Automated Network Management Systems

Description

For advanced undergraduate or graduate-level courses in Networking or for professionals managing networks.

 

Network management is an interesting, but intellectually challenging, problem – therefore, there is a big opportunity for research leading to automated systems that manage networks. In this innovative new text, Comer examines possibilities for the future, including ways to build software that automates management tasks. A basic understanding of networking (equivalent to one undergraduate course or experience in the field) is assumed.

 

 

PART 1: Basics And Definitions

 

1  Introduction                                      

   - Present NM as the least-understood aspect of networking

 

2  A Review Of Network Elements                            

   - Give example systems and configurable parameters in each

 

3  The Network Management Problem                    

   - Explain scale and complexity; define carrier, provider,

     enterprise, edge, access, core, and FCAPS model

     Note: next chapters expand FCAPS and give examples

 

4  Configuration And Operation                             

   - Expand definition and give examples

 

5  Fault Detection And Correction                    

   - Expands definition and gives examples

 

6  Measurement And Accounting                        

   - Expands definition and gives examples

 

7  Performance Monitoring And Assessment             

   - Expands definition and gives examples

 

8  Security                                    

   - Expands definition and gives examples

 

 

PART 2: Existing Tools And Platforms For Network Management

 

9  Management Tools And Technologies                       

   - Overview of everything from ping through integrated

     applications, including OpenView, CiscoWorks, and open

     source tools

 

10 Simple Network Management Protocol (SNMP)               

   - Explain paradigm, functionality, and limitations

 

11 Flow Data And Flow Analysis (NetFlow)             

   - What is it, how data is captured, what the packets

     contain, and what can be learned; NetFlow as an example

 

12 Routing And Traffic Engineering                   

   - Technologies for setting paths; fast failover; BGP

     issues

 

13 Management Scripting                              

   - Motivation; stand-alone scripts (expect), and

     scripting interfaces for applications such as servers.

     Examples of scripts from Cisco's CNR product

     and examples of stand-alone scripts

 

PART 3: Moving Forward: The Future Of Network Management

 

14 Next-Generation Network Management                      

   - The question of whether network management can be

     automated, the conditions under which automation is

     possible; a list of desiderata for management automation;

     characteristics; give examples of complex situations to

     manage

 

15 Architectures For Network Management Software           

   -Discussion of architectures and possible approaches;

    emphasize the need for new abstractions;

    generic framework into which modules can be inserted;

    software backplane; tiered hierarchy; database-centric;

    external expectation verifier

 

16 Representation, Semantics, And Information Models           - Representation of information; syntactic and

     semantic specification; information modeling and

     model-driven design; UML; standard models such as

     CIM and MTNM; complexity of models and consequences

 

17 Design Tradeoffs                                  

   -Engineering tradeoffs and costs

 

18 Summary Of Open Questions And Research Problems