Network management systems are always software-based tools. They continually
monitor the network. There are various types of network management systems and
not all are equal.
Network Management System (NMS) functions can be
categorized into three main categories:
- Operations management
- Device management
- Service management
Operations management tools are used for active monitoring of
day-to-day network administration. The software provides features such as
network topology discovery, status monitoring, fault management, and basic
real-time performance data. Major vendors include HP OpenView, Computer
Associates, and IBM Tivoli.
Device management tools are typically
vendor specific. They are used to manage a vendor's network components to
make configuration changes to network devices and to apply rules and policies.
Most provide graphical tools to interact with actual devices. Examples of
device management tools include CiscoWorks, Navis iEngineer (Lucent), and
Optivity (Nortel).
Service management tools focus on QoS and
service-level guarantee issues. They collect performance data over time that is
then used for establishing a baseline, trend analysis, historical usage
analysis, and service-level reporting. The tools focus on comparing the
expected quality of network resources with actual results. Major vendors
include HP, Lucent, and NetScout Systems.