a distributed component framework for integrated network and systems management

Information Management & Computer SecurityA distributed component framework for integrated network and systems managementM. Knahl H.D. Hofmann A. Phippen

Article information:To cite this document:M. Knahl H.D. Hofmann A. Phippen, (1999),"A distributed component framework for integrated network and systemsmanagement", Information Management & Computer Security, Vol. 7 Iss 5 pp. 254 - 260Permanent link to this document:http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/09685229910292916

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http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/09685229910292916

A distributed component framework for integratednetwork and systems management

M. KnahlNetwork Research Group, School of Electronic, Communication and ElectricalEngineering, University of Plymouth, Plymouth, UKH.D. HofmannDepartment of Mathematics and Computing, Cork Institute of Technology,IrelandA. PhippenNetwork Research Group, School of Computing, University of Plymouth,Plymouth, UK

Introduction

Today's growing IT and telecommunication

networks, and the demand for expanded

bandwidth to enable real-time multimedia

applications, has made network and systems

management the primary enabler for effec-

tive deployment of these complex and het-

erogeneous environments. Recent research

has concentrated upon the identification of

existing requirements, systems and future

developments in the fields of asynchronous

transfer mode (ATM) and integrated network

and systems management. The requirements

from the users and the technological point of

view have been analysed. The research has

been based on theoretical study and practical

industry requirements and challenges. Man-

agement frameworks and applications that

solve dedicated management disciplines have

been implemented.

The main focus of the research presented is

the integration of ATM management proce-

dures into a novel integrated network and

systems management framework that leads

to a new management system. Research to

date has identified that essential ATM man-

agement services are not specified and im-

plemented to allow integrated management

services. ATM is going to be one networking

technology that has to coexist and interope-

rate with other switching or non-switching

based networking technologies, such as

Ethernet, and new services will be integrated

that add further complexity. The integration

of local area network (LAN) and wide area

network (WAN) services adds further com-

plexity that has to be considered whilst

implementing management services. This

paper presents a novel component-based

network and systems management frame-

work that is capable of integrating the

various management services.

Requirements for furtheroptimisation of managementprocedures

The research has identified that ATM man-

agement differs from today's network and

systems management procedures (Willets

and Adams, 1996; Ahrens, 1994). ATM and

other networking technologies will coexist in

networks and have to interoperate to guar-

antee existing services and allow future

services (Data Communications Interna-

tional, 1997). Ongoing research is investigat-

ing the developments in network and systems

management and will focus on native tech-

nologies, ATM and directions for future

technologies. This process leads to an ever

increasing number of management services

and new networking applications (e.g. Inter-

net) add further requirements to the network

and systems management frameworks.

A primary goal of an integrated network

and systems management framework is to

have an integrated system that allows the

monitoring and management of the various

services as illustrated in Figure 1. Existing

management architectures typically consist

of various dedicated management applica-

tions for specific management tasks, e.g.

router management applications for router

configuration and management or switch

management applications for switch man-

agement. Furthermore, management tasks

such as router management are in most cases

vendor specific, e.g. Cisco routers require

CiscoView (CiscoWorks) for configuration

and management tasks whereas BAY Net-

works routers require Site Manager (Optiv-

ity). Typically, large enterprise software

networks are built with equipment from

different vendors. Beside that, system man-

agement is typically based on other applica-

tions. The management architecture

presented provides a platform to integrate

the different services into one integrated

management framework.

The current issue and full text archive of this journal is available at

http://www.emerald-library.com

[ 254 ]

Information Management &Computer Security7/5 [1999] 254±260

# MCB University Press[ISSN 0968-5227]

KeywordsSystems management,

Distributed data processing,

Computer networks,

Automated teller machines,

Computer software

AbstractIt is proposed that future work

should move on from existing net-

work and system management

methodologies to consider enhan-

cing the management methodol-

ogy for ATM and other networking

technologies to meet existing and

future requirements. This paper

outlines an area where significant

potential for further research ex-

ists and proposes a component-

based management architecture.

The discussion indentifies the

technological limitations and ar-

chitectural drawbacks of current

solutions and proposes the exten-

sion of existing services and an

enhanced management framework

to overcome the current restric-

tions.

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The challenges of ATM and native network

management have been identified (Knahl et

al., 1998) and solutions offered by optimised

management procedures will be outlined.

Integrated management procedures are re-

quired that enable interoperable ATM de-

ployment. The proposed management

solution will provide an enhanced methodol-

ogy that outlines the integration of network-

ing technologies such as the different

Ethernet implementation in the LAN and

its management requirements.

Existing and future applications have

crucial requirements on the communication

infrastructure.

Therefore, management services have to

be able to provide a certain quality of service

(QoS) to the users. An application such as

video conferencing handles time critical

information (video and audio) and requires

appropriate support from the system com-

ponents and especially from the network.

New management services have to be devel-

oped to enable and offer integrated telecom-

munication services in heterogeneous

environments that were formerly performed

by separate architectures, such as the tele-

phone network and the data network. Beside

that, the Internet, and therefore TCP/IP with

its rapid growth of new services and its

rapidly growing number of users, is one

main player. All these technologies have

different technological characteristics and

QoS architectures that need to be integrated

(Wolf, 1998). Management services, e.g. for

real-time multimedia applications like video

conferencing in heterogeneous network en-

vironments with ATM and IP subnets, in-

volve communication-interaction and QoS

requirements over the end-to-end communi-

cation path. The provision of the end-to-end

service requires the provision and integra-

tion ATM and IP QoS architectures (Borden

et al., 1995).

Development of managementservices

Standardisation and development in the

fields of ATM and integrated network and

systems management is an ongoing process

and the required management services have

been identified (Emanuel, 1994). Most of the

management architectures implemented to-

day consist of different dedicated manage-

ment systems, such as stand-alone

management applications and network/sys-

tem management platforms. Existing inter-

faces for these products are typically

proprietary, product-specific interfaces to

access the GUI or the underlying database.

Therefore, additional or new functionality is

difficult to integrate due to the interfaces'

proprietary nature. Typically, large enter-

prise networks consist of multiple locations

and the network management system is also

distributed. Enterprise networks can span

time zones and continents (Strauss, 1995).

Besides the standard requirements for inte-

grated network and system management,

different organisations have additional, or

even unique, management requirements. Ex-

isting management architectures typically

consist of different management systems and

databases (e.g. network management or sys-

tems management) with architectural limita-

tions such as restricted (or no) distribution

and integration of management services.

If we consider possible scenarios to im-

prove the proprietary nature of existing

management systems, one scenario could be

that a central site wants to have the ability to

manage the switches and active network

components at all sites, but give each site the

ability to manage a particular functional or

geographic domain from that site (distribu-

ted network management). Another scenario

could be that a central site wants to manage

the network elements and the critical server

systems of the central site and the remote

sites (distributed network and systems man-

agement). The management system must

have the flexibility to accommodate different

access and control functionality. Distribution

of management tasks have to allow the

backup and recovery of all sites within the

WAN. Figure 2 compares the different ap-

proaches for dedicated management systems

and the proposed distributed system that

provides integrated management services

(Bleimann, 1996).

We identify a requirement for a management

architecture which provides the functionality

of existing management architectures, but

with additional flexibility and distribution to

accommodate new functionality or scaling

management requirements in an expanding

Figure 1Consolidation of management services

[ 255 ]

M. Knahl, H.D. Hofmann andA. PhippenA distributed componentframework for integratednetwork and systemsmanagement


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network. The management architecture pre-

sented is based on a distributed system and

provides a common management database.

Emerging component software standards

such as the `̀ Common object request broker

architecture'' (CORBA) (OMG, 1995) or the

`̀ Distributed component object model''

(DCOM) (Brown and Kindel, 1996) enable us

to develop software components which ex-

pose their functionality through interfaces

based on a standard. Therefore, any other

piece of software written to the same stan-

dard can, in theory, use the services offered

by developed component. Additionally, these

standards provide common functionality for

the communication and distribution of soft-

ware components.

By developing the management architec-

ture on top of one of these standards (COR-

BA), we can develop management services

that offer functionality through standard

interfaces. Therefore, an optimised manage-

ment system can be developed through the

integration of a number of standard man-

agement components. New functionality can

also be added to the system by the develop-

ment of new components to the same stan-

dard. Additionally, different implementation

of the same interface enables us to inter-

change components based on the manage-

ment requirements of a given system,

without having to change the core architec-

ture. Distribution of component such that

management distribution can match equip-

ment distribution is also possible using the

component standard.

New services that require ATM QoS are

starting to occur. These services need to be

managed and integrated into today's envir-

onments and new management strategies are

required. The concept and a model frame-

work of an integrated services network

provide the foundation for an integrated

management model. The service model of

communication technologies, such as IP

or ATM, must be incorporated into the

management architecture to enable the

management of integrated services via het-

erogeneous networks (Bordon et al., 1995).

Thus, the framework will be based on

different management protocols and specifi-

cations, such as SNMP (Stallings, 1998) and

TMN (Fowler, 1995).

An integrated network and systems man-

agement framework must allow the descrip-

tion and implementation of the relevant

aspects of any management procedure in a

way that is suitable as a basis for all areas of

management. For example, it has to enable

the monitoring of an Ethernet switch port as

well as the monitoring of an ATM switch

port. Beside that, the management frame-

work has to integrate the different manage-

ment disciplines (i.e. network and systems

management). For example, it has to allow

the implementation of software manage-

ment and distribution procedures (systems

management) on the one hand and proce-

dures that allow the network manager to

monitor important network links in the

LAN and WAN (network management) on

the other.

Guidelines for a management methodologyThe proposed system provides guidelines

for a management methodology. These will

Figure 2Dedicated management systems and CORBA-based management systems

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incorporate the latest developments in the

standardisation and industry implementa-

tion of ATM management and integrated

network and systems management. A robust,

scalable and open end-to-end interactive

management architecture that is ± to the

extent possible ± independent of the details of

the physical layer of the underlying network

infrastructure is required.

The architecture will incorporate ATM and

non ATM networking technologies. Guaran-

teeing and monitoring the QoS for specified

applications, which involves determining the

QoS parameters demanded by applications to

satisfy user-perceived QoS requirements and

appropriately translating them at the inter-

face units to the underlying networking and

transport layers (e.g. IP and ATM) will be

integrated into the system. This will enable

the network manager to implement services

that require ATM QoS parameters over

heterogeneous network infrastructures.

For an interaction between ATM and other

technologies, the seamless interworking and

management of the heterogeneous network

infrastructure is important. That means that

the provision of management guidelines and

services for the various objects in the net-

work have to be applicable regardless of what

is inside the network and whether both ends

are located in the same technology domain or

not. It must be possible to enable the required

end-to-end management, e.g. providing a

homogenous service over a heterogeneous

network.

Using components to enableintegrated management services

The research to date has identified that

existing frameworks and implementations do

not meet the identified requirements due to

architectural limitations. The implementa-

tion technologies used require the develop-

ment of new management applications that

operate beside existing applications if new

networking specifications, technologies and

products have to be incorporated into exist-

ing management systems. One example for

technology evolution is the Ethernet. Ori-

ginally it was specified to provide 10Mbit/

sec. shared media. It has evolved to Fast-

Ethernet (100Mbit/sec.) and Gigabit Ether-

net. All these different specifications can be

found in today's networks and the proposed

integrated management system will be able

to integrate them. The usage of software

components based in an integrated manage-

ment infrastructure will allow the reuse of

existing components and the integration of

new components into the management sys-

tem.

The system has to provide distributed

management capabilities to meet the organi-

sational and functional requirements. Man-

agement services, such as network and

system management, have to be integrated

into one management architecture that pro-

vides interfaces for the required manage-

ment services, data storage and a common

GUI. The system has to be able to integrate

new services and new technologies in a

practical and economic manner.

The suggested system will be based on a

componentware architecture as illustrated in

Figure 3. Componentware is a new paradigm

in software engineering that enables high-

level software reuse (Gruender et al., 1996). A

component is defined as a piece of software

with one or more well-defined interfaces that

is configurable, integrable and not modifi-

able (Hofmann, 1997). Software components

have to be combined in a componentware

architecture that consists of several elements

providing different services for the realisa-

tion of componentware. Each software com-

ponent is embedded in a component

container and uses services of the compo-

nent-infrastructure. The ccmponent infra-

structure, for its part, uses services of the

distribution infrastructure. The component

infrastructure offers mechanisms for compo-

nent management and component communi-

cation. This includes the migration of

components to dedicated hosts and the rea-

lisation of runtime component information

(Hofmann, 1998). The distribution infra-

structure incorporates the communication

and distribution features of different mid-

dleware technologies (e.g. CORBA or DCOM).

Using a component-based approach for the

implementation of a novel management sys-

tem offers several advantages. Component-

ware provides open, flexible and modifiable

application structures that can be adapted to

the identified requirements. It allows the

reuse of existing components that offer

Figure 3Componentware architecture

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management services and reduces redundant

application functionality through integration

of different management disciplines into one

management system. The usage of middle-

ware technologies allows a highly flexible

and distributed management solution to be

built.

Deliverables and future outlook

Deliverables and the potential of the pre-

sented research and the proposed integrated

management system are summarised below:

1 Extension of the theoretical aspects of

current research, with a far more detailed

examination of the current state of ATM

and integrated network and systems

management and its impacts on future

developments.

2 To look beyond the present day and how

management procedures may progress, in

terms of technologies and environments,

and also how these developments can be

brought, ultimately, to the real world

network environments, to the network

operators and network planners who need

integrated management procedures to en-

hance management capabilities. Central

to this is consideration and guidelines to

enable network and system operators to

exploit the promise of new integrated

management procedures.

3 Different approaches for an integrated

network and systems management archi-

tecture have been examined that led to the

design of a novel framework. Protoypical

implementation of the proposed system is

currently being undertaken, leading to a

novel software product that exploits the

promise of integrated management proce-

dures through a novel methodology. The

demonstration platform includes the abil-

ity to integrate different management

services and shows the capacity to fulfill

future management requirements and to

meet today's and future requirements.

Network management procedures inexisting and future networksNetwork management procedures in existing

and future networks have to be discussed to

identify required management services and

architectures. This includes interaction ap-

proaches for the management of ATM and

existing technologies. A discussion of appli-

cation scenarios to see what kind and amount

of interaction is required and the results will

provide further knowledge for new manage-

ment services.

A highly flexible and transparent network

management architecture that extends the

functionality and scalabitilty of existing im-

plementations has been designed and pro-

vides the foundation for the prototypical

implementation. An integrated management

methodology and management framework

for the adoption of management services for

ATM networks is going to be developed

which meets the identified requirements.

Software solutionResearch to date has shown that an integra-

tion of ATM management procedures into

native network and systems management

architectures is required to enable integrated

management services. The prototypical im-

plementation of the described management

methodology and the outlined management

framework based on components has been

developed and will be further expanded and

evaluated.

The research has identified that a man-

agement architecture has to enable distrib-

uted management services and should

provide open interfaces that are based on

industry accepted standards. Figure 4 illus-

trates the architecture of the proposed com-

ponent based management framework. This

framework is based on a management archi-

tecture discussed in (Hofmann, 1997;

Muench, 1998).

The management interface implements

the connection between the management

system and the managed objects. It can be

compared to a device driver used in operat-

ing systems. There can exist one manage-

ment interface that can be used with

different managed resources, or one for each

particular resource. The event manager

deals with events and notifications received

by the management interface and assigns

them to a set of actions. This set of actions

can, for example, be simple user notifica-

tions or direct interventions to actions

performed by managed resources. The data-

base component serves as a common data

repository and this component will be im-

plemented on the basis of an industry stan-

dard database product. The messaging

handler is used to distribute and forward the

required management information via

e-mail, fax, voice-mail, short message service

(SMS) and pager services. The front-end user

components integrate the management users

into the system. These access the database

component and display information about

the current system state and the system's

state history graphically to the user and

allow a direct notification of other users via

the messaging handler. Users that are only

allowed to monitor do not have direct access

to the management interface, whereas users

with further permissions and access rights

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can access the managed objects via the

management interface, e.g. to perform an

action via SNMP at a managed object.

Note that the management framework

described above does not commit a user of

this framework to a particular distribution

scenario since our component based man-

agement framework is fully scalable. This is

due to the fact that its components commu-

nicate via mechanisms offered by the dis-

tribution infrastructure. Another advantage

of our approach is that components can be

easily replicated or migrated in order to meet

changing systems or user requirements.

Management interfaces can, for example, be

located physically near to the managed

resources whilst more than one event man-

ager component can be installed with the

system by replication in order to be able to

process a great amount of incoming events.

The presented management framework

will enable the integration of existing man-

agement procedures as well as the integra-

tion of future management procedures that

may be required to integrate as yet unknown

technologies. Furthermore, the suggested

management framework will ensure that

multiple software developers are able to

integrate different management services for

the framework using its core services. The

prototypical implementation will demon-

strate its architectural principles and man-

agement capabilities to provide end-to-end

management services. ATM and non ATM

managed objects will be incorporated via the

common network management interface into

the system to demonstrate the integrated

management architecture (Figure 5). The

network management interfaces will access

the managed objects such as switches and

routers via the implemented and provided

management and control interfaces. Today,

most network elements have SNMP inter-

faces that provide a set of standardised

management and control informations and

vendor specific extensions. SNMPv2 and

other interfaces (e.g. JAVA-based manage-

ment and control interfaces) are starting to

be specified and implemented into network

elements. The distributed component frame-

work enables implementation of the appro-

priate and required interface for the various

network elements that have to be integrated

via the management interface. The manage-

ment interface can be expanded to implement

additional and future access interfaces (e.g.

SNMPv2, JAVA). These interfaces are trans-

parent for the user because the same man-

agement services will manage objects with

SNMP or other interfaces.

Middleware technology such as CORBA or

DCOM and object-oriented programming

languages (C++ and Java) are used for the

implementation of the components and the

management services. This component based

architecture allows the abstraction and reuse

of implemented services and, therefore, en-

ables the integration of new services and

technologies.

Conclusions

This paper examined the current state of

ATM and integrated network and systems

management and its impact on future devel-

opments. Existing limitations and restric-

tions have been examined and new

approaches and solutions to overcome the

current limitations are outlined.

Different approaches for an integrated

network and systems management architec-

ture have been examined and a novel,

component based management framework

that provides integrated management ser-

vices has been introduced. The presented

management framework exploits the promise

of integrated management procedures

through a novel methodology and new soft-

ware technology. This management archi-

tecture has the capacity to meet today's and

future management requirements and in-

cludes the ability to integrate different man-

agement services.

Figure 5Network management interface

Figure 4Component-based management framework

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a distributed component framework for integrated network and systems management

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