Network management software

Network management software is a collection of software that is used to provision, discover, monitor and maintain computer networks.

Purpose

With the expansion of the world wide web and the Internet, computer networks have become very large and complex making them impossible to manage manually. A suite of network management software was written to help reduce the burden of managing the growing complexity of computer networks. Network management software usually collects information about network devices ( which are called Nodes ) using protocols like SNMP, ICMP, CDP etc and present that information to network administrators in an accessible manner. This helps network administrators to quickly identify and remediate problems. Problems may present itself in the form of network faults, performance bottlenecks, compliance issues etc. Some advanced network management software may rectify network problems automatically. Network management software may also help with tasks involved in provisioning new networks, such as installing and configuring new network nodes, upgrading software on existing network devices, creating new virtual networks etc

Functions

Provisioning : This function enables network managers to provision new network devices in an environment very quickly.

Mapping or Discovery : This function enables a network manager to discover the features a target network. Some features that are usually discovered are : the nodes in the network, the connectivity between the network nodes, the vendor types and capabilities for these nodes, the performance characteristics of these nodes etc

Monitoring: This function enables the network management software to monitor the network for problems or to suggest improvements. The software may poll the devices periodically or register itself to receive alerts from network devices periodically. One mechanism for network devices to volunteer information about itself is by sending an SNMP Trap.