Network Management

Febriliyan Samopa
Outline
• Introduction
• Network Management Requirement
• SNMP family
• OSI management function areas
• Network management system
• Network management software architecture
• Distributed network management
• Proxies
The Case for Management
• Typical problem Remote User
• Remote user arrives at regional
office and experiences slow or Regional Offices

no response from corporate web

server
• Where do you begin?
• Where is the problem?
• What is the problem?
• What is the solution? WWW Servers

• Without proper network

management, these questions
Corp Network
are difficult to answer
The Case for Management
• With proper management tools Remote User
and procedures in place, you
may already have the answer Regional Offices

• Consider some possibilities

• What configuration changes were
made overnight?
• Have you received a device fault
notification indicating the issue?
• Have you detected a security WWW Servers

breach?
• Has your performance baseline
predicted this behavior on an Corp Network
increasingly congested network link?
Solving Problem Procedure
• An accurate database of
your network’s topology,
configuration, and performance
• A solid understanding of the Response Times High Availability
protocols and models used in
communication between your Security
management server and the
managed devices Predictability

• Methods and tools that allow

you to interpret and act upon
gathered information
Introduction
• Network Management System (NMS)
• Automatic versus human effort
• Increased network size
• Increased complexity
• Heterogeneous equipment
• Equipment from multiple vendors
NM Architecture
Network Management Requirements
• Ease of use
• Security features
• Restoral capability
• Ability to delete/add
• Ability to monitor network availability
• Traffic rerouting
• Improved automation
• User registration
• Improved reporting
• Ability to monitor response time
Network Management Requirements
• Control corporate strategic assets
• Control complexity
• Improve service
• Balance various needs
• Reduce downtime
• Control cost
OSI Management Functional Areas
• Fault management
• Configuration management
• Accounting management
• Performance management
• Security management
Fault Management
• The facilities that enable the detection, isolation, and
correction of abnormal operation of the OSI
environment
• What is “a fault”?
• An abnormal condition that requires management attention
(or action) to repair
• Indicated by failure to operate correctly or by excessive
errors
• Communication line is cut
• A crimp in the cable
• Certain errors may occur occasionally and are not normally
considered to be faults
Fault Management
• When a fault occurs
• Determine “exactly” where the fault is
• Isolate the rest of the network from the failure
• Reconfigure or modify the network to minimize the
impact of operation
• Repair or replace the failed components
Fault Management
User requirements for Fault Management
• Fast and reliable problem resolution
• Receive notification and correct the problem immediately
• Requires rapid and reliable fault detection and diagnostic management
• Provides fault tolerance
• Redundant components and alternate communication routes
• Fault management capability itself should be redundant
• Keep informed of the network status
• Reassurance of correct network operation through mechanisms that use
tests or analyze dumps, logs, alerts, or statistics
• Problem tracking and control
• Ensure the problem is truly resolved and no new problems are
introduced
• Fault management should have minimal effect on network
performance
Issues of Fault Management
• Alarm Correlation
• Trouble Ticketing System
• Expert System Application
Configuration Management
• Configuration management is concerned with
• Initializing a network
• Gracefully shutting down part or all of the network
• Maintaining, adding, and updating the relationships
among components and the status of components
themselves during network operation
Configuration Management
Configuration Management
• Inventory management
• Network topology services
• Service-level agreement
• Designing, implementing and processing
trouble tickets
• Order processing and provisioning
• Change management
• Directory services
Requirements for Configuration Management
• The network manager needs the capability to
• Identify initially the components that comprise the network
• Define and change the connectivity of components
• Define and modify default attributes, and load the predefined sets of
attributes into the specified network components
• Reconfigure a network for performance evaluation, network upgrade, fault
recovery or security checks
• End users want to inquire about the upcoming status of resources and their
attributes before reconfiguration
• Generate configuration reports
• Periodic basis
• Response for a request
• Only authorized end users can manage and control network operation
(software distribution and updating)
Accounting Management
• The facilities that enable
• charges to be established for the use of managed
objects
• costs to be identified for the use of those managed
objects
Accounting Management
• Network managers track the use of network
resources by end user or end-user class
• An end user or group of end users may be abusing
its access privileges and burdening the network at
the expense of other users
• End users may be making inefficient use of the
network, and network manager can assist in
changing procedures to improve performance
• The network manager is easier to plan for network
growth if end user activity is known in sufficient
detail
Requirements for Accounting Management

• The network manager can specify

• The kinds of accounting information to be recorded
at various nodes
• The desired interval between sending the recorded
information to higher-level management nodes
• The algorithms to be used in calculating the
charging
• Generate accounting reports
• Provide the capability to verify end users’
authorization to access and manipulate the
information
Performance Management
• The facilities needed to evaluate
• The behavior of managed objects
• The effectiveness of communication activities
• Functions of performance management
• Monitoring
• Tracks activities on the network
• Controlling
• Enables performance management to make adjustments
to improve network performance
Issues of Performance Management
• What is the level of capacity utilization?
• Is there excessive traffic?
• Has throughput been reduced to unacceptable
levels?
• Are there bottlenecks?
• Is response time increasing?
To Deal the Issues of PM
• The network manager focus on some initial set
of resources to be monitored in order to assess
performance levels
• Appropriate metrics and values with relevant
network resources as indicators of different levels of
performance
• The count of retransmission on a transport connection
• Monitor many resources to provide information in
determining network operating level
• Collect and analyze information, and then using the
resultant analysis as feedback to the prescribed set
of values
User Requirements for
Performance Management
• End users want to know
• The average and worst case response times
• The reliability of network services
• Performance statistics can help managers
• Plan, manage and maintain large networks
• Recognize potential bottlenecks in advance
• Balance or redistribute traffic load by changing routing
tables
Security Management
• The facilities that address those aspects of OSI
security essential to
• Operate OSI network management correctly
• Protect managed objects
• Network resources
• End user information
• End users want to know
• The proper security policies are in force and
effective
• The management of security facilities is itself secure
Issues of Security Management
• Managing information protection, and access control
facilities
• Generating, distributing and storing encryption keys
• Passwords, authorization or access control information must
be maintained and distributed
• Monitoring and controlling access to computer
networks and to all or part of the network management
information
• SM involves with the collection, storage, and examination of
audit records and security logs
• The enabling and disabling of these logging facilities
Network Management Systems (NMS)
• NMS is a collection of tools for network monitoring and
control
• Designed to view the entire network as a unified architecture
• Addresses and labels assigned to each point
• Specific attributes of each element and link known to the system
• Single operator interface with a powerful but user-friendly set
of commands
• A minimal amount of separate equipment
(hardware/software) is necessary
• NMS software resides in the host computers and communications
processors (bridges, routers)
Network Management Systems
• The active elements of the network provide
regular feedback of status information to the
network control center
• NMS for single vendor equipment versus for
multiple-vendor network
• Two or more network control centers are used
• High availability (backup)
• One center is idle or collecting statistics
• The other center is used for control
Network Management System

Network control Server

Host (manager) (agent)

NMA
NME Appi
NME Appi
Comm Comm
OS
OS

Router
Workstation
(agent)
(agent) NMA = network management application

NME NME = network management entity

NME Appi Appl = application
Comm = communications software
Comm
Comm OS = Operating system

OS OS
Network Management Configuration
• Network Management Element (NME)
• Contains a collection of software devoted to the NM task in each network
node
• Collects statistics
• Stores statistics locally
• Responds to commands from network control center (manager)
• Transmit collect statistics to manager
• Change a parameters (a timer in a transport protocol)
• Provide status information
• Generate artificial traffic for testing
• Send messages to network control center for significant changes in local
conditions
• Referred to as an agent
• Agents are implemented in end systems and nodes
Network Management Configuration
• Network Management Application (NMA)
• Include an operator interface to allow an authorized
user to manage the network
• Respond to user commands
• Display information
• Issue commands to NMEs through the network
• Communicate with and control NME in other nodes
• Application-level network management protocol
Network Management Software Architecture

• Three categories
• User presentation software
• Network management software
• Communications and database support software
Architectural model of NMS
Unified
user
Interface

Presentation of network management

Information to users

Network Network
Management . . . Management
application application

Application Application . . . Application

element element element

Network management data transport service

MIB Communications
access protocol
module stack

Management Managed networks

information
base
User Presentation Software
• An interface in manager systems
• Monitor and control the network
• An interface in agent systems
• Network testing and debugging
• View or set parameters locally
• Presentation tools
• Organize, summarize, and simplify the information as much
as possible to avoid information overload
• Graphical presentations
• User interface should be the same at any node, regardless
of vendor
Network Management Software
• Three-layer architecture
• Network management application layer
• Application element layer
• Network management data transport service layer
Network Management Software (cont.)
• Network management application
• Provides services of interest to users
• FCAPS
• Each application covers a broad area of network
management and should exhibit consistency over various
types of configurations (LAN, WAN, ..)
• Application elements
• Implement primitive and general-purpose network
management functions
• Generating alarms or summarizing data
• Implement basic tools used by one or more network
management applications
• Developed based on software reuse
Network Management Data Transport Service

• The module consists of

• A NM protocol used to exchange management
information among managers and agents
• A service interface to the application elements
• Provides very primitive functions (get, set and trap)
Communication & Database Support Software
• Network management software needs access to a
local MIB, and to remote agents and managers
• Local MIB at an agent contains
• Information reflecting the configuration and behavior of this
node
• Parameters used to control the operation of this node
• Local MIB at a manager contains
• Node-specific information
• Summary information about agents under control
Communication & Database Support Software

• MIB access module

• Include basic file management software that
enables access to the MIB
• Convert local MIB format to a standardized form
across the NMS
• Communications protocol stack
• OSI or TCP/IP stack
• Support the network management protocol
• Support communications among agents and
managers
Distributed Network Management
• A centralized NMS enables the manager to maintain control
over the entire configuration, balancing resource against needs
and optimizing the overall utilization of resources
• Why distributed network management?
• The proliferation of low-cost, high power PCs & workstations
• The proliferation of departmental LANs
• Local control and optimization of distributed applications
• Distributed computing
• Architecture of distributed network management
• Hierarchical architecture
• Department-level managers
• Manage downsized applications and PC LANs
Distributed Network Management
• Benefits
• Network management traffic overhead is minimized
• Offers greater scalability
• Eliminates single-point failure
• Elements for hierarchical architecture
• Distributed management workstations
• Given limited access for monitoring and control
• Manage the departmental resources
• One central workstation (with a backup)
• Global access rights to manage all network resources
• Interact with less-enabled management stations
Distributed Network Management
• Distributed management system architecture
• Management clients
• Provide the user access to management services and information
• Provide a graphical user interface
• May access one or more management servers
• Management servers are the heart of the system
• Support a set of management applications and a MIB
• Store common management data models
• Route management information to applications and clients
• Managed network devices
• Are managed directly by one or more management servers
• Through a vendor-specific element manager or proxy
Typical Distributed Management
System Architecture

Management clients ( PCs, workstations )

Network

Management server Management server

Management Management MIB
MIB application
application

Network

Element Element
manager manager

Network resources ( servers, routers, hosts ) with management agents

Proxies
• Why proxies?
• Older systems may not support network
management standards
• Small systems are not suitable to be implemented
full-blown NME
• Some components do not support agent software
• Modems and multiplexers
• Operations of proxies
• Translate requests and responses among
managers and the target system
• Act on behalf of one or more other nodes
Proxy Manager Architecture

Management Management
Proxy manager
application application

Client Server Client proxy Client

stub stub stub stub

Protocol Protocol Protocol Protocol

stack stack stack stack

Standard operations Proprietary operations and

and event reports event reports
Network Management Standards
• Simple Network Management Protocol
• SNMP V1, V2, V3, RMON
• OSI Model
• Object-based approach
• TMN Model
• Just a framework for network management systems
• Web-based Approach
SNMP
• Simple Network Management Protocol
• A set of standards for network management
• a protocol
• a data base structure specification
• a set of data objects
• Provides a tool :
• for multi-vendor, interoperable network management
• used across a broad spectrum of product types
• include end systems, bridges, switches, routers and
telecommunications equipment
• TCP/IP based
SNMP (cont.)
• Management Information Base (MIB)
• Virtual Information Store of Managed Objects (MOs)
• Information are stored at MOs using different approaches
• MIB II added a number of useful variables
• Structure of Management Information (SMI)
• Framework for the Definition of SNMP MIBs
• Object Information Model for Network Management
• Formal Description of the Structure are Given Using a Subset of ASN.1
• Abstract Syntax Notation 1 (ASN.1)
• A Standard Object Definition Language
• A Standard Way to Encode Objects for Transfer Over a Network
• It’s Large, Complex, and not Especially Efficient
SNMP Protocol Data Unit

• get-request
• get-next-
request
• get-response
• set-request
• trap
• get-bulk-
request
• inform-request
SNMP Versions
• SNMP v1
• Proposed in 1989
• Designed to be an interim solution
• No security consideration
• Not efficient
• SNMP v2
• Proposed in 1993
• Revised in 1995
• An upgrade to SNMPv1
• Add functional enhancements to SNMP and codify the use of SNMP on OSI-
based networks
• Authentication of the Message Source
• Protecting Messages from Disclosure
• Placing Access Control on MIBs
• Multiple Request Problem solved
• Traps Have the Same Format as Other PDUs
• 2 New Operations
• Much Layers and More Complex
SNMP Versions (cont.)
• SNMP v3
• Issued in 1998
• Define a security capability for SNMP and an
architecture for future enhancements
• Used with the functionality provided by SNMPv2 or
SNMPv1
• Built Upon the Two First Versions of SNMP
• Additional Security and Administrative Capabilities
RMON
• Remote network MONitoring
• A supplement to SNMP
• Extend the capabilities of SNMP to include
management of LANs as well as the devices
attached to those networks
• RMON 1 issued in 1991
• RMON 2 issued in 1995
OSI Architecture
Telecommunications Management
Network (TMN)
• Originated formally in 1988 under the auspices of the
International Telecommunication Union ( ITU-TS )
• An Important Framework for Management of
Telecommunication Networks
• A Host of Management Functions and Communications
• Operation
• Administration
• Maintenance
• Provision
• Chosen By Telco’s for Managing WANs
• Enables Communication between Operations System(OSs) and
Network Elements(NEs) Via a Data Communications
Network(DCN)
• Base for ATM network management
TMN Architecture
Web-based Approaches
• Using HTTP instead of SNMP
• Web-Based Enterprise Management (WBEM)
• Java Management API (JMAPI)
• Using Web as an Interface paradigm
• Bay Networks’ Optivity Web
• Computer Associate’s
Unicenter TNG
• WNMS
Conclusion
• Network management is critical for big networks
• Web-based management is becoming a strong
player in the field