ISO Network Management Standard

As network management became vital to businesses, ISO developed a standardized framework known as fault, configuration, accounting, performance, and security management (FCAPS). These five functional areas of network management are defined as follows:

• Fault management Detects, isolates, notifies users about, and corrects faults that occur in the network

• Configuration management Tracks and maintains network configuration information, including device inventory, configuration files, and software

• Accounting management Tracks device and network resource usage

• Performance management Monitors and collects performance measurements from network devices and analyzes the information so that network performance can be proactively managed to meet requirements

• Security management Controls and logs access to network resources in support of security polices

FCAPS can serve as a reminder of areas of management that need to be included as you design your network. The following sections introduce you to a wide variety of protocols and tools that are available for network management.