IT Administration: Network Management Software
Network management covers the operation, administration, maintenance and provisioning of networked systems. Operation refers to keeping the network up and running smoothly. This includes network performance monitoring to spot problems as soon as possible.
Administration deals with the housekeeping involved to keep the network under control such as keeping track of resources and how they are assigned or utilized. On the other hand, maintenance involves performing repairs and upgrades such as replacement of equipment or devices, addition of switches and router patches. It also includes corrective and preventive measures to make the network run better such as adjusting device configuration parameters. Provisioning, such as setting up the network so that a new customer can receive voice service, is concerned with configuring resources in the network to support a given service.
Network administrators control, plan, allocate, deploy, coordinate and monitor the resources of the network. They also perform network planning, frequency allocation, predetermined traffic routing to support load balancing and cryptographic key distribution authorization. They manage the network security, performance and bandwidth requirements of an organization.
Network management is no longer just a matter of monitoring whether devices are up or down. Administrators use agents installed on infrastructure, tools that simulate transactions, activity logs, sniffers and real user monitoring to collect metrics to help them get a clearer picture of the health of the network. Global organizations, in particular, face a host of challenges in its business operations that networks should be able to keep up with.
The use of network management software is a common practice in organizations. However, a good change and configuration management process is an important component in network management. It should be put in place to ensure that the risk of error is reduced as a result of network changes and help increase productivity in network staff.
