Tom Franken - Network Management Models

OSI Network Management Model

Fault Management

Security Management

Configuration Management

Accounting Management

Performance Management

My Network Management Model
Availability

Security

Recoverability

Usability

Documentation

Accountability

Performance

Most of the subjects are similar between the two. My biggest complaint with the OSI model is they do not address "Recoverability" as well as I think is required. Fault management deals with fixing problems on the network so it can get back to operational status. They do not make specific references to backing up data so it can be restored. I consider backups and restores to be one of the critical functions of IT.

The OSI includes Accounting Management which I hadn't given any thought to previously. My initial reaction was to dismiss it as not relevant in a PC-based network because people are not generally "charged" for the use of resources. Upon further thought I did include it since in larger organizations departments often have to budget for their own IT services. More importantly, costs of IT services should be monitored so heavy users can be identified and special considerations given to them to help appropriate IT expenditures appropriately.

The OSI model also includes "Configuration Management". Oh the luxury of documentation! Their model focused on managing the configuration of each node. This is part of documentation. Also required are notes on how the parts of the system work together, listings of who is using what software licenses, reasons for configuration changes, and other information of the system. With this information, an administrator can make repairs quicker and can make better predictions on the future performance of the network. It is important to understand that no reasonable documentation can be created to tell a novice user how to run a sophisticated network. The documentation must assume a certain level of general expertise on the part of the administrators.

Finally, the OSI model leaves out a section on how well the network fits the needs of the users. I have seen security and management policies implemented that make a system unusable by the users. The network must be managed with the users' needs being a top priority.

The components of the models are arraigned in a semi-hierarchical order. However, all areas most be managed at all times. Clearly, if the network is down, the other areas become irrelevant. But you cannot ignore security while you focus on improving availability to 99.999%. Prioritization at any given moment must depend on the experience and knowledge of the administrators and their managers.