Proactive Performance Management

Abstract

Many organizations define the elements of network management as FCAPS — fault management, configuration management, accounting/billing, performance management, and security management — and try to address each element. Organizations today often have a variety of different tools to help manage the performance of the network. Despite the plethora of tools and the variety of tasks that are undertaken in the typical enterprise network, comprehensive and proactive performance management still eludes many organizations. The goal of proactive performance management is to ensure that service level agreements are being met and will continue to be met. In order to begin a process of enhancing the performance management capabilities of an organization, one must begin with a baseline. The process of optimizing the network design as performed in the network systems planning function is a key to turning the performance management function from being reactive to being proactive.