Chapter 11: Network Management

CCDA Exam Topics Covered in this Chapter:

• Given a network design or a set of requirements evaluate a solution that meets network management needs.

No network design is complete without a network management strategy. After all, even the best-designed internetworks are prone to failure. A well-conceived network management scheme is an essential tool in troubleshooting connectivity and efficiency issues and in identifying potential areas of trouble and preventing major network outages. As networks have become larger, increasingly complex, and business critical, the ability to easily and efficiently manage them cannot be overestimated.

When designing networks, network management is one of the key factors to the network’s overall success. Conversely, a management scheme that is simply dropped into an existing network with little thought to the overall network design can result in many sleepless nights for network support personnel. As with any facet of network design, a well-thought-out management strategy is essential to the overall success of the network. This chapter introduces some of the major factors that should be considered when developing a network management strategy.

This chapter will cover the following topics as they relate to the management of Cisco equipment:

• The benefits derived from industry standard management technologies

• SNMP (Simple Network Management Protocol)

• MIB (Management Information Base)

• RMON (Remote Monitoring)

• CDP (Cisco Discovery Protocol)

• The ISO network management model

• SLM (service-level management)

• Proactive Network Management