ABSTRACT In this paper we expand on our experience in
practical network management system using the Simple
Network Management Protocol (SNMP) in the context of a
large-scale OSI-based campus-network TAINS. Various aspects
of network management are examined and the importance of
time is shown. The network management infrastructure
comprises of Intelligent, time-synchronised agents and expert
managers. Agents are deployed to collect information about
the network segments to which they are attached. The expert
manager talks to the agents and gathers relevant network
information which is used in conjunction with a network
knowledge base, to reconstruct the overall network-traffic
characteristic, to evaluate the status of the network and to
takelsuggest some action. The model allows some global
control, monitoring and management without installing agents
on all elements, connected to the network. The use of time
labels and narrow time windows enables the manager to obtain
a reasonably accurate picture of the network status. The
introduction of time-labelled composite objects in the MIS
provides a means of reducing the load of management-related
traffic on the network.