Network Management

Chapter 2
Network Management Model

COMP4690, by Dr Xiaowen Chu, HKBU

Outline
 What is network management?
 Network management vocabulary
 Evolution of network management
 Network implementation design
 ISO network management categories
 Management tools

COMP4690, by Dr Xiaowen Chu, HKBU

What is network management?
 In the early days, network was small and
local
 Network manager’s job includes
 Installation: attach PCs, printers, etc. to LAN
 Configuration: NICs, protocol stack, user app’s
shared printers, etc.
 Testing: Ping was sufficient to “manage” network
 More devices: bridge, router
 Job was manageable
COMP4690, by Dr Xiaowen Chu, HKBU
What is network management?
 Above only deals with configuration
 Ongoing maintenance issues
 How to optimize performance?
 How to handle failures and network changes?
 How to extend network capacity?
 How to account for network usages?
 How to solve network security issues?

COMP4690, by Dr Xiaowen Chu, HKBU

What is network management?
 In the past, the network manager might take
all the responsibilities
 Today the task has divided into specialties:
 Server admin
 System admin
 Network admin
 Security specialist
 Different certifications for these
 Cisco, Novell, Microsoft, Sun, (ISC)2, etc.
COMP4690, by Dr Xiaowen Chu, HKBU
What is network management?
 Today, networks are larger and more complicated, so more
demands on network manager
 How to monitor and control the network effectively and timely?
 Management tools are needed
 Network-based management tools: use the network to manage
the network (remotely)
 To control
 Simple Network Management Protocol (SNMP)
 Management Information Base (MIB)
 Network Management System (NMS)
 To monitor
 Remote Monitor (RMON1)

COMP4690, by Dr Xiaowen Chu, HKBU

What is network management?
Definition by Saydam (in Journal of Networks and System
Management, published in Dec. 1996):
Network management includes the deployment, integration
and coordination of the hardware, software, and human
elements to monitor, test, poll, configure, analyze, evaluate,
and control the network and element resources to meet the
real-time, operational performance, and Quality of Service
requirements at a reasonable cost.
In brief:
Network management is mostly a combination of local and
remote configuration and management with software.
Remote network management is accomplished when one
computer is used to monitor, access, and control the
configuration of other COMP4690,
devices on the network.
by Dr Xiaowen Chu, HKBU
Network management
vocabulary

agent data
managing managed devices contain
data managed device managed objects whose
entity
data is gathered into a
network agent data Management Information
management Base (MIB)
managed device
protocol

agent data
agent data
managed device

managed device

COMP4690, by Dr Xiaowen Chu, HKBU

Network management
vocabulary
 Managed Device
 Devices to be monitored/controlled, e.g., router, switch,
hub, bridge, workstation.
 A managed device may have several managed objects to
be managed
 A software (agent) is installed to provide access to
information/parameters (data) about the device, which is
called Management Information Base (MIB)
 Managing Entity
 Used by the manager/Admin to do network management
 PC, notebook, terminal, etc., installed with a software
called Network Management System (NMS)
 NMS displays/analyzes data from management agents

COMP4690, by Dr Xiaowen Chu, HKBU

Network management
vocabulary
 Network Management Protocol
 Runs between the managing entity and the managed
devices
 The managing entity can query the status of the managed
devices and take actions at the devices via its agents
 Agents can use the protocol to inform the managing entity
of exceptional events
 E.g., SNMP: Simple Network Management Protocol
 Managing agents located at managed devices are
periodically queried by the managing entity through
a network management protocol.
COMP4690, by Dr Xiaowen Chu, HKBU
Network management example
Mgmt
App

Mgmt Mgmt Agent Mgmt

Process Protocol Process Protocol
Presentation Presentation

Session Session

Transport Transport

Network Network

Data Link Data Link

Physical Physical

Managing Entity Managed Device

COMP4690, by Dr Xiaowen Chu, HKBU

Network management example
 To get value of MIB variable from mgmt agent
1. Mgmt app (part of NMS) on managing entity passes
request to mgmt process
2. Mgmt process calls network mgmt protocol (e.g., SNMP)
3. SNMP constructs Get-Request packet and sent it to the
managed device through the network
4. Mgmt agent on managed device receives Get-Request
5. Agent process accesses requested value
6. SNMP constructs Get-Response packet and sent it to
managing entity through the network
7. Mgmt process on managing entity receives response
8. Mgmt process passes data to mgmt app

COMP4690, by Dr Xiaowen Chu, HKBU

Network Management
Overhead
 There is overhead in terms of
 CPU cycles to generate and process
information/packets
 May require dedicated Managing Entity
 Bandwidth usage for sending request and
receiving responses
 A tradeoff between cost and benefit

COMP4690, by Dr Xiaowen Chu, HKBU

Additional Network
Management Capabilities
 For efficiency, multiple values can be
constructed in a single Get-Response packet
 Can traverse MIB in logical order
 Mgmt agent can send unsolicited mssages
 These are known as traps
 E.g., if a device goes down
 Can request info from probes or remote
monitors (RMON)
 Monitoring activity (traffic) on a network segment

COMP4690, by Dr Xiaowen Chu, HKBU

Evolution of Network
Management
 In 1977 International Organization for
Standards (ISO) began work on Open
Systems Interconnection (OSI) reference
model
 Purpose was to “provide a common basis for the
coordination of standards developments for the
purpose of system interconnection, while allowing
existing standards to be placed in perspective
within the overall Reference Model”
 OSI model published in 1984 (7 years!)
COMP4690, by Dr Xiaowen Chu, HKBU
Evolution of Network
Management
 In March 1987, effort to develop Simple
Gateway Monitoring Protocol (SGMP)
 SGMP out by November 1987
 Could “get” and “set” variable values
 About same time Common Mgmt Information
Protocol (CMIP) developed for OSI model
 CMIP is roughly SNMP for the OSI model
 Effort to develop CMIP Over TCP (CMOT) as
alternative to SGMP

COMP4690, by Dr Xiaowen Chu, HKBU

Evolution of Network
Management
 CMIP uses Remote Operations Services
Elements (ROSE)
 ROSE is for communication with distributed apps
in OSI model
 OSI mgmt process is richer and more
comprehensive than that provided by SNMP
 But OSI approach is more complex and took
longer to develop
 SNMP: “keep it simple”, and it’s good enough
 So SNMP won out in practice
COMP4690, by Dr Xiaowen Chu, HKBU
Evolution of Network
Management
 Due to controversy/delays in OSI approach, Internet Activities
Board (IAB) held meeting in 1988
 Decided to pursue both CMOT and SGMP
 Eventually abandoned CMOT (complexity)
 Eventually, three RFCs resulted…
 The three RFCs
 Structure of Management Information (SMI), uses Abstract
Syntax Notation One (ASN.1)
 Management Information Base (MIB), the data structure on the
mgmt agent
 Simple Network Management Protocol (SNMP)
 By 1989, SNMP was the de facto standard for management of
TCP/IP networks

COMP4690, by Dr Xiaowen Chu, HKBU

Evolution of Network
Management
DATE EVENT REFERENCE

1968 ARPA funds development of packet switching networks 1. RFC 1120 Internet Activities Board. V. Cerf.
Sep-01-1989. (Obsoleted by RFC 1160)
2. RFC 1160 Internet Activities Board. V. Cerf.
May-01-1990. (Obsoletes RFC 1120)

1974 TCP/IP concept proposed Cerf V., and R. Kahn, "A Protocol for Packet Network
Interconnection", IEEE Trans. on
Communications, Vol. COM-22, No. 5, pp. 637-
648, May 1974.
[Ref 26]

1976 Ethernet Developed Metcalfe, R., and D. Boggs, "Ethernet: Distributed

Packet for Local Computer Networks",
Communications of the ACM, Vol. 19, No. 7,
pp. 395-404, July 1976.

1978 OSI Reference Model Development Initiated

COMP4690, by Dr Xiaowen Chu, HKBU

Evolution of Network
Management
1983 OSI Reference Model becomes international standard ISO/IEC 7498 (CCITT X.200) [Ref 1]

1987 SGMP development started [Ref 24]

ASN.1 developed ISO 8824, Parts 1-4

1988 IAB initiates study of SGMP and CMIP Interim RFC 1028 (SNMPv1)
SNMPv1 becomes Interim Draft Standard Draft RFC 1098 (SNMPv1)
SNMPv1 becomes Draft Standard Draft RFC 1065 (SMI)
IAB initiates development of Internet Standard Network Draft RFC 1066 (MIB I) [Ref 10]
Management Framework (SMI)
Draft Standard MIB I developed

1989 CMOT approach abandoned

SNMP becomes the defacto standard for TCP/IP management

1990 SMI becomes Recommended Standard RFC 1165 (SMI)

SNMPv1 becomes Recommended Standard RFC 1157 (SNMP) [Ref 3]
MIB I becomes Recommended Standard RFC 1156 (MIB I) [Ref 11]

1991 MIB II RFC 1213 (MIB II)

RMON1 RFC 1271 (RMON I) [Ref 12]

COMP4690, by Dr Xiaowen Chu, HKBU

Evolution of Network
Management
1993 SNMPv2 Proposed RFC 1441(SNMPv2 Management Framework
SNMPv2 Security RFC 1446(SNMPv2 Security Protocols
SNMPv2 MIB RFC 1450 (SNMPv2 MIB)
SNMPv2 SMI RFC 1442 SNMPv2 Structure of Management
Information

1995 RMON I RFC 1757 [Ref 13]

1997 RMON II RFC2021

1998 Desktop Management Interface (DMI) Specification v 2.0s 1. [Link]

Web-based Management Initiative 2. Network Computing, Feb 2001, p57
[Link]

1999 SNMPv2 Management Frameworks RFC 2571

SNMPv3 Security RFC 2574 (User-based Security Model)

2002 SNMP Management Frameworks RFC 3411, STD 62

SNMPv3 Security RFC 3414 (User-based Security Model),
SNMP VACM STD 62
SNMP MIB RFC 3415 (View-based Access Control Model), STD
62
RFC 3418, STD 62

COMP4690, by Dr Xiaowen Chu, HKBU

2004

Web SNMPv3
2000 Based
Mgmt DMI

RMON 2

1996

SNMPv2 MIB SNMPv2 RMON 1

1992
MIB 2

CMOT SMI MIB1

SGMP & CMIP SNMPv1
1988
SGMP

1984
OSI

Reference

1980 Model

Development

1976 Ethernet

TCP/IP

1972

Packet Switching
1968 (ARPA)

COMP4690, by Dr Xiaowen Chu, HKBU

1964
Network Implementation
Strategy Design
 ISO defines five network management categories
 Network implementation design is “like a 6th
category”
 Good design makes management easier
 Small network: a single LAN
 For example, CS dept at HKBU
 Medium network: a few LANs
 E.g., the campus network of HKBU
 Large network: geographically distributed
 Wide-area network
COMP4690, by Dr Xiaowen Chu, HKBU
Network Implementation
Strategy Design

Router Router
Rou ter Switch
Switch

WAN

LAN

LAN

COMP4690, by Dr Xiaowen Chu, HKBU

Network Implementation
Strategy Design
Category Issues

Geographical Distribution 1. Office

• Subnets
• LAN
1. Department (many offices)
• Subnets
 LAN
1. Division ( many departments)
 LAN
 WAN
1. Organization ( many divisions)
 Local
 LAN
 MAN
 WAN
 National
 WAN
• Global
• WAN

COMP4690, by Dr Xiaowen Chu, HKBU

Network Implementation
Strategy Design
Subnets • How many
 Connectivity
 Bridges
 Switches
 Routers
• Ethernet
 Wireless
• Number of receivers
 10BASET
• Location of hub(s)
 10BASE2
 10BASE5
 How many IP addresses
 Static addresses
 Addresses supplied by DHCP

COMP4690, by Dr Xiaowen Chu, HKBU

Network Implementation
Strategy Design
LAN [Link] many
[Link] names
[Link] (Domain Name Service) configuration
[Link] address
[Link]
How many
[Link]
Switched Ethernet
Router
[Link]
[Link] Ring
[Link] (Fiber Distributed Data Network)

MAN (Metropolitan Area Network) [Link] between LANs

FDDI
SONET(Synchronous Optical Network)
LAN
ATM
SMDS ( Switched Multi-megabit Data Service)
DQDB (Dual Queue Dual Bus)
Ethernet

COMP4690, by Dr Xiaowen Chu, HKBU

Network Implementation
Strategy Design
WAN 1. Connectivity between LANs or MANs
 PSTN
 X.25
 TI-T3
 SONET
 Frame Relay
 SMDS
 ATM
 Distribution of services

COMP4690, by Dr Xiaowen Chu, HKBU

Network Implementation
Strategy Design
Bandwidth Requirements 1. Video Bandwidth
 Constant
 Time Dependent
 Bandwidth on Demand
1. Audio Bandwidth
 Constant
 Time Dependent
 Bandwidth on Demand
1. Teleconferencing Bandwidth

Media Requirements 1. Cable

2. Wireless
3. Microwave
4. Satellite
5. Optical Fiber

Technology 1. What is available now

2. Minimum required for the job
3. Technology improvements during next 5 years
4. Required to support expected growth

COMP4690, by Dr Xiaowen Chu, HKBU

Network Implementation
Strategy Design
Service Level Agreements (SLA) 1. Specified bandwidth available at any time
2. Specified bandwidth available during specified time periods
3. Bandwidth on demand

Security Requirements 1. Location of firewalls

2. Firewall capabilities
3. Location of proxy servers
4. Encryption and authentication needs
5. Network Intrusion Detectors (NID)

Budget 1. To support resources of optimum network

2. To support resources of minimum network

COMP4690, by Dr Xiaowen Chu, HKBU

Network Management
Categories
CATEGORY METRICS

Reliability  Transmission error rates

 Dropped packets
 Link failures

Faults  Proactive prevention

 Detection
 Location
 Correction time

Availability  Mean time between failures (MTBF) of network

Performance  Time to provide a response to the user

 Processor total use
 Processor interrupts/sec
 Processor queue length
 Transmit packet lengths

COMP4690, by Dr Xiaowen Chu, HKBU

Network Management
Categories
Throughput  Bytes per second that a user can expect to transmit reliably.
 Guaranteed throughput based on Service Level Agreement (SLA)

Data • Packet throughput

Voice  Ordered packet throughput

Video  Link bandwidth

 Bandwidth on demand

Use  Packets/sec
 Transactions/sec

Resource Use  Application software

 Network devices
 Services
 Permanent storage
 CPU

COMP4690, by Dr Xiaowen Chu, HKBU

Network Management
Categories
CATEGORY METRICS
Policies  Traffic
• What's Critical
• How many network control packets
 Which threshold alarms
 Alerts on what events
• What's Non-critical
 Backup-what and how often
• Application testing
• Software upgrades-how often
• Administration
• Type of service availability required
• Security level required
 Firewall protection requirements
 Network Intrusion Detection needs
• Number of Software License requirements
 User rights requirements and how distributed among which users.
Redundancy • Number of redundant systems required
• Critical alternate paths
User Support  Automatic responses to user questions about procedures
 Automatic responses to user questions about network problems
 Automatic reporting of problems and solutions to users and to a database

COMP4690, by Dr Xiaowen Chu, HKBU

ISO Network Management
Categories
 Performance Management
 Fault Management
 Configuration Management
 Security Management
 Accounting Management

COMP4690, by Dr Xiaowen Chu, HKBU

Performance Management
 Concerned with
 Response time
 Utilization
 Error rates, etc.
 Must collect and analyze data
 Number and type of packets
 Might also rely on simulations

COMP4690, by Dr Xiaowen Chu, HKBU

Performance Management Sub-Categories
Collecting Baseline Utilization Data  Measuring link utilization using a probe
• Counting packets received/transmitted by a specific device
• Measuring device processor usage
 Monitoring device queue lengths
 Monitoring device memory utilization
 Measuring total response times
Collecting a History of Utilization • Measuring utilization and response times at different times of the day
Data  Measuring utilization and response times on different days over an extended period
Capacity Planning • Manually graphing or using a network management tool to graph utilization as a
function of time to detect trends
• Preparing trend reports to document projected need for and the cost of network
expansion.
Setting Notification Thresholds • Having a network management tool poll devices for values of critical parameters and
graphing these values as a function of time
 Setting polling intervals
• Setting alarms/alerts on those parameters when the threshold is reached or a
percentage of it is reached
 Initiating an action when the threshold is reached such a sending a message to the
network manager.
Building Databases • Having the network management tool create a database of records containing device
name, parameter, threshold and time for off-line analysis.
 Using the database to extract time dependence of utilization
 Using the time dependence of parameters to decide when network upgrades will be
necessary to maintain performance
Running Network Simulations • Using a simulation tool to develop a model of the network
 Using the model’s parameters and utilization data to optimize network performance
Latency • Query/Response
COMP4690, bytime intervalChu, HKBU
Dr Xiaowen
Fault Management
 Preventions, detection and isolation of
abnormal behavior
 May be caused by malfunction, cable issue, the
janitor, etc.
 Traffic, trends, connectivity, etc.
 SNMP polls
 Alarms for automatic fault detection
 Monitor statistics
 Timeliness, etc.
COMP4690, by Dr Xiaowen Chu, HKBU
 Fault Management Sub-categories
Prioritization  Prioritize faults in the order in which they should be addressed
• Use in-band management packets to learn about important faults
• Identify which fault events should cause messages to be sent to the manager
 Identify which devices should be polled and at what intervals
• Identify which device parameter values should be collected and how often
• Prioritize which messages should be stored in the manager’s database
Timeliness Required • Management Station is passive and only receives event notifications
 Management Station is active and polls for device variable values at required intervals
 Application periodically requests a service from a service provider
Physical Connectivity Testing  Using a cable tester to check that links are not broken
Software Connectivity Testing  Using an application that makes a request of another device that requires a response.
 The most often application for this is [Link]. It calls the Internet Control Message
Protocol ( ICMP) which sends periodic Echo Request messages to a selected device on
a TCP/IP network
 Application on one device makes a request of an application on another device
Device Configuration • Devices are configured conservatively to minimize chances of dropped packets.
SNMP Polls  Devices are periodically polled to collect network statistics
Fault Reports Generated • Thresholds configured and alarms generated
• Text media used for report
• Audio media used for report
• A color graphical display used to show down devices
 Human manager is notified by pager
Traffic Monitored • Remote Monitors used
 Protocol analyzers used
• Traps sent to Network Management Station
• Device statistics monitored
COMP4690, by Dr Xiaowen Chu, HKBU
Trends  Graphical trends generated to identify potential faults
Configuration Management
 Device configuration
 May be done locally or remotely
 Network configuration
 Sometimes called “capacity mgmt”
 Critical to have sufficient capacity
 Desirable to automate as much as possible
 For example, DHCP and DNS
 Extensions to SNMP MIB
COMP4690, by Dr Xiaowen Chu, HKBU
Configuration Management Sub-categories

Configuration  Choice of medium access protocol

(Local)  Choice of correct cabling and connectors
• Choice of cabling layout
 Determining the number of physical interfaces on devices
 Setting device interface parameter values
 Interrupts
 I/O Addresses
 DMA numbers
 Network layer addresses (e.g. IP, NetWare, etc)
 Configuration of multiport devices (e.g. hubs, switches and routers)
 Use of the Windows Registry
 Comparing current versus stored configurations
 Checking software environments
 SNMP service
Configuration (Remote) • From the network management station
• Disabling device ports
• Redirecting port forwarding
• Disabling devices
• Comparing current versus stored configurations
• Configuring routing tables
• Configuring security parameters such as community strings and user names
• Configuring addresses of management stations to which traps should be sent
 Verifying integrity of changes

COMP4690, by Dr Xiaowen Chu, HKBU

Configuration Management Sub-categories

Configuration • Using the Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP) to configure IP addresses
(Automated) • Using Plug and Play enabled NICs for automatic selection of interrupts and I/O addresses
• Domain Name Services (DNS) addresses
• Trap messages from agents

Inventory • Maintaining records of cable runs and the types of cables used
(Manual) • Maintaining device configuration records
 Creating network database containing for each device:
• Device types
 Software environment for each device
 operating systems
 utilities
• drivers
• applications
 versions
 configuration files (.ncf, .ini, .sys)
• vendor contact information
• IP address
• Subnet address
Inventory  Auto-discovery of devices on the network using an NMS
(Automated)  Auto-determination of device configurations using an NMS
• Creation of a network database
 Auto-mapping of current devices to produce a network topological map
 Accessing device statistics using an NMS and the Desktop Management Protocol
COMP4690, by Dr Xiaowen Chu, HKBU
Security Management
 Control access to network/resources
 Authentication: who goes there?
 Authorization: are you allowed to do that?
 Firewalls
 Intrusion detection systems (IDS)
 Notification of (attempted) breaches, etc.
 Critical to always authenticate participants
 SNMPv1 has very little security
 SNMPv3 has lots of security built in
COMP4690, by Dr Xiaowen Chu, HKBU
 Security Management Sub-categories
Applying Basic • Identifying hosts that store sensitive information
Techniques • Management of passwords
• Assigning user rights and permissions
• Recording failed logins
 Setting remote access barrier codes
• Employing virus scanning
• Limiting views of the Enterprise network
 Tracking time and origin of remote accesses to servers
Identifying Access  Electronic Mail
Methods Used • File Transfer
 Web Browsing
• Directory Service
 Remote Login
 Remote Procedure Call
 Remote Execution
• Network Monitors
• Network Management System
Using Access Control • Encryption
Methods • Packet filtering at routers
• Packet filtering at firewalls
• Source host authentication
 Source user authentication
Maintenance  Audits of the activity at secure access points
• Executing security attack programs (Network Intrusion Detection)
• Detecting and documenting breaches
Accessing Public Data • No restrictions - hosts are responsible for securing all access points
Networks • Limited access - only some hosts can interface with the Public Data Network using a proxy server
Using an Automated  Queries the configuration database to identify all access points for each device.
Security Manager  Reads event logs and notes security-related events.
• COMP4690,
Security Manager shows a securityby Dr Xiaowen
event Chu, map.
on the network HKBU
• Reports of invalid access point attempts are generated daily for analysis
Accounting Management
 Measuring the usage of network resources in
order to distribute costs and resources
 E.g., monitoring the use of a server by users
in a specific department and charging the
department accordingly

COMP4690, by Dr Xiaowen Chu, HKBU

Accounting Management Sub-categories

Gather Network Device Utilization  Measure usage of resources by cost center

Data • Set quotas to enable fair use of resources
 Site metering to track adherence to software licensing

Bill Users of Network Resources • Set charges based on usage.

 Measure one of the following
 Number of transactions
 Number of packets
• Number of bytes
• Set charges on direction of information flow

Use and Accounting Management  Query usage database to measure statistics versus quotas
Tools  Define network billing domains
• Implement automatic billing based on usage by users in the domain
 Enable billing predictions
 Enable user selection of billing domains on the network map

Reporting  Create historical billings trends

 Automatic distribution of billing to Cost Centers
• Project future billings by cost center

COMP4690, by Dr Xiaowen Chu, HKBU

Management Tools
Company Product URL Comments
Apptitude Meterware/ [Link] NMS used in this book. Is a complete SNMPv1 tool. It is
(HiFn) Analyzer only available with the book. Apptitude was a leader
in SNMP management software and hardware for
many years. HiFn develops integrated circuits for
encryption.
SNMP Research  EnterPol [Link] EnterPol is a NMS. CIAgent is an agent. CIAgent is a free
Internation  CIAgent download. SNMPv3 Wizard is an agent
al  SNMPv3 configuration tool. The company has many other
Wizard products. The company has been a leader in the
SNMP field
Castlerock SnmpC [Link] The Work Group Edition 5.1 is appropriate for small
networks It supports SNMPv3, as does the
Enterprise edition that provides other capabilities.
Cost of the Work Group Edition is $995.00 The
company has been a leader in the SNMP field
Solar Winds Engineers Edition [Link] Provides a number of management tools ranging in price
from $145 to $1995. The $1995.00 package is Web-
enabled. The Engineers Edition at $995.00 looks like
the most attractive for users of this book in that it
contains most of the features of the HiFn Ama;uzer.
MG-SOFT Net Inspector Lite [Link] Net Inspector Lite is $495.00. It looks like a good choice
for readers of this book. MG-SOFT provides many
other more comprehensive products and products
can be enhanced by proxy front-end modules. There
are also products that support SNMPv3
COMP4690, by Dr Xiaowen Chu, HKBU
Management Tools
Triticom LANdecoder [Link] LANdecoder SNMP Manager is a simple, easy to use
SNMP SNMP Manager for Microsoft Windows
Manager environment. With it, you can query and control any
SNMP-capable device on your network. It can
operate standalone or be integrated with Triticom’s
LANdecoder 32 V 3.2., a network analyzer. The
price of LANdecoder SNMP manager is $995.00

Finisar Shomiti Surveyor [Link] Shomiti Systems is now part of Finisar. The Surveyor
product is a comprehensive network hardware
manager. A free download is available.

Acterna Link View Classic [Link] A software based network analyzer at a price of $995.00.
7.2 Includes a traffic generator. Excellent graphics Also
available is Advanced Ethernet Adapter which
provides promiscuous capture of packets. Price is
then $2700.00.

COMP4690, by Dr Xiaowen Chu, HKBU

Management Tools
Company Product URL Comments

Network Observer 8 [Link] Supports Ethernet, Token Ring, FDDI, GigaBit and
Instrument ml Windows 98/ME and NT/2000/XP. Includes capture
s for protocol analysis. Price is $995.00

Precision LANwatch32 v6.0 [Link] Described to be an easy-to-use command-line application

Guesswork ml that allows you to GET a variable, SET a variable,
get the NEXT variable, or even get all the variables.
Provides programs for receiving ALERTS, as well as
a simple monitoring program that allows you to tell
if your hosts are SNMP reachable, IP reachable, or
not reachable. Allows you to remotely monitor,
gather and change networking information from
hosts on your network. Enables you to diagnose
existing problems on the network, predict where
problems are likely to occur, pinpoint faulty routers
and interfaces, and, in general, exert control over
your network.

Cisco Small Network [Link] Cisco produces many network management products.
Managemen /wr2k/wrsnms/ These products seem most appropriate for audience
t of this book.
LAN Management
[Link]
/wr2k/lnmn/

COMP4690, by Dr Xiaowen Chu, HKBU

Management Tools
3COM Network [Link] This free package can be downloaded from this site. Other
Supervisor [Link]?tab=features&pathtype= packages are available from this site also.
3.5
purchase&sku=3C15100C

Computer Unicenter Network [Link] This is the basic network infrastructure management
Associates and Systems ID=2846 package. There are add-on applications available
Manager 3.0 such as a performance application

Enterasys NetSight [Link] Element Manager is the basic network management

Element Mgr. EM/ package. Policy Manager incorporates the business
NetSight [Link] model into the management process
Policy Mgr. IGHT-PM/

Sunrise Telecom LAN Explorer [Link] A comprehensive NMS, comparable to Analyzer but also
ware/[Link] containing packet capture and analysis capabilities.
$799.00 per license.

COMP4690, by Dr Xiaowen Chu, HKBU

Management Tools
Company Product URL Comments
HP Toptools [Link] Toptools is a comprehensive hardware management
[Link] product. It has many plug-ins for specific hardware.
All its features can be integrated into your enterprise
management platforms such as hp OpenView
Network Node Manager, Microsoft SMS, CA
Unicenter TNG, IBM Tivoli Enterprise Management
and Tivoli NetView
IBM Tivoli Netview 7.1 [Link] This comprehensive management product also correlates
tview/ and manages events for systematic management of
faults.
Groupe Bull S. A. Openmaster SLM [Link] Monitoring and control functions encompass systems
EVIOIAN (A management, network management, and application
Bull management, and it can manage software
Company) configurations, hardware assets and batch
production. It also works at a higher level,
addressing the underlying business needs in a
business-oriented way, to provide measurable
business value.
Compuware Network Vantage [Link] Formerly called Ecoscope, monitors network performance
ntage/networkvantage/ by monitoring protocol and application traffic. Par of
a suite called Vantage
NetScout nGenius Real Time [Link] Real time voice, video and data traffic. Part of the nGenius
Monitor tm Suite.

Nortel Optivity 6.0 [Link] Optivity Network Management System is a

Network s/01/optivity/net_mgmt/[Link] comprehensive network management solution.
Managemen Its key features include fault management,
t System performance analysis, reporting, and access
level security
BGS Patrol Connect [Link] There are many Patrol products by BGS. Connect SNMP
COMP4690, by Dr Xiaowen Chu, HKBU
SNMP [Link]?id=7263 seems the most appropriated for this book. BGS
products cover all aspects of network management.
Network Management
Configuration
LAN 1
Hub
 Centralized vs Node 1
Agent
WS
Agent
Probe
Agent

distributed NMS
Router
Agent

 Centralized Backbone Node

configuration WS Router Probe WS Router Probe

Agent Agent Agent Agent Agent Agent

LAN 2 LAN 3

Node 2 Node 3

Probe = Remote Monitor

NMS = Network Management System
WS = Workstation

COMP4690, by Dr Xiaowen Chu, HKBU

 Network Management
Configuration
 Centralized configuration
 One management station hosts NMS
 Remote monitors/probes on LAN segments
 Advantage: NMS has complete view
 Disadvantage: single point of failure

COMP4690, by Dr Xiaowen Chu, HKBU

Network Management
Configuration
 Distributed LAN 1

configuration Hub
Agent
WS
Agent
Probe
Agent
NMS

Router Node 1
Agent NMS
Backbone

WS Router Probe NMS WS Router Probe NMS

Agent Agent Agent Agent Agent Agent

LAN 2 Node 2 LAN 3 Node 3

Probe = Remote Monitor

NMS = Network Management System
WS = Workstation
-------- = In-band or out-of band
management communication
COMP4690, by Dr Xiaowen Chu, HKBU
Network Management
Configuration
 Distributed configuration
 Each LAN has its own management station and
a simple NMS
 One mgmt station/NMS manages the backbone
and coordinates local NMSs
 Advantage: robust in case of failure
 Disadvantage: complexity, coordination

COMP4690, by Dr Xiaowen Chu, HKBU

References
 J. Richard Durke, Network Management,
Concepts and Practice: A Hands-on
Approach, Prentice Hall, 2004.
 J. F. Kurose and K. W. Ross, Computer
Networking: A Top-Down Approach Featuring
the Internet, 3nd Edition, Prentice Hall, 2005.

COMP4690, by Dr Xiaowen Chu, HKBU