Network management

About: Network management is a research topic. Over the lifetime, 17859 publications have been published within this topic receiving 234520 citations. The topic is also known as: computer network management & NM.

Smart Packets for active networks

Abstract: Smart Packets is a DARPA-funded Active Networks project focusing on applying active networks technology to network management and monitoring without placing undue burden on the nodes in the network. Messages in active networks are programs that are executed at nodes on the path to one or more target hosts. Smart Packets programs are written in a tightly-encoded, safe language specifically designed to support network management and avoid dangerous constructs and accesses. Smart Packets improves the management of large complex networks by (1) moving management decision points closer to the node being managed, (2) targeting specific aspects of the node for information rather than exhaustive collection via polling, and (3) abstracting the management concepts to language constructs, allowing nimble network control. This paper introduces Smart Packets and describes the Smart Packet architecture, the packet formats, the language and its design goals, and security considerations.

Blind Dates and Arranged Marriages: Longitudinal Processes of Network Orchestration

Abstract: Using longitudinal qualitative and network data capturing five years of evolution of an interorganizational network, this paper explores network orchestration – the process of assembling and developing an interorganizational network. In particular, we analyze shifts in the network orchestrator’s actions and the network’s structure and composition. We find that an orchestrator builds the capacity to assemble a network over time through the accumulation of resources and specialized expertise. However, as the network develops, an orchestrator faces an evolving set of dilemmas arising from the need to demonstrate value for various members and audiences. To resolve these dilemmas, orchestrators may shift their actions, moving from initially encouraging serendipitous encounters between network members (“blind dates”) to increasingly selecting members and more closely influencing their interactions (“arranging marriages”). We discuss implications of our findings for a processual understanding of orchestrated net...

PGA: Using Graphs to Express and Automatically Reconcile Network Policies

Abstract: Software Defined Networking (SDN) and cloud automation enable a large number of diverse parties (network operators, application admins, tenants/end-users) and control programs (SDN Apps, network services) to generate network policies independently and dynamically. Yet existing policy abstractions and frameworks do not support natural expression and automatic composition of high-level policies from diverse sources. We tackle the open problem of automatic, correct and fast composition of multiple independently specified network policies. We first develop a high-level Policy Graph Abstraction (PGA) that allows network policies to be expressed simply and independently, and leverage the graph structure to detect and resolve policy conflicts efficiently. Besides supporting ACL policies, PGA also models and composes service chaining policies, i.e., the sequence of middleboxes to be traversed, by merging multiple service chain requirements into conflict-free composed chains. Our system validation using a large enterprise network policy dataset demonstrates practical composition times even for very large inputs, with only sub-millisecond runtime latencies.

Method and apparatus for displaying health status of network devices

Abstract: A method and apparatus for concurrently displaying from a single window on a network management station the health status of all network devices and objects of a computer network. The network devices may be categorized according to state or device type, as determined by the network manager. The method and apparatus provides a network manager with the ability to determine the current state of network devices and objects within an enterprise network and invoke further actions such as configuration, performance, fault, and security management tasks. The network manager can drag and drop icons from one network management system application window to another network management system application window to obtain fault information about network devices and objects, thus allowing multiple network management system applications to run concurrently on the same network management station. The network manager is further able to add new network devices and objects by dragging site, folder or device icons from one network management system application window to a second network management system application window for displaying the health status of the new devices. The dragged-in devices are added to the appropriate status panes within the second window according to the method of the present invention.

FlowScan: A Network Traffic Flow Reporting and Visualization Tool

Abstract: nternet traffic flow profiling has become a useful technique in the passive measurement and analysis field. The prerequisites for flow-based measurements are now available within the network infrastructure - particularly, in popular Cisco network devices. The integration of this feature has enabled the "flow" concept to become a valuable tool for the network administrator, as it had been in the past for the researcher.This paper describes FlowScan, a software package for open systems that is freely available under the terms of the GNU General Public License. FlowScan analyzes and reports on flow data exported by Internet Protocol routers. It is an assemblage of perl scripts and modules and is the glue that binds together other freely available components such as a flow collection engine, a high performance database, and a visualization tool. Once assembled, the FlowScan system produces graph images, suitable for use in web pages. These provide a continuous, near real-time view of the network traffic through a network's border.Although there are now a number of tools available that collect and process flow data, there is a dearth of visualization tools. By utilizing freely available software tools, FlowScan can be readily deployed in most modern educational institution, corporate, and ISP networks. The information presented by FlowScan assists in understanding the nature of the traffic that your network is carrying. It can be useful in the identification and investigation of anomalies such as poor performance and attacks on hosts. It can provide a foundation on which to develop usage-based billing or to verify the effectiveness of Quality-of-Service policies. By understanding the flows of traffic carried by the network, your institution should be able to make informed network management and bandwidth provisioning decisions.