11.2 Management System Evolution

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NMSs started out by providing simple monitoring and alerting functions that helped to ensure that network links were operating properly. Monitoring simply determined whether a link was up or down, while alerting involved displaying or printing a statement that the link was up or down or sending a notification to a technician via e-mail. Specific classes of devices were monitored and controlled by element managers. Each vendor had its own element manager for its products. In general, network and element managers relied on SNMP to troubleshoot problem areas and determine fault locations. These functions worked well with small, relatively simple networks, but as companies added more devices to their networks, they needed a way to collect and prioritize all of this data at a central location so they could better determine what was happening on the network as a whole, rather on individual segments. They also needed more sophisticated capabilities than SNMP alone could provide.

These needs gave rise to central NMSs, such as Hewlett-Packard’s OpenView and IBM’s NetView, which emerged to fill this void. Meanwhile, networks continued to grow larger and more complex, motivating companies to look for ways to lower their management costs. Many found they were supporting two groups of network technicians, one supervising the performance of network devices on the WAN and a second supervising the systems on the LAN. Rather than continue with two management frameworks and data networks and hire people with different skill sets, enterprise IT organizations wanted to consolidate them into one group.

Desktop features, such as asset management, software distribution, license monitoring, and desktop management then became priorities. Now organizations are adding wireless devices to extend their wired networks without having to install cable and turning to the Internet to run business applications at lower cost than private networks. These issues present yet more requirements for NMSs that are only beginning to be addressed by vendors.

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