The backbone of any IT infrastructure is its network management. It guarantees the smooth operation of the networks that support the contemporary digital environment. As businesses depend more and more on complex networks with a wide range of interrelated components, strong network management is quite essential.
The complexity of networks, which combine multiple components that may malfunction, be misconfigured, overused, or fail altogether, makes network management necessary. To efficiently manage, monitor, and control the network, enterprise network management software makes use of the appropriate technologies.
Let’s explore further about network management. Here, we will discuss its types, functions, key components, and the important role it plays in ensuring the efficiency and security of network infrastructures.
What is Network Management?
Network Management included two interconnected ideas. Firstly, it involves the procedures of setting up and overseeing a network’s performance. Second, it has to do with the structure that IT and NetOps teams use to carry out these ongoing activities.
IT teams can now work more quickly thanks to the development of network management tools. It combines intelligent automation, machine learning, and advanced analytics to continuously improve network performance. Network management systems are increasingly being used in cloud and hosted settings as businesses adapt to a more dispersed workforce.
Types of Network Management
Network management is for multiple purposes. It comprises five major categories that govern how networks are monitored and maintained:
1. Fault Management: It focuses on detecting, isolating, and resolving network faults or errors to minimize downtime and ensure maximum uptime.
2. Configuration Management: Network management maintains control of network infrastructure by tracking specific components. It simplifies the efficient implementation of changes and reduces errors.
3. Performance Management: It monitors network effectiveness by tracking metrics such as link utilization, packet loss rates, and response times. Network management aims to optimize speed, availability, and quality of service.
4. Security Management: Protects the network from unauthorized access and cyber threats. It is done by utilizing tools like firewalls, encryption, and authentication.
5. Accounting Management: Monitors the utilization of network resources for accounting and billing purposes. It is essential for billing clients accurately and allocating costs internally.
How Does Network Management Work?
The first step in network management involves collecting information from the targeted network. This data is sourced from network devices such as routers, switches, and wireless access points. Additionally, software-based agents in virtual or cloud services can collect data, offering insight into network and application data traffic flows.
Several widely used protocols promote network management, including SNMP, NETCONF, RESTCONF, and gNMI:
1. SNMP: Simple Network Management Protocol is a decades-old approach commonly used on networking devices for obtaining network information.
2. NETCONF: Network Configuration Protocol provides mechanisms for network management tools and administrators to configure connected network devices.
3. RESTCONF: This protocol builds on NETCONF using a RESTful API-based approach to update and change network configuration.
4. gNMI: The gRPC Network Management Interface protocol allows obtaining the state of a network device or service and manipulating and modifying the device’s configuration.
Network management systems (NMSes) are the preferred choice for most network administrators to oversee an entire network. NMS integrates support for network management protocols and employs approaches to identify various elements of a network. It makes network flow visibility possible, which makes performance and availability monitoring easier. Moreover, NMSes enable policy and configuration changes to address issues and enhance operational efficiency.
Artificial intelligence is becoming more and more important in the field of contemporary network administration. Modern NMSes use AI-based recommendations and automation and provide enhanced network management features.
The Importance of Network Management:
The principal objective of network management is to ensure the efficiency and smooth operation of network infrastructures. This results in several key benefits:
- Reduces Costly Network Outages: Network disruptions can lead to significant financial losses and damage to reputation. Efficient network management minimizes downtime and ensures business continuity.
- Improved Productivity: Network management relieves IT workers of repetitive duties by keeping an eye on every part of the network, allowing them to concentrate on more strategic facets of their work.
- Improved Network Security: Effective network management identifies and responds to cyber threats promptly. This ensures best practice standards, compliance, and enhanced network privacy.
- Holistic View of Network Performance: Network management provides a comprehensive view of infrastructure performance. It promotes quick issue identification, analysis, and resolution.
Key Components of Network Management
Network management leverages six interconnected components to execute operations seamlessly:
1. Endpoint Connectivity: It ensures connectivity of enterprise endpoints, which range from on-premise workstations to distributed landscapes. Particularly those supporting remote employees and multiple branch organizations.
2. Logging Systems: Essential for monitoring network performance and maintaining exhaustive records, logging systems, especially using protocols like Syslog. It allows visualization, trend detection, and anomaly alerts.
3. Network Automation: This contributes to the projected increase of network automation from $3.4 billion in 2021 to over $8.3 billion in 2026 by decreasing manual effort in the areas of fault, configuration, performance, security, and accounting management.
4. Server Connectivity: Ensures maximum uptime for non-end-user devices like virtual machines and privately hosted servers. It is possible by utilizing specialized network monitoring tools.
5. Switch Management: It monitors and coordinates complex things. Switch Management also offers visibility into traffic flow, diagnosing issues, ensuring consistent speeds, and anticipating bottlenecks.
6. Network Assurance: This involves enforcing policies to manage risk, guarantee internal compliance, and thwart security threats. It necessitates coordination between several network management disciplines.
These components, which include a managing entity, a managed device, and a management protocol, together form a tripartite network management architecture. The managing entity includes both human beings and technologies entrusted with overseeing the landscape, whether it be an IT administrator or an automation script.
On the other side, the managed device, which includes servers, switches, and endpoints, is located at the end of the network. The intermediary rules and regulations controlling the dynamic interaction are defined by management protocols.
Conclusion:
That’s it, network management is the backbone of IT infrastructure, and influences the uptime, performance, and security of critical business applications. The interplay of fault, configuration, performance, security, and accounting management, supported by network automation, ensures the seamless operation of networks in this tech time.
As enterprises continue to face the challenges and opportunities presented by the evolving world, reinforcing and reimagining network management practices is crucial for achieving business success and resilience.
