Network Monitoring Systems

Telecommunication network is a combination of numerous network elements that

are required to support voice, data, or video services in local or long distance
applications. Networks are composed of a wide variety of Network Elements from a
large number of Vendors. (i.e. equipments of multi-technology & multi-vendor).

Service Providers are the companies, which provide communications and/or data
services as a business. They deploy communication network infrastructure and
provide telecom services over it. They use software support systems to create, deploy,
manage and maintain their communication services.
A user requests for a particular service from the local service provider to whom he is
connected. If the local service provider is not able to service the users request the
local service provider requests for this service to be set up by another service provider
who is capable of providing the service.

The service provider then establishes the private network and offers this service to the
local service provider who in turn provides it to the branch office of the organization.
Service Providers Service portfolio can be structured into fixed line, wireless, cable
and IP; embedding in all - Voice, Data and Video.

Types of Service Providers
Telecom Service Provider
Wireless Service Provider
Broadband Service Provider
Internet Service Provider
Cable Service Provider
Satellite Service Provider
Application Service Provider

Network Operator

Network Operator is an organization that operates a communications network,
network or data services capability, acting basically as a wholesaler. A network
operator is a service provider. A service provider may provide the network operator
role or may sub-contract this role.









Operation Support Systems

An operational support system (OSS) is a set of programs that help a communications
service provider monitor, control, analyze and manage a telephone or computer
network. As the traditional voice telephone systems converges with packet-oriented
Internet traffic (including VoIP), broadband applications such as teleconferencing and
DSL, more sophisticated systems like OSS are needed activities like ordering and
tracking network components (including IP addresses), usage and traffic patterns,
billing and reporting.


Figure: Process Flow



OSS consists of the following activities:

Workflow Engine

It forms the nucleus of OSS. The workflow engine helps the service provider organize
and manage the flow of information between the OSS and the service providers
workforce (employees). It organizes business processes into task flows and their
related subtasks, enabling the service provider to manually or automatically complete
tasks as needed. It encompasses of code (Ex- J ava in Trailblazer: from creating a trail
to saving it) used to configure the system to go through a specified flow of activities
and tasks. The more effectively the workflow engine addresses the needs of its user,
the greater the potential gain in productivity for the workflow engine and, as a result,
the user.



Ordering
Ordering is where the service provider enters and manages much of the information
necessary for providing service. The provider can keep track of customers and manage
relationships with suppliers and trading partners as well. The products and services
that need to be supported include wholesale and retail local and long-distance services
that may range from basic, residential plain old telephone service (POTS) lines to
complex services such as channelized, high-capacity T-1s carrying voice and data
traffic, integrated services digital network (ISDN), digital subscriber line (DSL),
virtual private networks (VPNs), and more. Ordering systems also perform a certain
amount of error checking to notify users when required data has been omitted or
invalid data has been entered. Once an order is entered, the system generates tasks that
support the process of completing service activation on the network. The ordering
system passes these tasks on to other systems, such as the workflow engine, which
update the ordering system as each appropriate task is completed.
Inventory

Service providers need an inventory system to manage information about the facilities
and equipment within their network. When an order is placed, other parts of the OSS,
such as ordering, network design, and provisioning, must be able to communicate with
the inventory system to determine whether or not the requested service can be
supplied. The inventory system lets the service provider know if the proper equipment
is in place or if new equipment must be installed. Inventory systems also lets the
service provider know if the proper facility circuits, such as the high-capacity circuits
that provide backbone transport, are already assigned, or if they need to be configured.
More sophisticated next-generation OSSs also enable the service provider to manage
ownership of inventory, identifying inventory that the provider owns and leases ("on-
net" and "off-net").

Engineering and Provisioning
Engineering and provisioning systems enable service providers to manage, track, and
assign the equipment and circuits in their physical network. Many next-generation
engineering and provisioning systems incorporate graphical tools that allow the
service provider to create services on a network map with point-and-click capabilities.
Some next-generation OSSs also feature providing provisioning information along
with capabilities that enable service providers to automatically design circuits based
upon a predefined set of priorities.
Next-generation OSSs enable service providers to achieve flow-through ordering,
provisioning, and activation, sharing information between systems to order, design,
and assign the proper facilities and equipment and issue the appropriate commands to
an activation system. The activation system then automatically activates service on the
proper network elements (network hardware, such as a switch, multiplexer, or cross-
connect system).

Two critical elements of any OSS are:

1. Network Management System
2. Trouble Management System






Network management systems are responsible for the overall supervision of a
network, accomplished by communicating and polling the network elements. They
monitor traffic traversing the network and collect statistics regarding performance.
They also are responsible for spotting trouble on a network and identifying the source
of the problem. Network management systems are the heart of a network operations
center (NOC).

Once the system identifies trouble, it passes information on to a Trouble
management system that logs the problem and issues a trouble ticket to begin the
repair process. Some network elements have enough intelligent routing capability
built in to automatically reroute network traffic around problem areas. Where this is
not the case, trouble spots must be identified to allow human operators to reroute
traffic.





Network Management Architecture
Most network management architectures use the same basic structure and set of
relationships. End stations (managed devices), such as computer systems and other
network devices, run software that enables them to send alerts when they recognize
problems (for example, when one or more user-determined thresholds are exceeded).
Upon receiving these alerts, management entities are programmed to react by
executing one, several, or a group of actions, including operator notification, event
logging, system shutdown, and automatic attempts at system repair.

There are two ways of getting information from network devices:

1. Managed device sends a SNMP Trap to NMS machine, This call is raised from
the device)
2. Management entities (NMS) can also poll the end stations in predefined
frequency.

Polling can be automatic or user-initiated, but agents in the managed devices respond
to all polls. Agents are software modules that first compile information about the
managed devices in which they reside, then store this information in a management
database, and finally provide it (proactively or reactively) to management entities
within network management systems (NMSs) via a network management protocol.
Well-known network management protocols include the Simple Network
Management Protocol (SNMP) and Common Management Information Protocol
(CMIP).




Figure: A Typical Network Management Architecture Maintains Many Relationships
Network Management consists of five conceptual areas given below:
1. Performance Management: Monitor and measure various aspects of performance
so that overall performance can be maintained at an acceptable level. Performance
management enables the manager to prepare the network for the future, as well as
to determine the efficiency of the current network, for example, in relation to the
investments done to set it up. The network performance addresses the throughput,
percentage utilization, error rates and response times areas.By collecting and
analysing performance data, the network health can be monitored. Trends can
indicate capacity or reliability issues before they become service affecting.
Performance thresholds can be set in order to trigger an alarm. The alarm would be
handled by the normal fault management process (see above). Alarms vary
depending upon the severity.
2. Configuration Management: Configuration aspects of network devices such as
configuration file management, inventory management, and software management.
The goals of configuration management include:

To gather and store configurations from network devices (this can be done
locally or remotely).

To simplify the configuration of the device.

To track changes which are made to the configuration

To configure ('provision') circuits or paths through non-switched networks.

As networks increase in size, an important task is automated configuration.
Configuration Standards: With an increasing number of network devices
deployed, it is critical to be able to accurately identify the location of a network
device. This location information should provide a detailed description
meaningful to those tasked with dispatching resources when a network problem
occurs. For the interface naming convention, it can include the segment to which
a port is connected, name of connecting hub, and so forth. On serial interfaces, it
should include actual bandwidth, local data link connection identifier (DLCI)
number (if Frame Relay), destination, and the circuit ID or information provided
by the carrier.
3. Accounting Management: Usage information of network resources.
Using the statistics the users can be billed and usage quota can be enforced.
The different types of statistics that can be managed are:
Disk Usage
Link Utilization
CPU Time

4. Fault Management: Detect, isolate, notify, and correct faults encountered in the
network. A fault is an event which has a negative significance. The goal of fault
management is to recognize, isolate, correct and log faults that occur in the
network. Furthermore, it uses trend analysis to predict errors so that the network is
always available. This can be established by monitoring different things for
abnormal behavior.
When a fault or event occurs, a network component will often send a notification
to the network operator using a proprietary or open protocol such as SNMP, or at
least write a message to its console for a console server to catch and log/page. This
notification is supposed to trigger automatic, or manual activities. For example, the
gathering of more data to identify the nature and severity of the problem or to
bring backup equipment on-line.
Fault logs are one input used to compile statistics to determine the provided
service level of individual network elements, as well as sub-networks or the whole
network. They are also used to determine apparently fragile network components
which require further attention.
The leading Fault Management systems are HP OpenView, IBM, Micromuse
Netcool, Clarity etc.. Fault Isolation tools like Delphi are also available which are
basically used to isolate the fault in any telcom network.
Network Management Platforms: A network management platform
deployed in the enterprise manages an infrastructure that consists of
multivendor network elements. The platform receives and processes events
from network elements in the network. Events from servers and other critical
resources can also be forwarded to a management platform. Network
management platforms can be viewed as the main console for network
operations in detecting faults in the infrastructure. Examples of Network
Management Platforms are HP OpenView, Computer Associates Unicenter,
and SUN Solstice.

The data collected by different vendor-specific element management systems is
stored in separate databases, creating administration overhead for users. This
limitation is resolved by standards such as Common Object Request Broker
Architecture (CORBA) and Computer-Integrated Manufacturing (CIM) to
facilitate the exchange of management data between management platforms
and element management systems.

Fault Detection and Notification: An effective fault management system
consists of several subsystems. Fault detection is accomplished when the
devices send SNMP trap messages, SNMP polling, remote monitoring
(RMON) thresholds, and syslog messages. A management system alerts the
end user when a fault is reported and corrective actions can be taken.
5. Security Management: Provide access to network devices and corporate
resources to authorized individuals.

SNMP
SNMP is the most popular protocol used to manage network devices. It was designed
to facilitate to exchange management information between network devices operating
at the application layer of the OSI model. One of the most common uses of SNMP is
remote management of network devices such as routers, switches, hubs and servers.
An SNMP-managed network consists of three components:
1. Managed Devices
2. Agents
3. Network Management Systems
Network-management systems and agents communicate using messages. SNMPv1
supports five different types of messages: GetRequest, SetRequest, GetNextRequest,
GetResponse and Trap. A single SNMP message is referred to as a Protocol Data Unit
(PDU). These messages are constructed using Abstract Syntax Notation One (ASN.1)
and translated into binary format using Basic Encoding Rules (BER). Each message
type
has a different purpose:

GetRequest is typically used by the network-management system to retrieve one or
more
values from an agent.

SetRequest is used by the network- management system to set the values within a
device.

GetNextRequest is used by the network- management system to retrieve the next value
in
a table or a list within an agent.

GetResponse informs the management station of the results of a GetRequest or
SetRequest by returning an error indication and a list of variable/value bindings.

Trap messages are sent from agents to managers. Trap messages are unsolicited (the
manager does not issue a request message) and may indicate a warning or error
condition
or otherwise notify the manager about the agents state. In essence, Trap messages
provide an immediate notification for an event that might only be discovered during
infrequent polling.

SNMP runs on a multitude of devices and operating systems, including:

Core network devices (routers, switches, hubs, bridges, and wireless network
access points)
Operating systems
Consumer broadband network devices (cable modems and DSL modems)
Consumer electronic devices (cameras and image scanners)
Networked office equipment (printers, copiers, and FAX machines)
Network and systems management/diagnostic frameworks (network sniffers
and network analyzers)
Uninterruptible Power Supplies (UPS)
Networked medical equipment (imaging units and oscilloscopes)
Manufacturing and processing equipment


NETWORK PROVISIONING

Network Provisioning is the process of providing telecommunications service to a
user, including everything necessary to set up the service, such as equipment,
wiring, and transmission.

This process encompasses the configuration of the network, to ensure that network
capacity is ready for provisioning and maintenance of services. It carries out
Network Provisioning, as required, to fulfill specific service requests, network and
information technology additions, changes, deletions and configuration changes to
address network problems. The process must assign and administer identifiers for
provisioned resources and make them available to other processes. The Network
Provisioning Process administers the logical network and interfaces with the
Network Inventory Management Process for physical installation or
implementation in network or information technologies.




SERVICE PROVISIONING

Service Provisioning is the design or modifications of a Service Configuration to meet
a customers requirements.

E.g.-Telephone features are features that provide telephone functionality, such as call
forwarding, or teleconferencing.

In order to operate to serve customer, service providers are expected to create, design,
and deploy telecommunication products and services. Service Provisioning process is
error-prone and becoming more complicated all the time as new services are marketed
and as customers become more sophisticated in their telecommunication needs.










Commercial Network Management Systems

Automation of network management is imperative if networks are to keep up with
changing business requirements, and it can help organizations manage their
increasingly complex and critical network systems. This automation is done using a
Network Management Solution (NMS). Therefore, to cater the needs of the users there
are a number of commercially available Network Management systems in the market,
each one which has its own positives such as Computer Associates (Unicenter), HP
(openview).

A NMS can resolve many network-related problems. Here are a few instances;
Security: As networks get more complicated, security becomes a critical issue. An
NMS can protect your network from security breaches, hacker attacks and corporate
espionage.
Network device failure: NMS can proactively monitor networks links and send
notifications for link failures and threshold violations.
Resource Allocation: Allocation of resources to meet fluctuations in needs,
prioritising the network, application and traffic on a dynamic basis.
Capacity Planning: NMS link utilization reports help in capacity planning of
environmental parameters like CPU utilization for network devices like routers,
switches.
Health Monitor: NMS displays information about the status of a device, including
buffers, CPU load, memory available, and protocols and interfaces being used.
Heterogeneity breeds complexity: Rapidly growing networks with heterogeneous
platforms create issues of interoperability and connectivity. Deploying an NMS to
manage this is a big challenge.
Knowledge of the network: NMS helps in tracking network elements quickly and
efficiently. It can track new elements that are added every now and then in the
network.
Measuring the Link availability: NMS generates link availability reports, which
help in identifying bottlenecks, and in network planning.
Offline Network Analysis: NMS helps in collecting historical network data for
offline analysis of performance trends and traffic patterns.
Lower WAN costs: NMS enables WAN users to be segmented into workgroups,
which also aids in security. By limiting traffic to business-related applications and to
authorized users, you'll reduce bandwidth usage and save on expensive leased lines.



HP Open View


HP OpenView Network Node Manager Advanced Edition provides powerful out of
the box capabilities to enable network teams to efficiently manage any size network
and extend current capabilities to include new network services and technologies
through NNM's smart plug-ins.
HP's OpenView provides a complete portfolio of management solutions that help IT
staff take full control of distributed IT resources across the enterprise. These solutions
include:
Network management solutions that help manage networks by providing a clear view
of its components, including hardware, applications, and databases.
Systems management solutions that effectively monitor and control the entire
computing environment, including hardware and systems management .
Availability management solutions that help maximize system performance by
providing tools for measuring both real-time and historical system performance.
Performance management solutions that monitor the performance of critical
client/server applications from a user perspective, and allow managers to compare
service level objectives with actual application performance.
Storage management solutions that offer automatic device discovery, topology maps,
device management, storage virtualization, storage capacity management,
performance monitoring and data protection.

Automatic discovery and inventory of your physical network, virtual network
services, and the complex relationships between them
Quick identification and assessment of problems and their impact
Built-in intelligence, targeted polling, and automated actions
Support of new services and technology through NNM Advanced Edition Smart
Plug-ins



Benefits and Additional facilities

Network Node Manager helps you:

Make sense of your IP network investment by discovering and understanding your
physical network, virtual network services, and the complex relationships between
them.

Improve operational efficiency by quickly identifying and assessing the impact of
problems with Intelligent Diagnostics for Networks root-cause analysis and service
state determination.

Increase staff efficiency through built-in intelligence, targeted polling, automated
actions and a user interface tailored to the needs of your IT staff.

Reduce total cost of ownership through faster mean-time-to-repair cycles.

Manage new services and technology by expanding your network management
functionality with Smart Plug-ins for Network Node Manager.

Achieve quick deployment with rich out-of-the-box capabilities.



Platforms
Solaris, HP-UX, Windows NT/2000



















IBM Tivoli


IBM Tivoli NetView is a Monitor Program based on SNMP Protocol, and a part of
Tivoli Modules. This program provide real time monitoring and you can make active
test over all servers supported by SNMP. IBM's Tivoli network management solution
helps you in keeping your network devices (routers, hubs, bridges, PCs, and
workstations) up and running. One component of this NMS is Netview.
Tivoli NetView
Discovers TCP/IP networks
Displays network topologies
Correlates and manages events and SNMP traps,
Monitors network health
Gathers performance data

Tivoli NetView meets the needs of managers of large networks by providing the
scalability and flexibility to manage mission-critical environments.
IBM Tivoli NetView:
Provides a scalable distributed management solution
Quickly identifies the root cause of network failures
Builds collections for management of critical business systems
Integrates with leading vendors, such as CiscoWorks2000
Maintains device inventory for asset management
Measures availability and provides fault isolation for problem control and
management
Reports on network trends and analysis


Platforms
OS/390, Solaris, AIX, Digital UNIX, Windows NT (Intel and Alpha)




Computer Associates Unicenter

Unicenter TNG is Computer Associates' family of integrated infrastructure
management solutions, and it ensures the health and performance of all aspects of
eBusiness infrastructure, including systems, networks, databases, Web resources,
applications, and end-user devices. Through the use of a flexible and enhanced
architecture and leading-edge technology such as advanced intelligence and
visualization, Unicenter delivers Internet-caliber scalability and administration in a
modular, easy-to-use design that grows with your needs across this increasingly
heterogeneous infrastructure.
CA NSM is a robust service and systems management product that simplifies system
management and provides centralized management for your heterogeneous IT
infrastructures. It self-manages systems and continuously assesses infrastructure
components, reducing the cost and complexity associated with managing business-
driven IT environments.
CA NSM ensures the health, availability and performance of your IT infrastructure,
which supports critical business processes, by identifying and predicting problems,
prioritizing issues based on business impact and automating policy-based corrective
action.
Features

Advanced Visualization

Adaptive configuration

Advanced alert management and automatic notification

Advanced visualization reduces the complexity of IT management and simplifies
problem identification, adaptive configuration helps to ensure system availability, and
advanced alert management including automated notification and escalation of critical
issues.

Supported Platforms
It supports Windows, UNIX, Linux, AS/400, z/OS, OpenVMS, TCP/IP and SNA. CA
NSM also delivers out-of-the-box integration with third-party management products,
such as Microsoft Operations Manager, Cisco Works and certified partner solutions.



NetExpert

NetExpert is an OSS framework implemented by Level (3) Communications, U.S.
currently outsourced to Wipro Technologies for further development and expansion. It
currently supports the following modules:

Fault Management through the application, FMeXEL
Configuration Management through the application, CMeXEL
Accounting Management through the application, IP Assurance
Performance Management through the application, PMeXEL
Security Management

NetExpert has the following tools:

AlertNavigator: Used for showcasing alerts and alarms
Gateway Controller: Used for managing gateways
Object Browser: Used to view the topology of Network Elements(NEs)
Rule Editor: Used to provide a programming environment



Each N.E. has an agent which interacts with the gateway through a network protocol
such as SNMP. A gateway can control one or more network elements. A Gateway
Controller in turn interacts with IDEAS which is the workhorse of the established
network. The details of the network elements can be fetched from the Oracle database,
MIB.

NetExpert interacts with Applications like TrailBlazer, NTV, Spyglass which work on
the client-side.


TRAILBLAZER

The TrailBlazer tool is used to troubleshoot and provision elements in the Level 3
network. This tool sends commands to the network devices to perform various tasks
like creating cross-connects, querying ports, and inhibiting alarms. It stores the models
of Private Line Trails and Wavelength Trails in the NetExpert, management
information base (MIB).

TrailBlazer is a java applet which communicates to server processes via XML or
J DBC in order to get necessary data. Servlets on the web server process requests from
the client by invoking TIBCO messages to the NetExpert or CMeXEL servers. When
provisioning, CMExel either sends commands directly to the network element (NE),
to the gateway network element (GNE), or to an interface (e.g., Preside).


A Graphical User Interface (GUI) for TrailBlazer is provided to users for modeling
and activating transport services. It is also used as a flow through provisioning tool
used in the OnTap service activation process.

Trailblazer creates Trails which are a logical representation of a transport customer
service or network facility, to manage the network. A Trail consists of Ports
(Termination Points), Crossconnects and facilities (Connections) across active
elements in the network.
A trail is of 2 types:

1. Private Line Trail: Uses logical ports
2. Wavelength Trail: Uses physical ports

Connection: Connects two similar types of devices (ex- of the same company)
Cross-connect: Connects two different types of devices (ex- Nortel and Alcatel)

Each port has a Device type, Rate type and an Identification Code.


The functions provided by TrailBlazer are:

Create a new Wavelength/Private Line Trail
Save Trail
Delete Trail
Load an existing trail
Search Trail based on Trail ID, Customer, State, Service Type, or through
Device name
Import/Export Trail used to import/export XML formatted user file to create a
trail impression in TrailBlazer
Audit Trail audit with respect to alarming and threshold can be done to existing
trails
Add Connection
Add Cross-Connect,
Add TP (No Connection) based on the Device type, Rate code (type) and Port
Identifier
Inhibit All Alarms
Uninhibit All Alarms
Real Time Query - used to send SQL query commands to the device of the
selected termination point
Port Properties
Refresh TP States
Send TL1 Command.- used to issue TL1 commands to the device of the selected
termination point


Open Source Network Monitoring Systems

OpenNMS is an enterprise grade network monitoring platform developed under the
open source model. It consists of a community supported open-source project as well
as a commercial services, training and support organization.

Features
Service Polling - determining service availability.
Data Collection - collecting, storing and reporting on network information .
Event and Notification Management - receiving events, both internal and
external

Supported Platforms

As OpenNMS is written mainly in J ava, it can theoretically run on any system that
supports a 1.4 SDK. Currently, the following operating systems are supported:
Linux
Solaris
Mac OS X
No Windows support, as of yet, but with OpenNMS 2.0 it should be available.





















Nagios

Nagios is a popular open source computer system and network monitoring application
software. It watches hosts and services that you specify, alerting you when things go
bad and again when they get better.
The monitoring daemon runs intermittent checks on hosts and services you specify
using external plug-ins which return status information to Nagios. When problems are
encountered, the daemon can send notifications out to administrative contacts in a
variety of different ways (email, instant message, SMS, etc.). Current status
information, historical logs, and reports can all be accessed via a web browser.

Features
Monitoring of network services (SMTP, POP3, HTTP, NNTP, ICMP, SNMP,
FTP, SSH)
Monitoring of host resources (processor load, disk usage, system logs) on a
majority of network operating systems.
Monitoring of anything else like probes (temperature, alarms...) which have the
ability to send collected data via a network to specifically written plugins
Remote monitoring supported through SSH or SSL encrypted tunnels.
Simple plugin design that allows users to easily develop their own service
checks depending on needs, by using the tools of choice (Bash, C++, Perl,
Ruby, Python, PHP, C#, etc.)
Parallelized service checks
Ability to define network host hierarchy using "parent" hosts, allowing
detection of and distinction between hosts that are down and those that are
unreachable
Contact notifications when service or host problems occur and get resolved (via
email, pager, SMS, or any user-defined method through plugin system)
Ability to define event handlers to be run during service or host events for
proactive problem resolution
Automatic log file rotation
Support for implementing redundant monitoring hosts
Optional web interface for viewing current network status, notifications,
problem history, log files, etc

Supported Platforms

Nagios was originally designed to run under Linux, but also runs well on other Unix
variants.


There are a plethora of NMS solutions available from various vendors and each one
offers various features.
Scalability - The solution should be scalable and should be able to address
current/future needs.
Graphical user interface - A user interface which can be started from anywhere
and viewed from anywhere.
Centralized control - Organizations want to quickly find and fix problems and
respond to changes rapidly from a central location.
Standards based - Solution should support maximum number of standards
based technologies.
Distributed scalable architecture - One that can manage complexity of
networks.
Flexibility - Easy customization as per user needs.


From my point of view Basic network Monitoring System should

Send the alert when a failure is detected
Have a mechanism for techs to log in and essentially register 'I am working on
this problem' or otherwise dispose of the alert WITH an EXPLANATION and
the IDENTITY of the person who shut off the alarm
Continue sending the alert at defined intervals until the above is done (or
alarm condition goes away)
After a definable period of no response, escalate the alert
It is important not only in making sure a real, accountable response occurs, but
also in preventing duplication of effort.















Summary


There are many open source Network Monitoring systems available in the market
today. These open source systems provide a lot of facilities. Therefore, the
performance by price ratio is very high. On the other hand, the commercial Network
monitoring Systems provider much wider range of services and the compatibility is
much high. This may be in terms of the platforms supported, the additional plug-ins.

Open NMS

OpenNMS is a great Network Monitoring systemand scores over the rest due to its
capabilities, simplicity and flexibility. Few extra open source packages and some in
house development work we were able to eventually address 99% of the functionality
of commercial Netwrok Montoring systems such as Unicenter Openview and others
and that too for a fraction of the price. Integrating all of these things together would
not have been possible if it weren't for the flexibility of OpenNMS.


Hp Open View

Hp open View as a great mid- to large-business SNMP suite. While it can be
complicated, it is manageable with a little help from OpenView support. It has a nice
graphical map and event-monitoring system. It can also do some historical trend
analysis. As per the ratings from the users its price seems right. Although it has a
number of positives the main disadvantage or limitation of HP open view is that it
does not has many third party application plug-ins available for different purposes.

Computer Associates Unicenter
Computer Associates unicenter can help you manage your entire IT business --
everything from traditional network management to your Oracle database system.
This is another heavyweight management system that can take substantial time,
resources, and money to implement. It provides all the basic fault management
facilities and apart from it facility that is unique to this is that it provides integration
with third party management products.
IBM Netview

IBM Netview has a unique feature of router fault isolation that focuses on the root
cause of the network error and reduces the time required to respond and also helps in
curbing the traffic. It also provides scalability that enables local management of
devices. All the Tivoli Monitoring applications are easily integrated and enable proper
administration. It has a web browser interface that allows users to view network
information from any supported web browser. It also has a unique feature of user
defined discovery with the help of which we can prioritize the fault identification for
various devices. It also provides automated problem detection and response at local
level.