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Who Needs a Network Management Framework? When It Comes to Management Software, David Continues to Beat Goliath

Posted on: Tuesday, 15 February 2005, 03:00 CST

A few years ago it was all-out war in the field of network management. There were the Big Four superpowers like CA, HP, IBM and BMC. Each had their proprietary frameworks designed to manage every possible network and systems facet. Then there were all the smaller entities which offered quicker deployment but limited toolkit-like features.

While big and small vendors remain, the scene has changed dramatically. Driven by their more nimble rivals, the superpowers have scaled down their monolithic management frameworks into smaller pieces. Many of these pieces can actually be installed individually. They even interoperate better with competitive management products. So all that remains is to decide which tools you should choose.

One of the biggest developments in network management is integration between the products, offering seamless management which reduces the number of screens an administrator needs to look at. After all, no single product meets the needs of everyone. Each point in the organization chart needs a different view. Help Desk, for example, needs different information than the CIO. As it is physically impossible to look at everything, you need intelligent ways to layer the data coming out of the network.

Before attempting to select the correct network/systems management product, therefore, you should first understand the spectrum of tools available. They break down into four basic categories, each providing a different view.

* Element Managers: Typically provided by the vendor to assist in installation, configuration and management of a device. They can provide detailed information on equipment to higher level management tools. Nortel's Optivity, for example, manages Nortel switches and telephony devices.

* Operations Management: Sometimes referred to as "manager of messages" since it aggregates the device information into a network- wide view. Can normally autodiscover all network devices and create network topology maps with color-coded status of devices or network segments. Unlike element managers, they work with multiple vendor devices. Also includes automated trouble ticketing, alarms, and inventorying of hardware/software. Most incorporate some means of simplifying data.

The Big Four offer operations management, as do smaller competitors such as Ipswitch, DeepMetrix and Somix.

* Service Management: Rather than being concerned about devices or connections, it takes the higher view; i.e. looks at whether a service is working as it should, regardless of the source of the problem. While operations management tools often give a real time view, service management software takes a longer view to provide base lining and historical reporting. Some incorporate predictive algorithms to warn of future problems.

Business Management: High level tools relate IT infrastructure with business processes. This solves a vital need as IT managers typically are too focused on technology but the resulting management data and reports means little to business managers. Business management tools translate information for business managers while providing IT managers with problem prioritization capabilities. A standard network map, for example, only indicates that several links are slow. A business management tool, however, might show which link prevents customers from placing orders, and how much it costs per minute.

While the above classification into four management tool strata is useful, it doesn't open the door to an easy understanding of all vendors and tools. It is becoming increasingly difficult to tell the above four layers apart due to overlapping functions. It is up to IT, therefore, to assess the functionality of candidates and select those that best fits their needs. In most cases more than one will be required.

As a rule of thumb, if you buy from one of the big vendors, expect to pay a big price. Smaller vendors; more affordable packages. And surprise, surprise, the smaller ones have most of the functionality of their larger rivals. It comes down to deciding how much information one actually needs and perhaps even more importantly, how that information will translate into improved operations and business value. In some cases, too much information can be as big a problem as not enough.

Indy race cars need wireless devices to constantly monitor performance, but you and I don't need that level of management for morning commutes. Similarly, some networks don't merit expense of high-powered packages and do better with lower cost tools that are easier to operate.

Varian Semiconductor Equipment Associates, in Gloucester, Mass., needed to more effectively manage WAN connections across over 40 locations in North America, Europe and Asia. The network manager complained of lack of visibility and only being aware of problems when notified by users. He considered outsourcing the entire network management, evaluated some of the Big Four packages and finally chose WebNM. As well as costing him a small fraction of an all- encompassing package, the product was installed within three days; one day for installation/set up, two days training staff. Varian uses the application to monitor all routers and network connections as well as hard disk usage, CPU utilization and server uptime. It also uses the built-in inventory module.

The company now knows within five minutes whenever a connection goes down and they correct problems long before users ever know about them. In addition, trending features made it possible for IT to spot an overloaded T-1 and upgrade the connection. Varian paid about $35,000 for this package including installation and a year of service.

Though this approach doesn't offer all the bells and whistles that some networks might demand, it proved more than enough for Varian. But there is a lot of technology to choose from. So always lay out the business case, then find technology to meet those needs. If you do it that way, you will save yourself buying a whole lot of functionality you really don't need. You don't need a nuclear sub, after all, if all you are trying to do is get to the corner store.

Michael Patterson

Michael Patterson is president ofSomix Tech' nologies, a maker of network management software such as WebNM and Logalot, based inSanford, Me. www.somix.com.

Copyright Publications & Communications, Inc. Jan 2005

Source: Enterprise Networks & Servers

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