What is Network Management?

Network management is the administration, maintenance, and oversight of networks, including both hardware and software components. It includes monitoring network performance, ensuring connectivity, managing network devices, and troubleshooting any issues that arise. The role of network management is to ensure that network resources are available to users quickly in the most efficient and effective way.

Why is Network Management Important?

Network management enables organizations to effectively control, organize, and secure their networks, enabling seamless communication and data exchange. Following are some of the important objectives of network management:

• Performance: Effective network management drives optimal performance levels by identifying and resolving bottlenecks, congestion, and any other obstacles that might negatively impact data transfer speeds.
• Reliability/Availability: Proactive monitoring and management help make sure that the network remains available and reliable, minimizing the amount of downtime and avoiding any disruptions that could affect employee productivity and customer satisfaction.
• Security: Network management includes implementing security measures, such as firewalls and intrusion detection systems to guard data from unauthorized access and cyber threats.
• Scalability and Flexibility: Network management allows the organization to scale their network to accommodate growing demands and adjust to new business requirements as needed.
• Cost: By ensuring network performance, allocating resources appropriately, and avoiding potential issues, network management helps contain or even reduce operational costs associated with downtime and inefficient utilization of resources.

How Does Network Management Work?

Network management includes various tasks and processes that help network administrators effectively manage and control network resources. Here’s a high-level description of how network management works:

• Network Monitoring: Network management begins with continuous monitoring of network devices, infrastructure, and traffic. This is done using specialized tools that collect data on network performance, bandwidth utilization, error rates, and other key metrics. Monitoring can be done at various levels, such as device-level monitoring or application-level monitoring.
• Fault Management: When a network issue or fault is detected through monitoring, network management systems generate alerts or notifications. Network administrators analyze these alerts to identify the root cause of the problem and take appropriate action to resolve it. Fault management includes troubleshooting, problem isolation, and remediation procedures.
• Configuration Management: Network devices, such as routers, switches, firewalls, and servers, need to be properly configured to ensure optimal performance and security. Configuration management involves tasks like device provisioning, firmware upgrades, policy enforcement, and ensuring consistency across network devices. Network management tools and protocols are used to automate and simplify these tasks.
• Performance Management: Network performance management focuses on optimizing the overall network performance and ensuring that it meets the required service level agreements (SLAs). This involves monitoring key performance indicators (KPIs), such as latency, throughput, packet loss, and response times. Network administrators analyze these metrics to identify performance bottlenecks and make necessary adjustments to improve performance.
• Security Management: Network security is a critical aspect of network management. It involves implementing and maintaining security measures to protect the network infrastructure and data from unauthorized access, breaches, and attacks. Security management includes tasks like firewall configuration, intrusion detection and prevention, encryption, authentication, and access control. Security monitoring tools and techniques are employed to detect and respond to security incidents.
• Capacity Planning: Capacity planning involves predicting future network resource requirements based on historical data and anticipated growth. It helps network administrators ensure that the network can handle increasing traffic loads and resource demands. Capacity planning includes tasks like bandwidth provisioning, optimizing network resources, and scaling the network infrastructure to accommodate future needs.
• Documentation and Reporting: Network management involves maintaining accurate documentation of network configurations, topologies, policies, and procedures. This documentation helps in troubleshooting, auditing, and future planning. Regular reporting on network performance, security incidents, and other relevant metrics is also essential for management decision-making and compliance purposes.
• Remote Management and Automation: With the increasing complexity and scale of modern networks, remote management and automation play a crucial role. Network management tools and technologies allow administrators to remotely monitor and control network devices, perform routine tasks, and automate repetitive processes. This improves efficiency, reduces manual effort, and enables proactive network management.

What are some important trends in Network Management?

• SD-WAN: Software-defined network which can improve network performance & reduce costs.
• 5G and IoT: These will enable new applications and services but also increase the number of devices on the network and add complexity.
• Artificial Intelligence (AI): AI may simplify complex network tasks & provide real-time insights.
• Edge Computing: This distributed computing model is becoming increasingly important as more devices are connected to the network.
• Cloud: More and more businesses are moving their network infrastructure to the cloud seeking the need for flexibility, scalability, and cost savings.

How do you measure the success of Network Management?

The success of network management can be measured through various key performance indicators (KPIs) and metrics that reflect the efficiency, reliability, security, and overall performance of the network. Here are some common metrics used to assess the success of network management:

• Network Availability: This metric measures the % of time that the network is operational and accessible to users. High availability indicates that the network is well-managed and reliable.
• Network Downtime: Downtime refers to the period when the network is unavailable or experiencing disruptions. Minimizing downtime is a critical measure of successful network management.
• Mean Time to Repair (MTTR): MTTR measures the average time it takes to resolve network issues or faults. A lower MTTR indicates efficient troubleshooting and problem resolution, leading to reduced network downtime.
• Network Performance: Performance metrics include factors like latency, throughput, packet loss, and response times. Monitoring these metrics helps assess how well the network is delivering services to end users. Improved performance indicates effective network management.
• Network Security Incidents: The number and severity of security incidents, such as breaches, malware infections, or unauthorized access attempts, provide insight into the effectiveness of network security management. A lower number of incidents suggests better security measures.
• Compliance: Compliance with regulatory requirements and industry standards is an important measure of successful network management. It ensures that the network adheres to security protocols and safeguards sensitive data.
• Capacity Utilization: Monitoring the utilization of network resources, such as bandwidth, CPU, memory, and storage, helps determine whether the network is adequately provisioned. Optimizing resource utilization indicates efficient capacity planning and management.
• User Satisfaction: Gathering feedback from end users through surveys or feedback mechanisms can provide insights into their satisfaction with the network’s performance, reliability, and responsiveness. Positive user feedback suggests effective network management.
• Cost Management: Assessing the network management’s financial aspects, such as operational costs, return on investment (ROI), and cost savings achieved through optimization, helps measure its success in delivering value while controlling expenses.

By monitoring these indicators, network administrators can identify areas of improvement, address network issues promptly, and continuously enhance network performance and security.

Related Terms

• Network Monitoring: The process of tracking network devices, traffic, and performance metrics in real-time.
• Bandwidth: The maximum data transfer rate of a network, indicating the volume of data that can be transmitted over a specific period.
• Network Security: Measures and protocols implemented to protect networks from unauthorized access, data breaches, and other cyber threats.

• Network Configuration: The setup and arrangement of network devices, including routers, switches, and firewalls, to ensure efficient and secure data transmission.
• Network Troubleshooting: The process of identifying and resolving network issues or anomalies that may disrupt communication or performance.
• Network Administrator:  A network administrator typically manages an organization’s network and is responsible for: installing, monitoring, troubleshooting, and upgrading network infrastructure, including both hardware and software components.

In Conclusion

Network management plays a pivotal role in ensuring smooth and reliable communication across various devices, systems, and organizations. It is vital in maintaining efficient data transmission, troubleshooting network issues, optimizing performance, and safeguarding against potential threats.

About LiveAction

LiveAction provides end-to-end visibility of network and application performance from a single platform. This gives enterprises confidence that the network is meeting business objectives, offers IT administrators full visibility for better decision making, and reduces the overall cost of operations. By unifying and simplifying the collection, correlation, and presentation of the application and network data, LiveAction empowers network professional to identify, troubleshoot, and resolve issues across increasingly large and complex networks proactively and quickly.