Lecture 3: Network
Management Architecture
Florence Nameere Kivunike
Florence.kivunike@mak.ac.ug;
Learning Outcomes
• Components of Network Management
• Explain the terms "manager" and "agent."
• Describe a Management Information Base (MIB)
• State the pros and cons of dedicated management
networks
• Describe the role of a management support
organization (Network Operations Center (NOC))
• Explain the importance and key components of
network documentation.
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Components of Network Management
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NETWORK DEVICES
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Network Devices
• Also referred to as network elements (NEs).
• It requires an interface through which a
managing system can issue & execute
management processes
• A managing system/application plays the role
of a “manager” in charge of the management,
and the network element plays the role of the
“agent” that is queried for management
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Manager-Agent Communication
• The management system
sends a request, while
the managed system
responds
• Similar to a client/server
relationship
• Management
communication is
inherently asymmetrical
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Manager/Agent Vs Client/Server
• Normally in the
client/server paradigm a
small number of servers
must service a large
number of clients.
– E.g. ??
• In network management
large numbers of servers
(agents) serve a small
number of clients
(managers)
– E.g. ??
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Management Agent
• Is a software/application running on the network
elements to implement the management
interface. E.g. routing software on routers
• It is the intermediary between the external
manager and managed device.
• Management agent consists of
– A management interface,
– A management Information Base (MIB), and
– the core agent logic.
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Management Agent (2)
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The Management Interface
• An access interface on the network device - managed device
• It supports a management protocol
– defines the “rules of conversation” for communication between
the managed network element and the managing application.
– It allows the application to open and close a management
session with the network element.
– It allows managing applications to make requests and receive
responses to the network element .
• The management agent can also send unsolicited event
messages to alert the manager of certain occurrences at the
network element, e.g. the unexpected loss of
communication with another network element.
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The Management Information Base
(MIB)
• A conceptual data store
– contains a management view/data of the device being managed.
• Management operations are directed towards this conceptual view.
• a standardized database used to store and organize information about a
network device.
• It provides a structured way for network management systems to collect,
access, and interpret data about the device's configuration, performance,
and status.
• Think of it as a "dictionary" for network management protocols like Simple
Network Management Protocol (SNMP).
• MIBs define the specific data elements (objects) that can be managed and
their attributes, ensuring consistent communication between network
devices and management systems.
• This view is a proxy for the network element that is being managed
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Example - SNMP MIB
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The Core Agent Logic
• Translates between the operation of the
management interface, the MIB, and the
actual device.
– E.g. it translates the request to “retrieve a
counter” into an internal operation that reads out
a device’s hardware register.
• the agent logic must be capable of mapping
the name by which the counter is referred to
in the MIB, to the actual register whose
contents are being requested.
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The Core Agent Logic (2)
• It also handles other management functions
that offload the real time processing required
by management applications.
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Components of Network Management
- Refined
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MANAGEMENT SYSTEM
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The Management System
• The management system is for network management;
it is not a requirement for the network to function.
• Offers network providers with the tools to manage the
network.
• As a manager it consumes the output of the
management interface of the managed system
(network element) in the agent role.
• Serves as a proxy for the real-world organization
responsible for managing the network.
• Should not be affected by disaster on the production
network
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The Management System (2)
• For efficiency reasons, management systems build
their own database in which they cache information
about the managed devices.
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Types of NMS
• On premises –
– on a dedicated server and managed on site,
– allow for better control and customization of
the software to meet specific goals.
– Managing the software internally can require
additional IT staff and resources,
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• Vendor-based –
– accessed as a service,
– the vendor supplies the tools the enterprise
uses to administer and monitor its network.
– Vendor-based NMS can enable a
quicker return on investment,
– but access to the software can be
compromised in the event an outage occurs at
the provider's data center.
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MANAGEMENT NETWORK
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The Management Network
• Supports the interconnection between management
systems and the network elements
• The network element itself is one of the participating
parties in the communication where traffic is terminated
or originated; it is not merely a point of transit.
• A management network and a production network can
be physically separate networks, or they can share the
same physical network.
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Connecting to the Management
Network (1)
• through the network element’s management
port. E.g. a serial port on a router
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Connecting to the Management
Network (2)
• through a terminal server which supports connectivity to multiple
devices
– It acts like an intermediate “switch” between the actual craft terminal
and the network element.
– It has several serial interface ports
– It has a port for the craft terminal to connect to
– It also has an IP address and an ethernet interface to enable remote
connections
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Connecting to the Management
Network (3)
• connecting to a NE through its Ethernet port
– The Ethernet port is not used to route production
traffic; but for device management.
• Or simply use a port that is shared with other
traffic— traffic that does not terminate at the
NE, but that is routed or switched.
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Shared vs. Dedicated Management
Network (In-band vs. Out-of-band
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Discussion
• Discuss the advantages and disadvantages of
dedicated network management
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MANAGEMENT SUPPORT
ORGANIZATION
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The Management Support
Organization - NOC
• The Network management team
• Responsible for making sure that the network
is being run effectively and efficiently.
• The management network supports the
functions of the NOC
• List some of the tasks typical in a NOC
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The Management Support
Organization (2)
• Organization of the unit could be divided in
functional units based on the available tasks
• Must have clearly defined responsibilities,
procedures, and workflows
• As well as organizational interfaces
• Dependencies which might lead to
finger-pointing situations should as much as
possible be avoided.
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Typical Support organization
• Network planning, responsible for analyzing network usage
and traffic patterns, and planning network build out and
service rollout.
• Network operations, responsible for keeping the network
running and monitoring the network for failures.
• Network administration, the only organization allowed to
physically “touch” the network,
– responsible for deploying the network and services on it.
• Customer management, responsible for interacting with the
customers.
– takes orders for new services and provides various forms of customer
support.
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Other NM considerations
• Establishment & documentation of process and
operational policies-
– helps make management of the network consistent
and efficient, and facilitates meeting a consistently
high standard of operations.
– E.g. well-defined escalation procedures to ensure
responsiveness
• Collection of audit trails- Automatically logging
the activities of operations of support
staff—makes it easier to reproduce what
happened and recover from situations in which
human error or omission led to failures.
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Other NM considerations (2)
• Network infrastructure
documentation—Make sure not only the
procedures and policies, but also the
infrastructure is well documented—
• I.e. documentation must be accurate and
up-to-date.
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Other NM considerations (3)
• Reliable backup and restore procedures- This
provides your network operations with an
invaluable lifeline that lets you bring the network
back up in case of disasters and emergencies.
• Security emphasis- Security threats in networking
have received a lot of attention in recent years.
The most significant threat to your network might
not be hackers from the outside, but disgruntled
employees on the inside.
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NETWORK MANAGEMENT
DOCUMENTATION
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Introduction
• What is Network documentation?
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Introduction
• When creating network documentation, you
must keep in mind that
– It is a communication tool;
– The audience - who you are creating the
documentation for
– Quality network documentation does not happen
by accident; it requires careful planning.
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Discussion
• Why is network documentation a vital issue in
network management?
• Imagine that you have just taken over a
network as manager. What kinds of
documentation would you like to see?
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Examples of NM Documentation
• Physical network diagrams
• Logical network diagrams
• Network cabling diagrams or Wiring
schematics
• Policies, procedures and configurations
(Services documentation)
• Regulations
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Physical Network Diagrams
• A physical network diagram shows the physical connections of
network components
– Network devices e.g. printers, hubs, switches, routers, gateways, etc
– details about the devices e.g. hostname, the management IP, and
device model; also include the interfaces
– Cabling information-i.e. physical communication links, including all
cabling, cable grades, cable lengths, WAN cabling, and more.
– Servers - server names and IP addresses, types of servers, and domain
membership.
– location and devices of the WAN network and components
– some user information, e.g. the number of local and remote users.
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Logical Network Diagrams
• A logical network design document demonstrates the
functional inter-relationship abstract from the physical
implementation.
– It shows how the physical components relate and communicate with
each other.
– It doesn’t focus on the network hardware but on how data
flows through that hardware. .
• Typical information includes:
– Subnets - VLAN IDs, Names, Network address and subnet mask
– At least Routers, Firewalls, VPN devices; (Such as DNS servers etc.);
Their IP –addresses; Logical interfaces
– Routing protocol information
– Servers roles i.e. services offered by the different servers
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Example of Physical Network Diagram
https://www.aglt2.org/wiki/AGLT2/NetworkPlanning 42
Example of Logical Network Diagram
https://www.aglt2.org/wiki/AGLT2/NetworkPlanning 43
Physical Network Logical Network
Feature Diagram Diagram
Functional
Physical layout and relationships and data
Focus connections flow
Compon Devices, cables, IP addresses, network
ents physical locations segments, protocols
Understanding network
Visual representation functionality and
Purpose of infrastructure troubleshooting
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Network cabling documentation
• A component of the network diagrams
documentation detailing the network cabling
design.
• Should consider the design of the cabling
layout including, patch panel, patch cords,
racks, switches, cable managers, naming
conventions
• Cabling standards do exist which guide the
design and documentation process
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Structured Cabling Components
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E.g. Horizontal Cabling standard
A. Customer Premises Equipment
B. HC Equipment Cord
C. Patchcords/cross-connect jumpers used in the HC, including equipment
cables/cords, should not exceed 5m (16 ft.).
D. Horizontal cable 90m (295 ft.) max. total
E. Consolidation point (optional)
F. Telecommunications outlet/connector (TO)
G. Work Area (WA) Equipment cord
Note: An allowance is made for WA equipment cords of 5m (16 ft.).
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Structured Cabling Backbone Cabling Horizontal Cabling
It carries the bulk of It is the final link in
data traffic between the structured
the main distribution cabling system and
Purpose frame (MDF) and delivers data, voice,
intermediate and video services
distribution frames to the user's work
(IDFs). area.
Typically run Run horizontally,
vertically, connecting connecting TRs to
Location different floors or work area outlets
buildings within a within a building or
campus or complex. on a floor.
High-capacity Twisted-pair copper
cables, such as fiber cables (e.g., Cat5e
Cable Types optic or cable, Cat6 cable, C
high-pair-count copp at6a cable) or fiber
er cables. optic cables.
Limited to 90 meters
Span longer
(295 feet) from the
Distance Limitations distances than
TRs to the work area
horizontal cabling.
outlet.
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Cable Management Documentation
• Cable management systems include
information about
– each cable, e.g. type of cable, specifications,
color, IP addresses,
– patch panel locations and the applications that
use the connection.
– The route of the cable may be shown on the
floor plan of the facility with all aisles, racks,
cabinets, and other furniture shown and
labeled.
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• Importance of Cabling Standards?
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Policies, procedures and configurations
• Policies are an organization’s documented rules
about what is to be done, or not done, and why.
– They dictate who can and cannot access particular
network resources, server rooms, backup tapes, and
more.
• Procedures describe how tasks are to be
performed.
• Configurations – hardware or software setup
documentation
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Example of a structure for a service
document
• Introduction
– Audience
– Document conventions
– Service setup
– Service goals
• Installation requirements
– Hardware
– Software
– Important issues to note before installation
• Software installation
– Service component 1
– Service component 2
• Service monitoring/troubleshooting
• References
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Regulations
• Regulations are actual legal restrictions with
legal consequences.
• These regulations are set not by the
organizations, but by applicable laws in the
area.
• Improper use of networks and the Internet
can certainly lead to legal violations and
consequences.
• Examples??
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Examples of documentation tools
• Network diagrams software- e.g. Solarwinds,
SmartDraw, QonDoc, LAN Surveyor, NetZoom,
ConceptDraw, Microsoft Visio 2007 etc
• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comparison_of_
network_diagram_software
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References
• Network Management Fundamentals by Alexander Clemm, Cisco Press, 1st
Edition (2006): ISBN – 10: 1587201372. Source:
http://vxr.es/Computers%20-%20Information-Technology/Computer-Tech
nology/Cisco.Press.Network.Management.Fundamentals.Nov.2006.pdf
• CompTIA® Network+ Exam Cram, Third Edition by Mike Harwood, Pearson
Certification (2009): ISBN-10: 0-7686-9034-X. Source:
http://my.safaribooksonline.com/book/certification/networkplus/978076
8690347
• http://searchitchannel.techtarget.com/feature/Channel-Checklist-10-step
s-for-network-documentation
• http://www.crammasteronline.com/data/cmdata/NETPLUSN10004/Books
/ec2_netplus004c10.pdf
• https://www.dnsstuff.com/physical-logical-network-diagram#what-is-a-ph
ysical-vs-logical-network-diagram
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Group Assignment 1
• Imagine that you have been appointed as the new
head of an ICT unit that offers support for the
University IT services including Internet access, Wide
area network, University wide Information systems
(including email services, e-learning system, student
portal, staff portal), and campus computer labs. Your
first task is to design the structure of the support
organization. Suggest any four to five departments
that would provide holistic support for the stated
services. Clearly state the functions of each unit and
justify your choices.
• Assignment is due on XXXXX
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Question One
a) Briefly describe the basic components of network management
b) Compare the manager/agent and client/server paradigms. What are the similarities and differences?
c) Describe what Management Information Bases (MIBs) are about.
d) State the pros and cons of dedicated management networks
e) Describe the role of a Network Operations Center (NOC)
Question Two
Imagine that you have been appointed as the new head of an ICT unit that offers support for the University IT services
including Internet access, Wide area network, Information systems (e.g. email, students, employees, and financial
records), and you the computer labs. Your first task is to design the structure of the support organization. Suggest any
four to five departments that would provide holistic support for the stated services. Clearly state the functions of each
and justify your choices.
Question Three
a) What is network documentation?
b) What are the key benefits of network documentation?
c) Write short notes on each of the following kinds of network documents (include diagrams where applicable).
– Network Topology - the physical and logical network diagram
– IP address management;
– Server rack diagram
– Cloud architecture diagram
– Software and hardware directory
– In your groups, prepare hand-written submissions of not more than 2 pages. - 20 Marks
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