Framework for end-to-end proactive network management

Current advances in networking, computing, software and web technologies have led to an explosive growth in the development of networked applications. Management of large-scale networks and their applications is an extremely complex task due to factors such as centralized management architectures, lack of coordination and compatibility among heterogeneous network management systems, and dynamic characteristics of networks and application bandwidth requirements. We do need to develop an integrated network management paradigm that is proactive, scalable and robust. In this paper, we present a framework for end-to-end proactive management of global heterogeneous networks and their applications. Our framework consists of a three-level hierarchy: Network and Protocol Management (NPM), Management Computing System (MCS), and Application-Centric Management (ACM). The NPM layer addresses the issues of utilizing existing network management tools, abstracting their collected management information, and providing proactive management services to manage networks and protocols. The MCS layer addresses the core system management issues and provides system management services to enable the development of efficient proactive management of a wide range of network applications. The ACM layer addresses the issues required to develop application specific management techniques, and manage applications so they can meet their requirements in real-time.