Element Managers (Vendor-Specific Management) (Essential SNMP)

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5.3. Element Managers (Vendor-Specific Management)

These software packages are geared toward a certain type of vendor or function; for example, an element manager might be a product that focuses on managing a modem rack. Before purchasing such a package, take a good look at your present environment, how it's likely to grow, and what vendors you are currently using or are likely to use in the future. Because many of these products are vendor-specific, it's easy to buy something that turns out to be less useful than you expect. For example, CiscoView (part of the CiscoWorks suite) is a great piece of software; it does lots of fancy things, such as showing you the backs of your routers. However, if you purchase a number of Nortel devices a few months after installing this product, it won't be able to give you a unified view of your network. Some packages do allow you to manage their competitor's equipment; for example, an element manager that monitors switches may be able to handle switches from competing vendors. Before buying any of these products, research where your network is headed, and be sure to ask hard questions about the products' capabilities. The remainder of this section lists some of the available element managers.

Sun Management Center

http://www.sun.com/symon/

Platforms

Solaris, Windows (Console layer)

Pros

Provides a single point of management for all Sun servers, desktops, storage systems, the Solaris operating environment, applications, and datacenter services. This product scales to thousands of systems on a single, unified management platform and integrates easily with leading third-party platforms for added flexibility. It also has the ability to get real-time system performance and offers a free hardware diagnostic suite (plug-in) that detects hardware faults.

Cons

While it can manage and monitor other vendors, this ability doesn't come easily.

CiscoWorks 2000

http://www.cisco.com

Platforms

Solaris, HP-UX, AIX, Windows NT for some

Pros

This suite allows you to do everything from version control on your configuration files to latency graphs and detailed pictures of the backs of your devices. If you have a Cisco shop, stop everything and get this package!

Cons

The maps are a bit hokey. Doesn't produce a very friendly snapshot of your network, and has a hard time returning configurations to the devices. Would be nice if it could restore as easily as it backs up.

3Com Total Control

http://www.3com.com

Platforms

Solaris, Windows 9x

Pros

Allows the user to view the status of a modem rack by displaying an image of how the modem rack physically looks -- everything down to the bolts and logo. The user can proceed to reset individual cards or reset the entire chassis, among other things. This is a very slick product and can be very useful when trying to track down equipment problems.

Cons

Since newer 3Com Total Control chassis can have up to 336 modems, this can be a bear to start (it has to query the status of all the modems in the rack). The startup time can be greatly affected by the speed of the network between you and the chassis in question.

Aprisma (Formerly Spectrum for Cabletron hardware.)

http://www.aprisma.com

Platforms

Unix, Windows NT

Pros

Very good tool for managing Cabletron equipment, and is starting to add the ability to manage equipment from other vendors.

Cons

Complicated to set up and maintain. Meant for shops that need a high-end platform.

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