Explain different tools and techniques of Web Based Management System.

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he expanding use of intranets—which are essentially smaller, private versions of the global Internet—has sparked the creation of Web-based tools for monitoring and managing enterprise networks. In fact, a new network management paradigm has emerged that allows administrators to use Web browsers to monitor, configure, and control enterprise networks and their various components. Use of the popular Web browser gives network managers a degree of mobility they did not have before and enables a wider range of users to access network status information. In addition, Web browsers overcome many interoperability issues that are inherent in multiplatform environments.

The convenience and ease of use of Web-based management (WBM) tools is very appealing. A Web-based management tool is easier to use than the command-line interfaces of UNIX systems. Such tools can be used from any PC or workstation with a browser. This also means network planners, designers, and managers do not have to load specialized client software on their laptops. With a Web browser, users can access management information on the corporate intranet at any time—in any building, while traveling, or even at home. There are now WBM tools for virtually any type of network: LANs, frame relay and ATM data networks; traditional voice networks; and even legacy SNA networks.

In being able to access performance data and implement routine management tasks over the Web, companies with global networks do not have to distribute expensive management platforms to every remote site. The availability of Webbased management tools also has the potential to reduce the cost of managing transmission facilities and services by eliminating the need for proprietary, high priced equipment offered by carriers. In fact, carriers such as AT&T MCI WorldCom, and Sprint offer Web-based management tools to their customers, recognizing their need for low-cost alternative management solutions.

Applications

There are three fundamental applications where WBM tools can provide a significant benefit: individual device configuration and management, Web browser access to sophisticated management applications, and corporate access to network status data.

DEVICE CONFIGURATION Web-based configuration and management of individual devices is a capability aimed at administrators of small networks who may not have their own network management system, or branch office locations where technical expertise is not immediately available. Such users need configuration tools that are easy to use and which can be accessed with a Web browser.

This is accomplished by providing an agent with the equipment to be configured. The agent includes a native HTML interface for access over the Web. The manager enters basic configuration parameters for each device by completing a simple online electronic form. Remote monitoring of simple device statistics is also possible via the browser, using graphical displays of basic device information and performance indicators.

NETWORK SUPPORT Access to network management information from any browser-equipped desktop is targeted at enterprise network support staffs who already use such advanced platforms as Hewlett-Packard’s OpenView to monitor the network, understand potential faults and alarms, and provide end-users with continuous network availability. The addition of Web browsers provides a lowcost option for easily accessing important information from any location.

For example, a staff member out on the manufacturing floor troubleshooting the network may need to access a particular management application. Through a Web browser running on any convenient PC or laptop computer, the technician can access the necessary application and continue the troubleshooting process. This reduces the time and effort to do the job.

ACCESS TO NETWORK STATUS DATA Web reporting of network status information via the organization’s intranet is aimed at Information Systems (IS) group managers who usually do not operate the network or get involved in extremely technical detail. Instead, their goal is to quickly obtain information about the state of the network and view trends over time, so they can identify potential trouble spots. The Web provides an easy, economical way to distribute this type of information to all who need it.

Various people within the organization need different types of information.

Members of the finance group, for instance, may need usage information for accounting purposes, while database users may need to determine system status or submit an online trouble ticket and follow it through to resolution. The corporate intranet offers a simple, effective method for distributing this type of information to people who do not normally have ready access to traditional management systems.

Web-Based Management Approaches

There are two basic strategies for implementing WBM: the proxy solution and the embedded approach. While these methodologies can be used in combination, each has advantages.

PROXY SOLUTION The proxy solution adds a Web-based server to an intermediate workstation called a proxy, which interconnects with the end devices it manages (Figure 130). Users access the proxy through a Web browser, using the HyperText Transfer Protocol (HTTP), while the proxy accesses end devices using the Simple Network Management Protocol (SNMP). Usually, this approach adds a Web server to an existing management product, which optimizes product functionalities, such as database access and SNMP polling. This approach maintains the advantages of the workstation-based management systems while adding flexible access to intranet data. Since the proxy communicates with all the managed devices, the administrator can view all or portions of the company’s networks, servers, and desktops, as well as such logical entities as virtual LANs. Since the proxy-to-device protocol remains SNMP, this approach also works with SNMP-only devices.

EMBEDDED METHOD The embedded method actually installs Web server functionality in each end device. Since each device has its own Web address, the administrator can use a Web browser to visit the managed devices (Figure 131). This approach allows graphical management of those devices.

Enterprise networks can make use of both proxy-based and embedded Web server capabilities. Large organizations can avail themselves of the enterprise wide monitoring and management capabilities that are only provided with the proxy solution. The proxy solution can also manage SNMP-only devices. In conjunction with proxy-based servers, large corporations could also benefit from embedded Web servers because of their simple set-up requirements and their ability to manage new devices.

Figure 130

The proxy solution for Web-based management.

Figure 131

The embedded approach to Web-based management.

The embedded Web server approach is especially well suited for managing small branch offices. These networks are relatively simple and typically do not require powerful management systems or need enterprise-wide views. Users at these remote locations usually are not familiar with device-control and network procedures. Embedded Web servers allow these users to become operational quickly with minimal instruction. Although the plug-and-play nature of Webbased devices simplifies installation and minimizes troubleshooting, they do not necessarily limit device-level capabilities.

A Web browser can communicate directly with networked devices using HTTP. The most common reasons for connecting directly to individual network devices include configuration and reconfiguration, simple status monitoring, and implementing specific corrective actions. For small networks, this approach alone might be a sufficient management solution; for larger networks, this approach will typically supplement more global tools in a variety of possible circumstances, including the final stages of problem resolution.

Components of WBM

The components of WBM can be written in any language, including HyperText Markup Language (HTML), Common Gateway Interface (CGI), and Java.

HTML provides a standardized way to create pages of Web-based information and embed hyperlinks that lead the user to other pages. While HTML pages are usually static and textual, they can be made interactive by embedding graphics and active elements, such as Java applets and CGI applications, within the page. HTML is good for displaying tables of information, such as network inventory details and IP address listings.

CGI is not a language, but a protocol used to access database information. For example, a WBM application may need to display the current number of incomplete work orders. This data could be stored in the database of a proxy workstation. A CGI application can be used to query the database and to format an HTML page on-the-fly to display the information.

Java is an interpretive programming language and is rapidly emerging as an important development tool, especially for management applications. Java code is not compiled before run time but is interpreted by a Java Virtual Machine (JVM) at run time. JVMs are included with such Web browsers as Netscape Navigator and Microsoft Internet Explorer, enabling these browsers to execute Java code.

Java applets, which can be called from either a proxy or embedded Web

server, can be used to:

• Display dynamic graphs that interpret network operations
• Illustrate complex situations, such as interactive views of chassis hubs or modules of a stackable hub
• Display real-time data that can be updated from polling and traps
• Add graphics, including animation

Because Java can produce applications that are portable across UNIX, Windows, and other environments, a JVM can be embedded in an end device and the device agent can then execute Java code. Code can be distributed dynamically, ported from a management proxy to devices, and ported between devices or components within a device.

The use of Java within an embedded agent can increase management capabilities by enforcing policy-based management or security rules. For example, assume an administrator wants to enable remote network access between 6:00 a.m. and 6:00 p.m. Traditional methods, such as SNMP sets, have been used to enforce such restrictions but at the cost of increasing network traffic and with the difficulty of scaling to handle thousands of devices. While a device-resident agent could perform this function, agent releases are typically infrequent. An embedded agent with a JVM could independently create the scheduling routine and dynamically distribute the policy to restricted devices, eliminating the need for an agent release.

Standards

The first Web-based management tool was introduced in 1994 by Thomas Conrad Inc., a small networking device vendor that has since been acquired by Compaq. A handful of pioneers followed suit in 1995. By 1996, virtually every major interconnect and network management vendor had either introduced or announced plans for Web-based management products that could be accessed with ordinary Web browsers.

The idea behind Web-based management is simple as it was compelling: it gives managers, administrators, and authorized end users access to management information from dissimilar platforms such as MVS, VMS, Windows NT, UNIX, and NetWare. However, the product development efforts of vendors are unfocused and there is still lack of agreement on standards.

Not only are vendors and carriers approaching Web-based management in different ways, but the tools they offer address different pieces of the management puzzle. Capabilities offered by one vendor are often un-addressed by other vendors. Some vendors’ reporting capabilities consist of static displays, while others offer real-time displays that report status changes for as long as the connection is open.

There are several standards efforts underway that attempt to address the functionality, interoperability, security, and performance issues of Web-based management. What makes standards so difficult to achieve is that the current proposals are vendor biased. If the differing views of vendors can be reconciled and a single standard agreed to, the Web browser may emerge as the key building block of tomorrow’s network management console.

Last Word

The advent of intranets that provide enterprise-wide data has spawned two main Web-based management approaches: the proxy Web server method and the embedded Web server approach. While both methods can be used together, generally the proxy method is more useful for larger enterprises that want to complement their workstation-based management systems. The embedded server method is better suited for small groups that do not need the complex functions offered by the first method.

Web-based management standards would provide network managers with what they need most: a cost-effective means for consolidating topology, fault, and performance data from many management platforms, element managers, and devices. Already, many Web-based tools are in the process of being integrated with one or more of the major management platforms, including Hewlett- Packard’s OpenView, SunSoft’s Solstice SunNet Manager, and IBM’s NetView. The reason for optimism here is that these platforms owe their market dominance to their ability to pull data from vast multi-vendor networks, so a high degree of de facto standardization is possible, regardless of the  outcome of formal standardization processes.
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