Management Application Functions Area ISO Network Management Model The International Organization for Standardizations (ISO) Network

Management Framework is a reference model created to provide a common basis for the coordinated development of management standards. It consists of five conceptual areas that: define terminology create structure describe activities for the management of net-centric systems. Listed below are the five areas with their definitions and some examples of the functionality encapsulated within each.

i.

Configuration Management (CM) The goals of configuration management are to gather/set/track configurations of the devices. Configuration management is concerned with monitoring system configuration information, and any changes that take place. This area is especially important, since many network issues arise as a direct result of changes made to configuration files, updated software versions, or changes to system hardware. A proper configuration management strategy involves tracking all changes made to network hardware and software. Examples include altering the running configuration of a device, updating the IOS version of a router or switch, or adding a new modular interface card. While it is possible to track these changes manually, a more common approach is to gather this information using configuration management software, such as CiscoWorks 2000.. Functionality of CM includes: Setting the parameters that control the routine operation of the open system; Associating names with managed objects and sets of managed objects; Initializing and closing down managed objects; Collecting information on demand about the current condition of the open system; Obtaining announcements of significant changes in the condition of the open system; and Changing the configuration of the open system.

ii.

Fault Management (FM)

The goal of fault management is to recognize, isolate, correct and log faults that occur in the network. Errors primarily occur in the areas of fault management and configuration management. Fault management is concerned with detecting network faults, logging this information, contacting the appropriate person, and ultimately fixing a problem. A common fault management technique is to implement an SNMP-based network management system such as HP OpenView or Sun Solstice (formerly Net Manager) - to collect information about network devices. In turn, the management station can be configured to make a network administrator aware of problems (by email, paging, or on-screen messages), allowing appropriate action to be taken . Functionality of FM includes: Maintain and examine error logs; Accept and act upon error detection notifications; Trace and identify faults; Carry out sequences of diagnostic tests; and Correct faults.

iii.

Performance Management (PM) The goal is to both prepare the network for the future, as well as to determine the efficiency of the current network. Performance management is focused on ensuring that network performance remains at acceptable levels. This area is concerned with gathering regular network performance data such as network response times, packet loss rates, link utilization, and so forth. This information is usually gathered through the implementation of an SNMP management system, either actively monitored, or configured to alert administrators when performance move above or below predefined thresholds. Actively monitoring current network performance is an important step in identifying problems before they occur, as part of a proactive network management strategy etc ... Functionality of PM includes: Gathering statistical data; Maintaining and examining logs of system state histories; Determining system performance under natural and artificial conditions; and

Altering system modes of operation for the purpose of conducting performance management activities.

iv.

Accounting Management (AM) The goal is to gather usage statistics for users. Accounting management is concerned with tracking network utilization information, such that individual users, departments, or business units can be appropriately billed or charged for accounting purposes. While this may not be applicable to all companies, in many larger organizations the IT department is considered a cost center that accrues revenues according to resource utilization by individual departments or business units. Functionality of AM includes: Informing users of costs or resources consumed; Enabling accounting limits to be set and tariff schedules to be associated with the use of resources; and Enabling costs to be combined where multiple resources are invoked to achieve a given communication objective.

v.

Security Management (SM) The goal of security management is to control access to assets in the network. Security management is not only concerned with ensuring that a network environment is secure, but also that gathered security-related information is analyzed regularly. Security management functions include managing network authentication, authorization, and auditing, such that both internal and external users only have access to appropriate network resources. Other common tasks include the configuration and management of network firewalls, intrusion detection systems, and security policies such as access lists

Functionality of SM includes: The creation, deletion, and control of security services and mechanisms; The distribution of security relevant information; and The reporting of security relevant events.

Together Fault, Configuration, Accounting, Performance, and Security (FCAPS) provide a complete management model for Information Technology (IT) network systems. Bass suggested the application of the ISO network management model to managing netcentric systems. While the definitions above apply to IT network systems they require some modification to be abstracted to apply at the SoS level. We have created the figure 1:

We define each of the SoS management conceptual areas as follows:

Configuration Management

carry out Command and Control, Structural, and Software Management

Performance Management

monitor and measure performance of individual systems for the overall SoS performance to be maintained at an appropriate level

Policy Management

provide SoS access to authorized processes and protect SoS from illegal access provide usage information of Systems resources in the SoS.

Resource Management

Risk Management

Monitor, identify asses, analyze, and mitigate risk encountered in the SoS

The question that should arise at this point is how does one relate these conceptual areas to a SoS? In order to answer this question one first must ask what is a SoS? We have already demonstrated a methodology for identifying a SoS, so what the question really becomes is: Now that we have a way to identify the primary characteristics of a SoS, how do we manage it in such a way as to preserve those characteristics? In order to answer this question we have functionally mapped each of the five Boardman-Sauser characteristics with each of the five SoS Management conceptual areas.

Conclusions By making the connection between SoS characteristics and the conceptual areas of network management we have created a framework for extracting and applying the best practices of network management. The SoSOMM is the first step toward a simple yet structured and dynamic approach to SoS management. The research suggests that it is feasible to apply network management concepts to a SoS in order to both reduce the complexity of management and increase the operational sustainability.