Understanding Unified Network Management

Unified Network Management (NMS) administers both wired and wireless networks via a single interface. Unified NMS has transformed the concept of vertical management by enabling unified management at the Element, Network, and Service management layers. Unified Management can also be defined as follows:

• Management of several technological domains (wireless backhaul/transport, wireless broadband access, xDSL / VoIP access, etc.) from a single platform.
• A contemporary, straightforward, and easy-to-use unified user interface. Highly efficient service fulfilment and assurance give a better user experience and lower NOC expenses.
• As a result of the unified North Bound Interfaces (NBIs), the OSS integration burden is reduced.

In line with the trend toward network convergence, unified management can be applied in a variety of networking scenarios, streamlining network roll-out via centralized implementation and auto-discovery functionality, as well as system operations through sophisticated correlation rules and end-to-end performance evaluation.

Characteristics of Unified Network Management

A unified network management platform provides a unified interface via which network engineers may inspect, set up, monitor, change, and troubleshoot issues in wired and wireless networks.

Other features include; Device monitoring and defect reporting, configuration management, traffic analysis, automated service provisioning and delivery, network performance monitoring, and reporting and analytics.

A unified network management tool should allow you to handle basic network tasks from a single panel. Planning, provisioning, configuring, monitoring (including performance, security, and integrity monitoring), managing exceptions, logging, and reporting are examples of such functions. The console must additionally incorporate wireless management-specific components such as connection dependability, spectrum management, and monitoring, location and tracking capability, and extra security considerations.

Benefits of Unified Network Management

Enables numerous functions: A unified network management platform should be capable of more than just monitoring and issue reporting. It also handles configuration and performance management.

Cost reduction: By consolidating products and retiring older solutions, enterprises may save money on the procurement and maintenance of endpoint management systems.

Support for several vendors and networks: Today's enterprises have diverse network infrastructures (wired, wireless, and virtualized). A unified network management platform should be able to accommodate diverse device/equipment varieties from different suppliers.

Sophisticated reporting: The platform should be able to deliver advanced network performance reporting and analytics. Documentation should focus on business operations that CTOs may use to improve capital investment decisions. Additionally, by utilizing a management platform, businesses may lower the mean time to resolution (MTTR) through greater root cause analysis (RCA).

Beyond routers and switches: A competent system should be able to deliver data that is not limited to routers and switches. This implies that essential application servers, gateway firewalls/UTM, network security solutions, and bandwidth load balancers should all be integrated into the overall network management strategy.