An Industry Initiative Proposal by The NSS Group

An NSS Group White Paper

by Steve Broadhead

As a result of speaking with a number of the new players in the network management space recently it has become clear that there is a need to establish some kind of industry body or focus group to help take network management into the 21^st century.

The Issues

The issues are many and varied but the basics are simple:

Networking as we knew it has been changed dramatically by the impact of IP and the Internet.

Network management tools developed in the last decade were not designed to manage the kind of service-provider oriented “super networks” now becoming commonplace.

As the shift towards end-users outsourcing their networking requirements to service providers - whether SPs, ASPs, NSPs or any other form of provider - increases so the need for a new generation of network management products becomes ever greater and ever more urgent.

The good old, bad old SNMP/RMON approach to network management alone is nowhere near sufficient to manage today’s – let alone tomorrow’s – networks.

Many service providers themselves openly admit they cannot deliver on the kind of high-value SLAs they would like to offer their customers, because they believe the network management infrastructure is not in place to enable them to do so.

The Proposal

For these and many other reasons, The NSS Group – the leading European independent test labs and consultancy – has been approached to investigate the feasibility of establishing such a body as that described above: The Next Generation Network Management Forum or NG-NMF. This will be a new industry initiative to promote contemporary and future network management issues and, in particular, new methodologies that will encourage widespread adoption of good NMS practice in what many are calling the “new world”. Moreover, the aim of the NG-NMF is to help shape future industry standards in network management and ensure we have a real basis for moving forward in the next century.

Many of the network management vendors we’ve spoken with of recent from varied quarters – for example, Chevin Software, Hewlett Packard, Network Associates, Quallaby and Riversoft – as well as consultancies and integrators such as Cap Gemini and Logical, share our view that the networking industry in general – whether at enterprise or SP level - has so far effectively avoided implementing true network management strategies where possible, due largely to issues relating to cost of ownership and practical implementation. It’s not that the products out there do not exist, but more a case of the “new wave” of management tools suppliers being forced still to dance to the tune of the incumbent management product vendors, with their pure SNMP-oriented approach to network management.

That said, companies such as HP have already shown they are equally keen to move on to the next generation of network management and this forum is intended as a vehicle for ALL vendors involved in network management to shape the future together. History has shown that there is far more to be gained through co-opetition than an attitude of stubborn competition with industry standards dominating network management.

The aim of the forum is therefore to help advance network management at all levels and – in so doing - enable the kind of global networking services being proposed by the carriers, SPs and vendors alike to become a widespread reality.

Why The NSS Group?

With test labs and seminar facilities in France and the UK, and a long history in networking among vendors and press alike on a global basis, The NSS Group is well positioned to host the NG-NMF and help promote the cause of network management world-wide.

We therefore propose an inaugurate meeting of potential NG-NMF members – before year-end - in order to establish a direction and program for the forum. This could be hosted by NSS at our facility in the South of France, or any other venue, such as London, if popularly agreed upon.

Beyond this, the proposal is that an annual subscription fee be introduced for each member to cover basic NSS administrative costs in establishing and hosting a series of NG-NMF events. These would be intended to cover both internal development issues through technology briefings as well as public briefings such as press and analyst symposiums. Events such as these would be charged on a per-event basis.

So What Are You Waiting For?

Speaking with a number of service providers recently, it is clear that there is a real and urgent need for a new generation of network management products to be in place and interoperable, in order for these providers – your customers – to be able to actually deliver the kind of high-value services they are proposing to their customers.

The bottom line is that you help your customers make money to help you make money.

So please respond with your ideas and feedback so that the NG-NMF can make high-speed global networking services a reality through next generation network management.

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