Network management has become more than just pinging routers and checking for device availability.

The explosive growth of IT infrastructures has resulted in complex distributed systems and applications whose timely management is rapidly exceeding human ability.

It is no longer about ensuring the provision of ample bandwidth throughout the organisation and guaranteeing that adequate service level agreements (SLAs) are in place. Today’s network managers are expected to ensure secure, reliable service delivery across large distributed systems. Protocols such as token ring and frame relay are fast becoming just memories as networks converge and standardise into an IP-centric environment.

Mark Charlesworth, head of IT at Sheffield Hallam University, says the different types of network technology and protocols have been steadily decreasing over the past few years, but the changes have been offset by the many new types of network device that have appeared.

“Today we are supporting and managing firewalls, intrusion detection and prevention systems, virtual private networks (VPNs), load balancers, traffic shapers and content management systems, to name a few, and the proliferation has made it difficult for even suppliers with hundreds of support engineers to keep on top of all developments,” he says.

“It is my fondest hope that management tools will develop so that networks will be managed by policies and the tools will take responsibility for the detailed configuration of the network in line with the policies. Only if such a change occurs can the management of the network be constrained in the limited resources available to most companies.”

Network management challenges are resulting from the size, architectural complexity and distributed nature of networks, together with multivendor systems and the variety of workloads serving large numbers of users with complex and diverse services. Richard Mahony, enterprise practice leader at analyst Ovum, says today’s network manager has to deal with broader concerns than ensuring the network is available and reliable.

“The onset of convergence has brought more complex management functions because voice and video in particular have to be treated in a more sensitive fashion to guarantee higher levels of service,” he says.

“Convergence in the network means greater co-operation with your suppliers as both parties have to take a wider perspective to manage the end-to-end delivery of the service. Service delivery is now a network management issue.”

Current IT management technologies are still costly, ineffective and labour intensive ­ and the era of element-based network management is over, according to Evelyn Hubbert, senior analyst at Forrester Research. “The definition of the network has evolved over the past few years, from including technologies used to transport data to embracing the elements connected to the network together with servers and storage,” she says.

“Today, network management teams need to manage and understand network-related issues across servers, storage, security, databases and applications. They need to administer complex and dynamic IP networks that connect suppliers, vendors and employees.”

Firms are also beginning to realise the advantages of freeing up the time of the network specialists and using systems for more strategic work that will further the goals of the business, such as the design and provisioning of services or the development of next-generation networks. It is partly such forward thinking that has led to the trend of outsourcing network management to specialist third-party providers.

“The complexity of managing the network is growing,” says Hubbert. “As companies plan to add voice over IP (VoIP), wireless, streaming video, collaboration and other demanding applications onto their networks, they require different skills and tools. Faced with the blurring lines of local and wide area networks, organisations are rethinking their network management strategies and beginning to outsource network management to service providers.”

Patrick Walker, head of management information systems at high-street jeweller Beaverbrooks, says deploying a managed network service from Vodat has placed the emphasis back on developing technology that supports the business.

“We used to manage the network ourselves including the dial-up and ISDN links between the 61 retail stores and our head office. With so many branches and limited technical staff, this was difficult,” he says.

“Changing to a managed multi-protocol label switching network has lifted a burden ­ now we can get on with our real job of supporting the branches and developing the business applications.”

And the way organisations view the network has also changed, says Ovum’s Mahony. “No longer is the network the remit of the sandal wearers. How an organisation interacts with its customers and suppliers is now a boardroom topic,” he says.

Executives and board members in firms of all sizes are now taking a much keener interest in the corporate network. Paul Huxman, information and communications systems manager at south-west England law firm Foot Anstey, says his board pay close and supportive attention to developments within the corporate infrastructure.

“Once it is recognised exactly how much downtime and loss of business can occur with a network problem, having your network managed efficiently is like a good insurance policy,” he says.

“With five offices around the south-west peninsular and limited expertise in-house, persuading the board to implement a managed VPN from Telewest was easy, despite the significant initial investment required.”

Organisations have traditionally used reactive network management tools such as HP OpenView, CiscoWorks and Tivoli for taking control of their network infrastructure. However, these tools will not be sufficient for the next generation of real-time networks, with increased intelligence and software in the heart of the network.

Proactive, policy-based and automated management tools will be required to meet the demands of high performance, while reducing vulnerability and guaranteeing regulatory compliance.