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Introduction
The early 1980s saw tremendous expansion
in the area of network deployment. As companies realized the cost
benefits and productivity gains created by network technology,
they began adding networks and expanding existing networks almost
as rapidly as new network technologies and products were introduced.
By the mid-1980s, growing pains from this expansion were being
felt, especially by those companies that had deployed many different
(and incompatible) network technologies.
The primary problems associated with
network expansion are day-to-day network operation management
and strategic network growth planning. Specifically, each new
network technology requires its own set of experts to operate
and maintain. In the early 1980s, strategic planning for the growth
of these networks became a nightmare. The staffing requirements
alone for managing large, heterogeneous networks created a crisis
for many organizations. Automated network management (including
what is typically called network capacity planning, integrated
across diverse environments, became an urgent need.
This chapter describes technical features
common to most network management architectures and protocols.
It also presents the five functional areas of management as defined
by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO).
Network Management Architecture
Most 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 allowing them to send alerts
when they recognize problems. Problems are recognized when one
or more user-determined thresholds are exceeded. Upon receiving
these alerts, management entities are programmed to react by
executing one, several, or all of a group of actions, including:
Management entities can also poll end
stations to check the values of certain variables. Polling can
be automatic or user initiated. Agents in the managed devices
respond to these polls. Agents are software modules that compile
information about the managed devices in which they reside, store
this information in a management database, and provide it (proactively
or reactively) to management entities within network management
systems 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. A typical network management architecture is
shown in Figure 1.
Figure 1. Typical Network Management Architecture
ISO Network Management Model
The ISO has contributed a great deal
to network standardization. Their network management model is
the primary means for understanding the major functions of network
management systems. This model consists of five conceptual areas:
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Performance Management
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Configuration Management
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Accounting Management
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Fault Management
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Security Management
Performance Management
The goal of performance management is
to measure and make available various aspects of network performance
so that internetwork performance can be maintained at an acceptable
level. Examples of performance variables that might be provided
include network throughput, user response times, and line utilization.
Performance management involves several
steps:
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Gather performance data on those variables of
interest to network administrators.
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Analyze the data to determine normal (baseline)
levels.
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Determine appropriate performance thresholds
for each important variable such that exceeding of these thresholds
indicates a network problem worthy of attention.
Management entities continually monitor
performance variables. When a performance threshold is exceeded,
an alert is generated and sent to the network management system.
Each of the steps just described is part
of the process to set up a reactive system. When performance becomes
unacceptable by virtue of an exceeded user-defined threshold,
the system reacts by sending a message. Performance management
also permits proactive methods. For example, network simulation
can be used to project how network growth will affect performance
metrics. Such simulation can effectively alert administrators
to impending problems, so that counteractive measures can be taken.
Configuration Management
The goal of configuration management
is to monitor network and system configuration information so
that the effects on network operation of various versions of hardware
and software elements can be tracked and managed. Because all
hardware and software elements have operational quirks, flaws,
or both that might affect network operation, such information
is important to maintaining a smooth-running network.
Each network device has a variety of
version information associated with it. For example, an engineering
workstation might be configured as follows:
Configuration management subsystems store
this information in a database for easy access. When a problem
occurs, this database can be searched for clues that might help
solve the problem.
Accounting Management
The goal of accounting management is
to measure network utilization parameters so that individual or
group uses of the network can be regulated appropriately. Such
regulation minimizes network problems (because network resources
can be apportioned out based on resource capacities) and maximizes
the fairness of network access across all users.
As with performance management, the first
step toward appropriate accounting management is to measure utilization
of all important network resources. Analysis of the results provides
insight into current usage patterns. Usage quotas can be set at
this point. Some correction will be required to reach optimal
access practices. From that point on, ongoing measurement of resource
use can yield billing information as well as information used
to assess continued fair and optimal resource utilization.
Fault Management
The goal of fault management is to detect,
log, notify users of, and (to the extent possible) automatically
fix network problems in order to keep the network running effectively.
Because faults can cause downtime or unacceptable network degradation,
fault management is perhaps the most widely implemented of the
ISO network management elements.
Fault management involves several steps:
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Determine problem symptoms.
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Isolate the problem.
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Fix the problem.
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Test the fix on all important subsystems.
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Record the problem's detection and resolution.
Security Management
The goal of security management is to
control access to network resources according to local guidelines
so that the network cannot be sabotaged (intentionally or unintentionally)
and sensitive information cannot be accessed by those without
appropriate authorization. For example, a security management
subsystem can monitor users logging on to a network resource,
refusing access to those who enter inappropriate access codes.
Security management subsystems work by
partitioning network resources into authorized and unauthorized
areas. For some users, access to any network resources is inappropriate.
Such users are usually company outsiders. For other (internal)
network users, access to information originating from a particular
department is inappropriate. For example, access to human resource
files is inappropriate for most users outside the human resource
department.
Security management
subsystems perform several functions:
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Identify sensitive network resources (including
systems, files, and other entities).
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Determine mappings between sensitive network
resources and user sets.
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Monitor access points to sensitive network resources.
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Log inappropriate access to sensitive network
resources
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