Network Management Everywhere
How you can have the network management tools you want everywhere you need them without breaking the bank.
How come every time there’s a problem on the network it’s somewhere I’m not, on a segment I can’t see, and involves a machine with no diagnostic tools installed?
Of course I would like to have management on every part of my network, something to warn me before things get so bad that users start to call, or at least some tools on the segment that I can use when the need arises.
I don’t have tools everywhere today because I just can’t afford them. I’d have to buy loads of licenses but there’s no way I can justify the cost to my boss. Either I tell him the network is flaky, and he tells me to sort it, or I tell him everything is just fine and he tells me to put off the purchase until we really need it.
What I really want is...
When I’m dreaming of my perfect world, you know the one I want to live in, but don’t, I really want a set of good tools that are low cost, or free. I want the tools to adapt to my changing requirements and to never go out of date. Basically I want to do everything at the minimum possible cost. It’s not much to ask for, is it? I’ve not yet found a commercial manufacturer who offers this of course, but it’s a nice thought.
But wait, what’s this open source stuff? It claims to be free, or nearly so, even my boss isn’t going to argue about that; it doesn’t have licensing restrictions, so I can deploy it wherever I want; the tools seem to address the types of issues I have, so they should do the job. There must be a catch.
The software can’t be any good, it must be second rate otherwise it would cost a fortune like my commercial software; nobody I know uses this stuff; I’ll never get support or bug fixes for it. Mind you, if it is true and everyone knows it but me I’m going to look a fool! Maybe it’s time I took a serious look at what’s on offer.
The software is not only good, it’s first rate; it’s free because of the underlying philosophy (and generosity) of the open source community; the Internet depends on open source code, Linux is huge in the server market, and IBM promotes it; your competitors are already using it to get more management for less; commercial level support and updates are available. Are you still sure that this stuff is a joke?
Management at the center of the network?
Imagine what you could do if you used open source solutions. You could put network management in its rightful place at the center of the network; you could begin to make management as pervasive as anti-virus software is today; you could see management not as an after thought or luxury item, but as an essential component of the network itself, and it would not cost the earth.
About the Author
Denis Laverty possesses more than 17 years experience in network management and communications, Denis has been involved with network management applications from the early DOS days; as product trainer, technical author and QA Director. In 2003 he co-founded OPENXTRA together with Jack Hughes and serves as its Managing Director.
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