INTRODUCTION TO
NETWORK MANAGEMENT
Expectations
1. Explain the term network management
2. Develop a basic sense of what is involved in network
management
3. Explain the importance of network management and
how it impacts cost, revenue, and network availability
4. Recognize the different players and industries that
have an interest in network management, and
understand the different angles from which they
approach the subject
5. Describe some of the challenges posed by network
management, including those that are technical,
organizational, and business
Def:
1. Network management refers to the activities
associated with running a network, along with the
technology required to support those activities.
2. Network management refers to the activities,
methods, procedures, and tools that pertain to the
operation, administration, maintenance, and
provisioning of networked systems.
Network Management Tasks
a) Operation deals with keeping the network (and the services that the network
provides) up and
running smoothly. It includes monitoring the network to spot problems as soon as
possible, ideally before a user is affected.
b) Administration involves keeping track of resources in the network and how they
are assigned. It deals with all the “housekeeping” that is necessary to keep things
under control.
c) Maintenance is concerned with performing repairs and upgrades—for example,
when a line card must be replaced, when a router needs a new operating system
image with a patch, when a new switch is added to the network.
Maintenance also involves corrective and preventive proactive measures such as
adjusting device parameters as needed and generally intervening as needed to
make the managed network run “better.”
d) Provisioning is concerned with configuring resources in the network to support a
given service. For example, this might include setting up the network so that a new
customer can receive voice
The task of running and monitoring a
network(An Organization and Its Network)
The Role of Network Management
What Constitutes Network Management
Network, Systems, and Application
Management
IMPORTANCE OF NETWORK MANAGEMENT
A network is a complex structure that requires a great
deal of attention.
It must be carefully planned. Configurations of network
devices must be modified without adversely affecting the
rest
of the network.
Failures in the network do occur and need to be detected,
diagnosed, and repaired.
Service levels that were guaranteed to customers and end
users—for example, a certain amount of bandwidth—
need to be monitored and ensured
IMPORTANCE OF NETWORK MANAGEMENT
Cont…
COST
QUALITY
REVENUE
COST
One of the main goals of network management is to
make operations more efficient and operators
more productive.
The ultimate goal is to reduce and minimize the total
cost of ownership (TCO) that is associated with the
network.
TCO
Importance of lowering Network Equipment TCO
How does the application of network management tools assist
in increasing operational efficiency and lowering cost?
Network testing and troubleshooting tools. These tools enable
operators to more quickly identify and isolate problems and thereby
free themselves up for other tasks. Automating troubleshooting for
routine problems enables operations personnel to focus on the
really “tough” issues.
Systems that facilitate turn-up of services and automate
provisioning. By automating most of the steps that are required to
enable a service for an end user, fewer operational steps must be
performed by an operator. This also reduces the potential for
human error.
Performance-reporting tools and bottleneck analysis. This enables
service providers to allocate network resources to where they are
needed most, minimizing the required
investment in the network and maximizing the “bang for the buck.”
Reduces the skill level that is required to manage the network. This
reduces investment in training
QUALITY
Quality also includes the reliability and the availability of a
communications service
Misconfigurations, in which some devices or network
parameters are not set up properly, result in lower network
and service availability. They can
be hard to troubleshoot and slow to fix.
Performance trend analysis can help network managers detect
potential network bottlenecks
and take preventive maintenance action before problems
occur and before services and users
are negatively impacted.
Alarm correlation capabilities enable faster identification of
the root cause of observed failures when they occur,
minimizing the time of actual outages
REVENUE( How does safcom outdo its
competitors?)
Network management can also be a revenue enabler that
opens up market opportunities that would not exist without it.
Service provisioning systems enable service providers to
reduce the time that elapses from the time a service is ordered
to the time the service is actually turned up. The capability to
turn up a service quickly translates into quicker time to
revenue generation.
-A management system that automates the complete workflow,
from ordering the service to turning it up, obviously
provides greater speed than workflows that involve human
operators who need to key data into multiple systems
redundantly along various steps of the way
Cost savings made possible through network management
might make certain services feasible in the first place
NETWORK MANAGEMENT STAKEHOLDERS(
Two main categories)
A. Users of network management
1. The service provider.
-service providers are in the business of providing
services to their customers.
2. The Enterprise IT Department
Generating revenue and making money are not
important for the enterprise IT department.
Instead, it is essentially a cost center, so the focus is
on how to provide the communication services the
enterprise needs at the lowest cost possible
Users of network management Cont..
3. The End User
The persons who keep the network running—
(the network managers)
The users of the various management systems and
applications, and who rely on them as tools to get their
jobs done.
Also referred to as Network operators
-Roles:-
Network administrators, network technicians, Help
desks representatives,user support officers, Network
planners e.t.c
B. Network Management Providers
1. The Equipment Vendor- in the business of
selling networking equipment.
Do they provide after sale services?
2. The Third-Party Application Vendor
NETWORK AND NETWORK ELEMENTS
