Development of network management console: SNMP based network mapping and fault management

Network management tools are used to manage and monitor the internetworking environment of an organization. This tools help to identify problems and potential problems of an internetworking environment. They also can be used to assist the help desk in identifying and escalating problems relating to the IT infrastructure. Fault management is the process of locating and correcting network problems or faults. Fault management is an important element of network management which consists of three steps. The steps are identifying the occurrence of a fault, isolating the cause of the fault and facilitating fault correction. This paper discusses the work done to develop an SNMP based network mapping and fault management tool at University Tenaga Nasional. The system displays a status map, where a visual display of the status of critical network elements are displayed to allow users to verify and isolate problems. An end-to-end testing function is used for testing on a scheduled or on-demand basis. The system also creates a historical record of the faults.