Network Management

Although the physical location of the personal computers on a local area network seldom changes, networks are still dynamic entities. That is, the logical makeup of any network fluctuates from moment to moment.

For example, the number of data and application files in use or stored away, the amount of available disk storage space, the number of users logged in to the network, and the volume of traffic passing through the network cabling all change continually. Moreover, a network offers users a distributed-processing environment, with some processing performed by a centrally located server, some done at users' workstations, adding even more activity to the network.

Keeping this conglomeration of network hardware, software, cables, and the people using them working efficiently comes under the ambiguous term of network management. It's ambiguous in that managing a network can range from the simple to the complex, from a moment's quick fix of plugging in a misplaced network cable to a day-long search for an obscure disk problem.

Network management can be as simple as creating a boot diskette for a new user and making sure that user has proper access to network resources. (Although in truth these jobs may not be all that simple in some widely distributed networks.)

Or managing a network can include daily disk-maintenance duties backing up network files or defragmenting disk directories. Or it may mean troubleshooting the network, trying to discover why some users are experiencing slow network response. Or it may include reconfiguring a remote internetwork...