Network Management Fundamentals, 1st edition

Published by Cisco Press (November 21, 2006) © 2007

  • Alexander Clemm
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Network Management Fundamentals

A guide to understanding how network management technology really works

Alexander Clemm, Ph.D.

Network management is an essential factor in successfully operating a network. As a company becomes increasingly dependent on networking services, keeping those services running is synonymous with keeping the business running. Network Management Fundamentals provides you with an accessible overview of network management covering management not just of networks themselves but also of services running over those networks.

Network Management Fundamentals explains the different technologies that are used in network management and how they relate to each other. The book focuses on fundamental concepts and principles. It provides a solid technical foundation for the practitioner to successfully navigate network management topics and apply those concepts to particular situations.

The book is divided into four parts:

  • Part I provides an overview of what network management is about and why it is relevant. It also conveys an informal understanding of the functions, tools, and activities that are associated with it.
  • Part II examines network management from several different angles, culminating in a discussion of how these aspects are combined into management reference models.
  • Part III provides more detail into different building blocks of network management introduced in Part II, such as management protocols, management organization, and management communication patterns. 
  • Part IV rounds out the book with a number of management topics of general interest, including management integration and service-level management.

Dr. Alexander Clemm is a senior architect with Cisco®. He has been involved with integrated management of networked systems and services since 1990. He has provided technical leadership for many leading-edge network management development, architecture, and engineering efforts from original conception to delivery to the customer, and he has also served as technical program co-chair of the 2005 IFIP/IEEE International Symposium on Integrated Network Management.

  • Grasp the business implications of network management
  • Examine different management reference models, such as Fault, Configuration, Accounting, Performance, and Security (FCAPS)
  • Understand the building blocks of network management and their purposes
  • Assess the implications and impact of management technologies and put them in perspective
  • Prepare for decisions about network management that require an understanding of the “big picture”

This book is part of the Cisco Press® Fundamentals Series. Books in this series introduce networking professionals to new networking technologies, covering network topologies, example deployment concepts, protocols, and management techniques.

Category: Networking

Covers: Network Management

Introduction

Part I Network Management: An Overview

Chapter 1 Setting the Stage

Defining Network Management

Analogy 1: Health Care—the Network, Your Number One Patient

Analogy 2: Throwing a Party

A More Formal Definition

The Importance of Network Management: Many Reasons to Care

Cost

Quality

Revenue

The Players: Different Parties with an Interest in Network Management

Network Management Users

Network Management Providers

Network Management Complexities: From Afterthought to Key Topic

Technical Challenges

Organization and Operations Challenges

Business Challenges

Chapter Summary

Chapter Review

Chapter 2 On the Job with a Network Manager

A Day in the Life of a Network Manager

Pat: A Network Operator for a Global Service Provider

Chris: Network Administrator for a Medium-Size Business

Sandy: Administrator and Planner in an Internet Data Center

Observations

The Network Operator’s Arsenal: Management Tools

Device Managers and Craft Terminals

Network Analyzers

Element Managers

Management Platforms

Collectors and Probes

Intrusion Detection Systems

Performance Analysis Systems

Alarm Management Systems

Trouble Ticket Systems

Work Order Systems

Workflow Management Systems and Workflow Engines

Inventory Systems

Service Provisioning Systems

Service Order–Management Systems

Billing Systems

Chapter Summary

Chapter Review

Chapter 3 The Basic Ingredients of Network Management

The Network Device

Management Agent

Management Information, MOs, MIBs, and Real Resources

Basic Management Ingredients—Revisited

The Management System

Management System and Manager Role

A Management System’s Reason for Being

The Management Network

Networking for Management

The Pros and Cons of a Dedicated Management Network

The Management Support Organization: NOC, NOC, Who’s There?

Managing the Management

Inside the Network Operations Center

Chapter Summary

Chapter Review

Part II Management Perspectives

Chapter 4 The Dimensions of Management

Lost in (Management) Space: Charting Your Course Along Network Management Dimensions

Management Interoperability: “Roger That”

Communication Viewpoint: Can You Hear Me Now?

Function Viewpoint: What Can I Do for You Today?

Information Viewpoint: What Are You Talking About?

The Role of Standards

Management Subject: What We’re Managing

Management Life Cycle: Managing Networks from Cradle to Grave

Planning

Deployment

Operations

Decommissioning

Management Layer: It’s a Device... No, It’s a Service... No, It’s a Business

Element Managment

Network Management

Service Management

Business Management

Network Element

Additional Considerations

Management Function: What’s in Your Toolbox

Management Process and Organization: Of Help Desks and Cookie Cutters

Chapter Summary

Chapter Review

Chapter 5 Management Functions and Reference Models: Getting Organized

Of Pyramids and Layered Cakes

FCAPS: The ABCs of Management

F Is for Fault

C Is for Configuration

A Is for Accounting

P Is for Performance

S Is for Security

Limitations of the FCAPS Categorization

OAM&P: The Other FCAPS

FAB and eTOM: Oh, Wait, There’s More

How It All Relates and What It Means to You: Using Your Network Management ABCs

Chapter Summary

Chapter Review

Part III Management Building Blocks

Chapter 6 Management Information: What Management Conversations Are All About

Establishing a Common Terminology Between Manager and Agent

MIBs

The Managed Device as a Conceptual Data Store

Categories of Management Information

The Difference Between a MIB and a Database

The Relationship Between MIBs and Management Protocols

MIB Definitions

Of Schema and Metaschema

The Impact of the Metaschema on the Schema

A Simple Modeling Example

Encoding Management Information

Anatomy of a MIB

Structure of Management Information—Overview

An Example: MIB-2

Instantiation in an Actual MIB

Special MIB Considerations to Address SNMP Protocol Deficits

Modeling Management Information

Chapter Summary

Chapter Review

Chapter 7 Management Communication Patterns: Rules of Conversation

Layers of Management Interactions

Transport

Remote Operations

Management Operations

Management Services

Manager-Initiated Interactions—Request and Response

Information Retrieval—Polling and Polling-Based Management

Configuration Operations

Actions

Management Transactions

Agent-Initiated Interactions: Events and Event-Based Management

Event Taxonomy

The Case for Event-Based Management

Reliable Events

On the Difference Between “Management” and “Control”

Chapter Summary

Chapter Review

Chapter 8 Common Management Protocols: Languages of Management

SNMP: Classic and Perennial Favorite

SNMP “Classic,” a.k.a. SNMPv1

SNMPv2/ SNMPv2c

SNMPv3

CLI: Management Protocol of Broken Dreams

CLI Overview

Use of CLI as a Management Protocol

syslog: The CLI Notification Sidekick

syslog Overview

syslog Protocol

syslog Deployment

Netconf: A Management Protocol for a New Generation

Netconf Datastores

Netconf and XML

Netconf Architecture

Netconf Operations

Netflow and IPFIX: “Check, Please,” or, All the Data, All the Time

IP Flows

Netflow Protocol

Chapter Summary

Chapter Review

Chapter 9 Management Organization: Dividing the Labor

Scaling Network Management

Management Complexity

Management Hierarchies

Management Styles

Management Mediation

Mediation Between Management Transports

Mediation Between Management Protocols

Mediation of Management Information at the Syntactic Level

Mediation of Management Information at the Semantic Level

Stateful Mediation

Chapter Summary

Chapter Review

Part IV Applied Network Management

Chapter 10 Management Integration: Putting the Pieces Together

The Need for Management Integration

Benefits of Integrated Management

Nontechnical Considerations for Management Integration

Different Perspectives on Management Integration Needs

The Equipment Vendor Perspective

Integration Scope and Complexity

Management Integration Challenges

Managed Domain

Software Architecture

Quantifying Management Integration Complexity

Approaches to Management Integration

Adapting Integration Approach and Network Provider Organization

Platform Approach

Custom Integration Approach

Containing Complexity of the Managed Domain

Chapter Summary

Chapter Review

Chapter 11 Service Level Management: Knowing What You Pay For

The Motivation for Service Level Agreements

Identification of Service Level Parameters

Significance

Relevance

Measurability

Defining a Service Level Agreement

Definition of Service Level Objectives

Tracking Service Level Objectives

Dealing with Service Level Violations

Managing for a Service Level

Decomposing Service Level Parameters

Planning Networks for a Given Service Level

Service Level Monitoring—Setting Up Early Warning Systems

Service Level Statistics—It’s Fingerpointin’ Good

Chapter Summary

Chapter Review

Chapter 12 Management Metrics: Assessing Management Impact and Effectiveness

Network Management Business Impact

Cost of Ownership

Enabling of Revenues

Network Availability

Trading Off the Benefits and Costs of Network Management Investments

Factors that Determine Management Effectiveness

Managed Technology—Manageability

Management Systems and Operations Support Infrastructure

Management Organization

Assessing Network Management Effectiveness

Management Metrics to Track Business Impact

Management Metrics to Track Contribution to Management Effectiveness

Developing Your Own Management Benchmark

Assessing and Tracking the State of Management

Using Metrics to Direct Management Investment

Chapter Summary

Chapter Review

Part V Appendixes

Appendix A Answers to Chapter Reviews

Appendix B Further Reading

Glossary

1587201372 TOC 11/3/2006

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