Basic Components of Network Management Systems
Matthew D. Miller
DeVry University
A network management system is a system that is made up of hardware and software, whose job it is to manage the communications, software, and computer hardware of a network (Hill Associates, 2008). There are many different tools and components that help to make up a network management system. Some of these tools include trouble ticket systems, help desk systems, alarm correlation, maintenance tools, etc (Hill Associates, 2008). Along with all these tools there are four basic components that a network management system consists of. They are the agent, network management station, network management protocol, and the management information (Hill Associates, 2008). As mentioned before a network management system has many tools available to use. Trouble ticket systems are used to manage and keep track of any and all issues relating to the network (OTRS Team, 2012). A very useful feature of trouble ticket systems is that they save and archive the tickets with all pertinent information like who was involved, the problem and any notes or solutions (OTRS Team, 2012). In case a particular event occurs again the help desk team has a reference to look to for assistance. With any kind of machine or system, maintenance must take place in order for it to perform to its full potential. Software and hardware updates are essential for the smooth running of a network (TWD & Associates, Inc., 2012). Many updates provide fixes to known bugs (TWD & Associates, Inc., 2012). Backups are also important as they provide a safety net in the event of lost data. Load balancing and traffic analysis allow for the appropriate allocation of bandwidth for traffic sent over the network (TWD & Associates, Inc., 2012). A management agent is a program that is downloaded to a network device and allows for a device on the network, such as a computer to communicate with the management interface in order for it to be monitored by the system administrator (Alexander Clemm, 2007). The agent makes it possible for the network device to send and receive important information like log files, device status, send response to a request by the management system, etc. A network device may have more than one management agent installed on it (Alexander Clemm, 2007). It is possible to have one agent dedicated to sending statistics about a device’s performance and another whose duty is to configure the device (Alexander Clemm, 2007). The network management station or manager works with the agent to manage the network devices (Hill Associates, 2008). It controls and monitors network devices along with other network elements. There can be more than one network management station watching over the system (Alexander Clemm, 2007). One manager could just be monitoring the local network elements while another could be monitoring the network elements from several different locations (Alexander Clemm, 2007). In order for network management agents and managers to exchange information that have to use a network management protocol. Simple Network Management Protocol (SNMP) is used by network management systems to manage an IP network’s devices (Schmidt, 2001). It contains the set of standards that a network management system uses. It operates at the application layer of the OSI model. The agent receives data on UDP port 161 while the manager receives data on UDP port 162 (Hardaker, 2011). SNMP doesn’t choose the type of information that a network management system should use. That is the responsibility of the Management Information Base (MIB). The MIB is “the collection of all management information that is exposed by a network element to managing applications” (Alexander Clemm, 2007). In other words the MIB is where the applications for network management systems go to gather information about a particular network device. It is the database for the stored information about any and all network devices. The manager is able to insert, delete, or modify information from the MIB (Alexander Clemm, 2007). The building blocks of the network management system make it possible for the many network administrators across the globe to oversee and administer their networks with much greater ease and effectiveness. The manager allows an administrator to not always have to go on site to address an issue, but to be able to analyze and troubleshoot the data sent by the agent and stored in the MIB. With technology advancing at such a fast rate these days, network management systems are bound to expand the capabilities of the tools they already have in place and add new ones.
References
Alexander Clemm, P. (2007). Network Management Fundamentals. Indianapolis: Cisco Press.
Hardaker, W. (2011). Transport Layer Security (TLS) Transport Model for the Simple Network Management Protocol (SNMP). Internet Engineering Task Force.
Hill Associates. (2008, March 17). Network Management System. Retrieved from Hill Associates: http://www.hill2dot0.com/wiki/index.php?title=Network_management_system
OTRS Team. (2012). What is a trouble ticket? Retrieved from OTRS: http://doc.otrs.org/3.0/en/html/what-is-a-tt.html
Schmidt, D. R. (2001). Essential SNMP. Sebastopol: O'Reilly & Associates.
TWD & Associates, Inc. (2012). Maintenance Support: Network Management. Retrieved from TWD: http://www.twd.com/it-technical-services-maintenance-support.htm 