You are here

Network Management Review

Project ID: 
33
Current stage: 
Manager: 
Unit: 
What: 

Description: Review our existing network management technology, to see how it will
fit in with the new building and potential 802.1X deployment, and whether it
could usefully be enhanced.

Deliverables: A review document with recommendations.

It is not proposed that any changes are made as part of this project.
If necessary, a new project will be started as a result of the
recommendations made.

Why: 

Customer: Infrastructure Unit; all COs.

Case statement: Our existing network management technology, while fairly comprehensive
and straightforward to use, does require some knowledge of the details
of our network layout. While this has not so far proved too much of
a problem in our existing buildings, the new building will be rather
bigger and in some ways less clear, and there is at least the potential
for the existing tools being "too hard" for everyday use.

There were also some features which were lost when the
unified Informatics network was created out of the pre-existing
Department networks. It is not clear whether it would be useful to
reintroduce these, or indeed whether some other mechanism (e.g. 802.1X)
might render them unnecessary.

When: 

Status: Was stalled, pending assignment of person-power.

Timescales: It would be good to look fairly soon at least at the likely network in the new
building and the way particular configurations might affect the usability
of the existing tools.

Priority:

Time:

How: 

Proposal:

Resources:

Plan:

Other: 

Dependencies: There might be an interaction with 802.1X deployment. This remains to
be seen, and will become clearer as this and the Unit's
separate 802.1X project progress.

It is likely that we will be able to manage with the existing technology
in the new building at least initially, even if this project does conclude
that some enhancement, or even outright change, is desirable.

Risks:

URL: http://www.dice.inf.ed.ac.uk/units/infrastructure/Projects/06-NetMan.html

Milestones

Proposed date Achieved date Name Description
2008-11-07 2008-10-31 RequirementsCap Solicit input from all interested parties within the School regarding what they see as deficiencies in the current network management system, and what they would like to see in a new system.
2009-01-29 2008-12-31 FinalReport Produce final report