An Architecture Driven Comparison of Network Management Systems

Management of large, multiprotocol, computer networks has become increasingly important and represents a new challenge to many organizations. Many vendors have introduced commercial network management products to meet these growing needs. Iin this paper, we examine six of these products, including four Network Management Stations ;and two Passive Network Monitors, or segment monitors. We derived a list of requirements; based on the needs of several network architectures of interest. From these requirements, we design an architecture and a set of validation experiments that serve to differentiate among the different products. Finally, we present our conclusions about the abilities of different products to address different program needs. Distribution Unlimited-Approved for Public Release. Excerpted from the proceedings of the Third International Symposium on Integrated Network Management, April 18-23, 1993, San Francisco, CA.