Network Management Fundamentals (Paperback)

Description

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.

 

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