Architectures for network and systems management

Network management has been a major point of contention for many years. It is difficult to see how any one specific offering, probably relating to a single networked systems architecture, can meet all possible business and technological needs. It is, however, with this brief, that the work on OSI management standards began in 1978. A great deal of work has gone into consideration of user needs for network and systems management, and hence to views of the architectural requirements to meet those needs. The author reviews the user needs, considers specific elements of management architecture (particularly with respect to OSI management standardisation), and draws a number of startlingly simple conclusions