Network Management

UCI 102: COMPUTER COMMUNICATION SYSTEMS

Topic 4

MASENO UNIVERSITY

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Table of Contents
Table of Contents .................................................................................................................................................... 2

Objectives ............................................................................................................................................................... 3

Network Administrator Skills ................................................................................................................................... 4

Network Provisioning .............................................................................................................................................. 5

Network Planning .................................................................................................................................................... 6

Network Design....................................................................................................................................................... 7

N e t w o r k D e s i g n G o a l s . .. . .. .. . .. .. . .. .. . .. . .. .. . .. .. .. .. . .. .. . .. .. . .. .. . .. . .. .. . .. .. .. .. . .. .. . .. .. . .. .. . .. . .. .. . .. .. .. .. . .. .. . .. .. . .. .. . .. . .. .. . .. .. . .. . 7

The Systems Development Life Cycle ................................................................................................................ 8

Requirements Gathering ................................................................................................................................ 8

Network Analysis ............................................................................................................................................ 9

Logical Network Design................................................................................................................................ 10

Physical Network Design.............................................................................................................................. 10

Network Installation and Maintenance.......................................................................................................... 11

Review Questions ................................................................................................................................................. 12

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Objec ti ves
x Performing network management is a difficult task. A network manager must possess computer and people
skills, management skills, financial management skills, and be able to keep up with changing technology.
This topic introduces the various tasks and roles involved in network management.

At the end of this lesson, the learner will be able to:

i. Identify the skill, qualifications, tasks and roles involved in network management.
ii. Define and identify the activities conducted as part of network provisioning

iii. Discuss the phases of the network design process.

iv. Explain why formality is needed in the network design process

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Network Administrator Skills

• A good network manager will possess many skills:

– Computer skills

– People skills

– Management skills

– Financial planning skills

– Knowledge of statistics

– Speaking and writing skills

• A good network manager will possess one or more certifications:

– Microsoft Certified Systems Engineer (MCSE)

– Cisco Certified Network Associate (CCNA)

– IBM Certified Systems Expert (CSE)

– IBM Certified Administrator (CA)

And many others, that also include academic qualifications, in addition to the above professional certifications.

x There also exist tools, services, both in hardware and software, available to assist an individual in managing
computer network operations.

x Network management can be viewed to involve a number of activities that can be organized around
functional groups as depicted in figure 1 below:-

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N e tw o r k P r o v i s i o n in g

In general, provisioning means "providing" or making something available. The term is used in a variety of
contexts in Information Technology. In telecommunications terminology, provisioning means providing a product
or service, such as wiring or bandwidth.

Provisioning means slightly different things in different aspects of telecommunications:

1) Providing telecommunications service to a user, including everything necessary to set up the service, such as
equipment, wiring, and transmission.

2) Used as a synonym for configuring, as in "Telecommunications lines must be correctly provisioned to work
with the customer's equipment and enabled for various options the customer has chosen."

3) In a traditional telecommunications environment, there are three separate types of

provisioning: circuit provisioning, service provisioning, and switch provisioning.

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4) In a wireless environment, provisioning refers to service activation and involves programming various network
databases to the customer's information.

5) In a slightly different sense, network provisioning systems are intermediary systems that are used to provide
customer services, log transactions, carry out requests, and update files.

The process of providing users with access to data and technology resources. The term typically is used in
reference toenterprise-level resource management. Provisioning can be thought of as a combination of the duties
of the human resources and IT departments in an enterprise, where (1) users are given access to data
repositories or granted authorization to systems,applications and databases based on a unique user identity, and
(2) users are appropriated hardware resources, such as computers, mobile phones and pagers. The process
implies that the access rights and privileges are monitored and tracked to ensure the security of an enterprise's
resources.

(2) The process of providing customers or clients with accounts, the appropriate access to those accounts, all the
rights associated with those accounts, and all of the resources necessary to manage the accounts. When used in
reference to a client, provisioning can be thought of as a form of customer service.

(Webopedia.com, 2014)

As we can see from figure one above, in the context of computer communications systems, provision involves
network planning and design activities.

Netw o rk Plan n i n g
Network planning requires that you:-

– Identify the basic network media required to make a LAN connection.

– Identify the types of connections for intermediate and end device connections in a network.

– Identify the configurations cables.

– Identify the different cabling types, standards, and ports to be used for WAN connections.

– Define the role of device management connections when using the equipment.

– Design an addressing scheme for an internetwork and assign ranges for hosts, network
devices, and the router interface.

– Select appropriate network architecture/ topology to be employed.

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Netw o rk Des i gn
In network design, a formal process is generally employed that follows a logical sequence of events, referred to
as the systems development Life Cycle. Following a formal design process increases chances of success in any
technical discipline and also makes the designer’s work simpler, more productive, and more satisfying. It also
can help the network avoid the following problems:-.

x Failure to meet requirements—If you do not find out what the requirements
actually are, it is impossible to create a network that meets them.
x “Creeping” requirements—Specification additions and changes can
disastrously increase the amount of time, effort, and money spent on a
project. All change requests need to be clearly documented, communicated,
and evaluated in a network project.
x Missed deadlines and budget overruns—Haphazard approach to a network project
almost always takes longer and costs more than well-planned ones, often
because work must be redone. Also, when you “shoot from the hip,” it is
e as y t o m i s s c os t - s av i ng o p p or t uni t i es .
x Dissatisfied end users—Regardless of how good a network appears, it is a
failure if it does not satisfy those who must use it.
x Dissatisfied management—A haphazard and unprofessional approach to a
network development project can hurt your credibility and create ill will
among decision makers.

Network Design Goals

Before undertaking a network design, you need to establish the following goals:

a. Functionality: - The network must enable the users to meet their individual job requirements. In such
a way that the overall business requirements of the organization are met.

b. Scalability: - The network must be able to support the needs of the organization even as the
organization grows

c. Adaptability: - The network should be designed with an eye to future technologies i.e. it should support
new technologies as they become available (such as Voice-over-IP)

d. Manageability: – must be manageable. If the design is highly complex the network management team
may require an excessive amount of time and support to work with network operations personnel

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e. Cost-Effectiveness: - The cost of implementing the network must be within agreed-upon budgetary
constraints.

The Systems Development Life Cycle

The process of creating a new system, or changing an existing system, goes through a series of
phases, termed a life cycle. During this cycle, a new network or information system is planned,
implemented, p u t i n t o operation and maintained. The process begins afresh when an
existing system is retired or there is a new user request for a modification or enhancement. This
cycle is very similar to the one commonly employed by software engineers and system analysts.
Although no single life cycle perfectly describes all development projects, two general life cycle
patterns have been identified by software engineers: the waterfall cycle and the spiral cycle.
A network design process identifies all tasks that must be accomplished when designing a project.
Each design project will have its own unique needs, hence may call for different processes with
different tasks. A typical network design project will generally involve the following phases:

1. Requirements Gathering
2. Analysis of the Existing Network
3. Logical Design
4. Physical Design
5. Installation and Maintenance

Requirements Requirements Analysis Traffic Logical Logical Physical Physical Installation

Gathering Specification Specification Design Design Design Design and
Maintenance
Determine needs of: Estimate and Choose Apply the
- Business measure traffic technologies Logical Design Implement
- Users and device that meet the to the physical the Physical
- Applications utilization requirements space Design
- Network

Requirements Gathering
Enables you identify those services, functionalities and constraints that must be included in the network to
support the business objectives of the organization.

It largely calls for you to engage in a fact finding effort, using a variety of techniques, e.g. interview users,
managers, and other network personnel. In your effort, purpose to identify and resolve any conflicting needs and
Deliverables

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desires that may arise. This phase helps you to better understand the current system environment, challenges
and opportunities, hence how the new network should perform. Benefits of this face include:

x You get to gain an in-depth understanding of the current network.

x You can better formulate your project objectives based on facts on the ground.

x Can plan, early in the project, change-over approach, once new network is implemented.

x Puts you in a better position to provide appropriate mapping of network resources to all users.

It is important that you gather, document and analyze requirements for all the different
types of users, and each aspect of the organization, i.e. gather requirements for:
x The organization, as a whole
x Users
x Applications
x Hardware platforms
x Network infrastructure and
x Network support and security

Network Analysis

The network design phase aims at clearly documenting the current network situation in an organization,
therefore uses the findings from requirements gathering as input. We also aim at verifying whether the
existing network infrastructure can support identified requirements, and support future growth in line with the
strategic goals of the organization.

Network analysis enables us gather both qualitative information (such as estimates of user numbers, traffic,
and storage requirements) and data (such as traffic measurements and network management statistics). On
the basis of these, the designer creates a Traffic Specification Document, as a formal deliverable before
proceeding to the Logical design phase. Other deliverables of this phase include:

x Logical diagram of current network topology.

x Traffic patterns and volumes, and network capacity required for each application, network segment
and entire network.

x Network performance measures and statistics

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x List of design constraints on usage of the existing infrastructure or devices.

x A report on Quality of Service(QOS) provided by the Internet Service Provider (ISP) or WAN.

Logical Network Design

A logical network design describes WHAT the network must do, but not HOW it does it. In other words, it
specifies how data flows through a network, without concerning itself with the where the elements are physically
located.

It aims at identifying the services, equipment, network architecture, and addressing structure that satisfies the
identified requirements. Deliverable of this is a report that should include:

x Logical network diagrams (topology diagrams)

x Addressing strategy

x Security scheme

x Equipment specifications(hardware, software, WAN links and other requisite services)

x Cost estimates-including equipment, personnel and training costs

Physical Network Design

Addresses the HOW, i.e. show how we shall realize the logical design in the real world. In this phase, detailed
specifications of the hardware, software, links, services, and cabling necessary to implement the logical design
are prepared. The objective is to produce a document that is as detailed and specific as possible to guide the
procurement and installation of the equipment. This report generally includes the following:

x Physical network diagrams and to-scale wiring plans

x Detailed lists of equipment and parts

x Cost estimates for hardware, software, and installation labor

x Installation schedule that specifies time and duration of physical or service disruptions

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x Post-installation testing plans

x User training plans

Network Installation and Maintenance

If we carried out the previous four phases thoroughly, we can expect a smooth installation and transition from the
old systems to our new network platform. All necessary equipment(hardware and software) is purchased, tested
and installed. All other requirements are put in place-new employees, consultants, training is conducted, e.t.c.
The installed network, and segments of it are thereafter tested and migration process commences.

It is necessary that the designer participates through all phases of a network project, so they may attend to any
questions or matters arising in course of the project, make decisions, and discover problems before the
installation phase begins.

The deliverable in this phase is a fully functional, and in as much as possible, trouble free network. The other
deliverables of this phase include the following:

x Updated logical and physical diagrams, that include all changes, no matter how small.

x Cabling, connections, and devices that are clearly labeled

x Network documentation that serves as a reference point for future maintenance and enhancements.
This should also include test results and network traffic measurements

x Catalogue of Service Level Agreements (SLAs) eneterd into with concerb=ned service providers e.g.
ISPs.

After the network has been installed and is fully operational, focus shifts to maintenance (correcting errors
that may arise in course of usage and attending to failures) and enhancement-adding new capacity or
features. These are usually in response to input from users and the network itself, and each gives rise to a
repeat of the network life cycle.

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R ev i ew Qu es t i on s
1. Explain the importance of adopting a formalized process to network design.

2. Waterfall model and the spiral model are common are two common methodologies employed in
systems development. For each, discuss,

i. The steps involved

ii. Advantages

iii. Disadvantages

3. What is a SLA? What’s it importance to a network administrator?

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