But the reality is that it

only gets more complex. Today, converged networks are around. The strain on the

network and enterprise management will only compound as voice over IP and IP

telephony, next-generation IP switches, routers, and PBXs and

software-controlled switches, virtual routers and hubs and servers are getting

deployed. So the challenge for network managers will not be just performance but

also managing mission-critical networks.

Technology Options



Along with the complexity, the scope of network management is also getting

broadened. In general, network management is a service that employs a variety of

tools, applications, and devices to assist human network managers in monitoring

and maintaining networks.

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Network management system (NMS) is an integrated conglomeration of tools for

network management. It consists of the incremental hardware and software

additions implemented among existing components. The software used in

accomplishing the network management tasks resides on the host computers and

communication processors (e.g. bridges, routers etc). It is designed to view the

entire network as a unified architecture, with addresses and labels assigned to

each point and the specific attributes of each element and link known to the

system. The active elements of the network provide regular feedback of status

information to the network-control center.

n Common NM

Functions:
International Organization for Standardization (ISO) describes

the functions common to most network-management architectures and protocols as

FCAPS model. This model consists of five conceptual areas–fault management,

configuration management, accounting management, performance management, and

security management.

Fault Management: It deals most commonly with events and traps as they

occur on the network. It enables detection, isolation, and correction of

abnormal operation.

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Configuration Management: The facilities that exercise control over,

identify, collect data from, and provide data to managed objects for the purpose

of assisting in providing for continuous operation of interconnection service.

Accounting Management: It enables charges to be established for the

use of managed objects and costs to be identified for the use of those managed

objects.

Performance Management: The facilities needed to evaluate the behavior

of managed objects and the effectiveness of communication activities.

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Security Management: Address those aspects of OSI security essential

to operate OSI network management correctly and to protect managed objects.

n NM

Architectures:
Most of the network management architectures use the same

basic structure and set of relationships. End-stations (managed devices), such

as computer systems and other network devices, run software that enables them to

send alerts when they recognize problems (for example, when one or more

user-determined thresholds are exceeded). Upon receiving these alerts,

management entities are programmed to react by executing one, several, or a

group of actions, including operator notification, event logging, system

shutdown, and automatic attempts at system repair.

Management entities can also poll end-stations to check the values of certain

variables. Polling can be automatic or user-initiated, but agents in the managed

devices respond to all polls. Agents are software modules that first compile

information about the managed devices in which they reside, then store this

information in a management database, and finally provide it (proactively or

reactively) to management entities within network management systems (NMSs) via

a network management protocol. Well-known network management protocols include

the Simple Network Management Protocol (SNMP) and Common Management Information

Protocol (CMIP). Management proxies are entities that provide management

information on behalf of other entities.

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n Functionality

Levels:
Network management systems have four basic levels of functionality,

each having a set of tasks defined to provide, format, or collect data necessary

to manage the objects. These levels are:

Managed Objects: Managed Objects are the devices, systems and/or any other

network element requiring some form of monitoring and management. E.g. routers,

concentrators, hosts, servers.

Element Management System (EMS): An EMS manages a specific portion of the

network. Element Managers may manage async lines, multiplexers, EPABXs,

proprietary systems or an application.

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Manager of Managers Systems (MoM): MoM systems integrate together the

information associated with several element management systems, usually

performing alarm correlation between EMS’s.

User Interface: The information gathered, be it the real time alarms and

alerts or the trend analysis graphs and reports, is distributed to the whole MIS

organization to keep people informed and to enable team communications.

Buying Tips

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n Top-down

Approach:
When going for an enterprise network management solution, the

solution alone is not the most important criteria; getting the top management’s

approval is far more important. This is because enterprise management involves

standardization, configuration, control, testing, and staffing, among other

things. Enterprise management becomes difficult if individual groups have their

own agenda and criteria. This is mainly due to the fact that individual groups

tend to develop their own systems.

n Systematic

Approach:
The solution to work well one has to have a systematic approach.

The components of such an approach would be–business focus, end-to-end

management capability, strong service-level agreements, scalability and

flexibility, legacy support, standards support, vendor neutrality, and

integration ability.

n Understanding

Organizational Needs:
The buying decision delves on first understanding the

organizations’ networks, systems, and applications, and keeping the business

objective in mind as enterprise network management involves four levels of

action–inactive, reactive, proactive, and preemptive. And the solution will

depend on the level of action to be taken.

n User-friendly

Products:
Another point that can be considered is looking for user-friendly

products. There are both point solutions and framework solutions. Depending on

the type of usage, the solution can be procured. A couple of years back big

enterprise frame work vendors like HP and CA were offering total suits, but

today they have also software scaled down to the point solutions. Further point

product companies are offering more capabilities.

n Check on RoI:

Return on investment (RoI) is of utmost importance. And the vendors have

realized this and they have RoI calculators or quick evaluations of network

performance showing quick deliver results. One can ask for the live product demo

and also these parameters.

n Look for

Effective Solution:
The network management model should have the scope for

performance measurement and a tighter functioning of the network. Scalability is

an important consideration. Moreover, the solution should be able to support the

existing and emerging standards. For a network management solution to be

effective, one needs to spend considerable time at the design stage. And one has

to plan the deployment to address the pain areas first.

n Remote

Management Services:
Today, many service providers can offer network

management services through their network operations center (NOC). This NOC has

state-of-the-art NMS implemented for managing large networks of customers.

Outsourced network management services is becoming very popular as it provides

very cost-effective NMS solution with best of breed NMS software and best

technical expertise in the industry. The NOC services also offer SLAs for

network uptime and performance.

n Quality

Support:
Incorporating tools in network management practice, which address

both present and past performance, allows one to have better performance

analyses and being proactive. Go to vendors or integrators who can provide

better support and assistance.

n Documentation

Needed:
Organizations do not realize that network management investments

should focus on the IT operational aspects of organizational, process, and

service development, and so documentation becomes important. These are not

capital expenditures, but would definitely mean a little expenditure.

Market Information

n A

Fragmented Market:
It is now a well-known fact that various tools and

capabilities are required to manage and control security, information resources,

software, storage, device monitoring, traffic congestion, business, and

performance among many things. There are both free tools as well as tools from

leading vendors. There are point solutions and there are framework solutions.

Also since, there are different elements involved, there are different products.

In such a scenario, the market is highly fragmented. Besides products, there are

services too. The Indian market is still at infancy. It would take about another

two-three years before large-scale deployments happen. Nonetheless, there are

deployments for complex management.

n Solutions: A

quick look at the market indicates that product offerings are targeted at

various layers and functions. At the network layer functions handled include

fault monitoring, alarm correlation, fault management, event handling, etc. And

it is controlled by network management platforms. These could be products like

HP Openview that can manage products from different vendors to those like

Enterasys Netsight Atlas, CiscoWorks and Nortel’s Optivity and also act like a

manager of managers for the network to those like CiscoWorks and Nortel’s

Optivity which manage their own products in the networks.

Then, the enterprise layer manages systems management and network management

for functions like QoS, security management, storage management, and fault

measurement.

n Horses for

Courses:
Today, with customer satisfaction and RoI becoming important,

pricing and quick deployment is becoming important. That is why one sees

framework vendors like Computer Associates, Tivoli, and HP moving fast to

address the scenario. CA came up with a modular version of its flagship

Unicenter offering. Now one can purchase modules as they grow. Similarly,

Enterasys has Netsight Atlas targeted at large corporations, midsize companies,

and service providers as part of its solution. HP consolidated its OpenView

offerings by bringing in the TeMIP framework under the OpenView umbrella. With

this consolidated network operations system, one can choose the right modules to

manage both data and voice side of a carrier too. Meanwhile, point product

vendors like Micromuse, Lucent, and Concord offer integrated software for

network, performance and systems management, and integrate out of the box.

n Prices Keep

Varying:
Lucent’s VitalSuite starts at about $50,000. As mentioned

earlier, vendors are carrying integrated software modules for monitoring network

activity, ensuring service-level agreement (SLA) compliance, tracking network

performance, and watching over applications and their transactions. Take for

example the VitalSuite, it consists of VitalNet, VitalAnalysis, VitalHelp,

VitalAgent, AutoMon and Transact Toolkit. Similarly, look at Concord. It eHealth

suite consists of Network Health, Live Health, System Health and Application

Health modules. Most of the vendors have suite of products.

n Market Size:

The market in India is very fragmented. According to IDC, the network and

service management opportunity globally will increase from $3.03 billion in 2001

to $4.94 billion in 2006, at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 10.3

percent.

According to Gartner Dataquest report, global IT spending at the end of 2002

remains in a slump and the enterprise management market remained flat. The

revenue streams for the network and systems management (NSM) vendors were flat

or declining. According to the study, the NSM industry shrunk 5 percent in 2001,

compared to 7 percent growth in 2000.

n License

Revenues Drop:
New license revenue in 2001 was $6.9 billion and IBM was the

only one of the top four vendors–BMC Software, Computer Associates,

Hewlett-Packard and IBM–to see growth. Gartner says IBM grew by starting to

offer management for mainframe database management systems (DBMS). The Gartner

study showed that CA held 6.8 percent of the NSM market in 2001, while BMC

jumped ahead with 8 percent and IBM led the group with 18.8 percent. BMC dropped

26 percent in new license revenue. CA saw new license revenue drop 76 percent.

HP lost 15 percent with its OpenView software portfolio.

EXPERTS

PANEL

Anil

Kumar Jannu,
vice-president

(India and Asia-Pacific), Vinciti Networks
Gururaj

Kanade,
chief

technology officer, Network Solutions
Kallol

Hazra,
practice

principal (telco and NSP), HP Consulting & Integration Services
Sunil

Bhatt,
chief

technology officer, Allied Digital Services
Uday

Birje,
country

manager (India and SAARC), Enterasys Networks



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