Network Management Systems - Essay Example

Network Management Systems al Affiliation) Computer Sciences and Information Technology of a Network Management System from a Vendor Website ROSA Network Management System A network management system refers to the combination of software as well hardware which are used in the monitoring and administration of computer networks and systems. The networks management system plays the role of managing all the networking elements in the computer network and computer systems. The ROSA network management system is a product of Cisco Systems. It falls under their network management and total equipment management products category. The ROSA network management system is responsible for managing equipment as well as network layers in video delivery systems. ROSA NMS is used widely in departments and divisions such as IP Television abbreviated as IPTV, cable, and broadcast networks, and so forth. In the above mentioned applications of the NMS, it helps in accessing the following powerful, and sophisticated capabilities: Instant viewing of the devices statuses in the entire network Controlling of each and every active device in video delivery systems The instantaneous identification of the issues that are critical in the network The ability to automate various recurring tasks The scalability for adapting to the various network features and sizes Attaining of various graphical schematics of a network, as well as access to alarm messages over the network ROSA network management software provides swift, as well as easy-to-understand applications for the following: Management of faults: this happens on-screen. The graphical schematics of the network, as well as the graphical message views make it easy to identify, and diagnose the faults; this helps in identification of where the faults are, and how they can be solved. A repair cycle is also described Alarm correlation – this application of the network management system is achieved by the flexible engines of correlation which make alarm messages simple enough to get response from the people concerned Configuration management – the GUI configuration of the equipment, the networks, and the services, as well as the automatic detection of the new hardware make it easy to set up the network management system for operations Performance management – this comprises of various extensive reports that describe the performance of the equipment, the performance of the networks that the equipment are to be installed into; and the services offered by these equipment; which make it easy to perform diagnostics, and even repairs on the various parts of the system and network Security Management – the various levels of the user access the system offers to the software system make it easy to protect the network from breach by unauthorized people who may be inside the network or be coming from the outside. The Integration of the devices of the Simple Network Management Protocol: this solution offers integration with no software development at all; and even if it is there, it is very little, and therefore makes the whole solution to be very cost effective The add-on extensions, as well as the tasks: the open software architecture usually covers all the aspects of element and network management. Description of the Components that Make Up a Network Management System A Network Management System is generally comprised of software and hardware components which are responsible for direct management of computing and communication hardware, as well as software in a network. These systems can be defined two ways, which are policy based description, and rules based description. Over time, the systems that are rules based have dominated the markets. This kind of the network management systems have simple rule sets of commands which are sent over individual network elements such as routers and switches; each one at a time. The new implementations of the NMS implement approaches that are policy based policy based. Additionally, these kinds of network management systems can also be web-enabled. These policy based network management enables the users to have active management of the resources on the network; which is based on the applications and the users. It needs a new protocols set, as well as a tighter correlation among the managed and the managing devices on the network. Normally, a network management system is restricted by the capabilities that the network management protocols, as well as the data objects use in the representation of the environment being managed. The following are the 4 main components of a network management system: Nodes – these could be quite a number or simply one; which is responsible for executing the software which acts as the agents on its behalf. The agent is not a server, in all respects, but it acts the same way as a server. The agent provides information when a request is made for the same; in this case, it is the responder to requests made on the network management system One or more network management stations - which are the locations on which the solutions for network management execute. These stations are often referred to as managers. The network management station is responsible for retrieving data from agents, depending on the requirements of performing the management functions. The network management station is not a client but it acts as a client. It makes retrievals of information from agents and can use the information, as well. Additionally, the network management station can make the agents to carry out certain actions it may request. A network management protocol is also a component of a network management system – this is used by stations and the agents to format, as well as, to exchange the management messages. Examples of the network management protocols are the Common Management Information (CMI) Protocol, as well as, the Simple Network Management (SNM) Protocol. These protocols are often used in the reference of the whole management system, but actually, they are only responsible for the definition of the protocols of exchange. The other recent protocol is the HTTP protocol which is used in the transportation of management information to client interfaces that are web-based. Management information – this is stored in Management Information Base abbreviated as MIB. Normally, the storage device is usually a disk or maybe a memory. The components of the network management system are related in the following ways: the agents store information (pertinent information) inside their local MIBs. When the management applications that are in the network management stations require data from the agents, they make use of the messages that have been formatted in accordance with the CMIP, and the SNMP protocols, in the exchanging of the responses and the requests they make. Consequently, the data that is retrieved is stored in a station’s MIB and then acted upon by the applications of management. Also, the network can be considered as a component. This is because it gives the paths for information traffic management. Description of the Five Network Management Categories that make Up the Fault, Configuration, Accounting, Performance, Security (FCAPS) model Fault Management Category This refers to the process of the identification and the correction of the problems of the network. These problems of the network are also known as faults. There are different ways in which faults can manifest themselves. For instance, this can happen as equipment or interface failure, or even as errors in transmission. Faults always result in the unexpected downtimes in the systems, the degradation in performance, as well as loss of data. In general, fault conditions require the quickest solutions possible. The most important network management task is the comprehensive management of faults. Tools of fault management are an important part of network management; they increase the level of reliability the network has, through quick identification of faults, as well as, initiation of quick recovery processes in case urgency is of the essence. Configuration Management This refers to the initialization, the modification, as well as the shutdown of the network. When devices are added to networks, or removed or reconfigured, the networks get adjusted. Some of the changes made to a network are often intentional changes, for instance, addition of new servers to a network, or even path related changes such as cutting of fibers between two devices which results in rerouted paths. If in any case, a network has to be turned off, a well defined shutdown process must be followed; this is part of the management process of configuration. The process of management of configuration comprises identification of the components of the network as well as their connections, collection of each of the device’s information of configuration, and the definition of the relationship among all the components of the network. The network manager has to have all the information on the topology of the network, the information on the device configuration, and lastly, information on the control of the components of the network, in order to perform the tasks described above. Performance Management Performance management is all about measurement of the performance of networks and their resources; always in terms of their utilization, their throughput, their error rates, and lastly their response times. With the information on performance management, network managers are able to mitigate problems of network inaccessibility or network overcrowding. This has the benefit of ensuring that the users have a consistent service level, often without the overtaxing of the capacity of links or devices. Accounting Management This aspect involves the tracking of all the individuals who use the network resources; this is done in order to allocate resources, as well as billing for their network usage. This information enables the network manager to be able to allocate appropriate resources to the users, in addition to planning for the growth of the network effectively. With the information, message transmission costs over the network can be calculated and the billing vested upon the user; if in any case the network traffic was indeed revenue bearing. In this type of network accounting management, the network manager has to keep login as well as logoff records, and also check the network usage of every user in order to come up with the bills for each of the users on the network. Additionally, it is easy to establish usage quotas, and access privileges; which can then be checked against the actual bills for accounting information. Security Management This management function deals with the overall network security. This includes protection of the sensitive information on the network. This is done through control of the access points to the information being secured or protected. References Cisco Systems. (2010). ROSA Network Management System. Retrieved May 21, 2012, from Cisco: http://www.cisco.com/en/US/products/ps10152/index.html Media Wiki. (2007, May 16). Enterprise NMS Architectures. Retrieved May 21, 2012, from NMS Wiki: http://nms.gdd.net/index.php/Enterprise_NMS_Architectures Read More