Book Review: Network Management & Reengineering

Network Management - A Practical Perspective
2nd Edition
by Allan Leinwand and Karen Fang Conroy
Addison Wesley Unix and Open Systems Series
338 pages, $XX.XX
ISBN 0-201-60999-1


Network Reengineering - The New Technical Imperative
by James T. Geier
Computing McGraw-Hill
(hardbound)
319 pages, $45.00
ISBN 0-07-023034-X

---

Network Management

The term "network management" probably has a different meaning for each person that hears it. This book begins by defining all of the relevant terms, including what network management is. It then proceeds to cover the topic from both the beginner's perspective and that of the experienced network manager.

Leinwand and Conroy define their objectives, and then dive right into the subject at hand. The book is well structured, so information is easy to find. Each chapter begins with a mini-table of contents followed by a few paragraphs of the continuing saga of Chris, the fictitious "MegaNet" network engineer. These little chapter introductions provide continuity that helps to tie the whole book together. They also set up the subject matter of each chapter, and enhance the easy-reading style of the book.

Following the text of each chapter is a summary and a brief list of recommended reading, which they call "For Further Study." Distributing this information throughout the book seems much more useful than the typical practice of placing the bibliography and recommended reading list in an appendix, where everything is out of context at the end of the book.

The text is further backed up by a 21-page glossary and has a 10-page index to help you find your way through it. The glossary is outstanding, although you may need to look a bit to find what you want. For example, there is no listing for "IPX." To find it, you must know that IPX is a Novell protocol, and look in the glossary under "Novell IPX."

The authors did a good job of providing information without simply reprinting standards documents from the Internet. There are two appendices providing instructions for procuring standards documents, either online or in print form. The relevant chapters tell you which RFC (Request For Comment) or other document is being discussed, and refer you to the appendix so that you can have it at hand. This saves the book from swelling to twice its size and assures that you have the most up-to-date copies of those documents.

After Part 1 of the book spends seven chapters providing an overview of network management and setting the stage, Part 2 gets right into the meat of network management protocols. A full chapter is dedicated to SNMP (Simple Network Management Protocol), and another to CMIS/CMIP (Common Management Information Services/Common Management Information Protocol). In the introductory text to one of these chapters, Chris points out, "The nice thing about standards is that there are so many of them to choose from." This is a saying that the authors take to heart.

Part 3 of the book discusses Management Information Bases (MIB II and RMON MIB). Definitely follow the authors' recommendation and have the RFC documents handy when you read these chapters.

The fourth and final section is a single chapter dedicated to productivity tools. The authors carefully avoid recommending any specific tools, while letting you know what is available and providing the information necessary to choose good software yourself.

Network Reengineering

In Network Reengineering, Jim Geier takes the concept of proactive system management to networking. His book is dedicated to the premise that planning ahead and redesigning your network on the fly will lead to higher productivity, fewer painful legacy systems, and simpler network management.

As an example, Geier describes a real-world networking environment, consisting of both new equipment and equipment that has been in place for ten or twenty years. Without proper reengineering and maintenance, each generation of new equipment will create a new layer of legacy systems. Documentation and procedures for the older machines will become lost or obsolete until those systems are virtually un-maintainable.

A reengineering process, however, keeps a smooth transition process constantly running. When new systems are added, old ones are brought up to the latest revisions of software, and interfaces are checked for compatibility. When the end of a system's useful life is in sight, planning must begin immediately for transferring data and functionality elsewhere on the network.

This book gets into considerably lower-level detail than Network Management does. It also gets into brand names. While Geier stops short of recommending specific products or manufacturers, he does tell you what questions to ask, and provides a 24-page list of network component vendors.

The book is well laid out for walking you through the reengineering process. Part 1 goes through planning, Part 2 covers analysis and design, and Part 3 discusses the implementation. The chapters on analysis and design start at the high-level requirements analysis, with discussion of topography and topology (yes, the book explains how they differ), hardware platforms, operating systems, routers, and much more. From there, Part 2 proceeds step-by-step right down to wiring, power requirements, and UPSs (Uninterruptable Power Supplies).

Because of this structured approach, leaping into the middle of Network Reengineering could leave you thoroughly confused. I recommend reading the book from front to back, exactly as the author intended. If you're like me, you'll leave behind numerous bookmarks, sticky notes, and/or dog-eared pages. Network Reengineering is simply loaded with useful tips. Unfortunately, the index often does not help you to find the data you want. As an example, there is an excellent overview of satellite c ommunications that I wanted to go back to, but it is not mentioned in the index. In all fairness, however, I did find it quickly by scanning through the book for the accompanying illustrations, and "satellite communications" is also listed in the table of contents.

Geier's 16-page glossary defines its terms well, with a more engineering-oriented focus than Network Management's glossary. The choice of terms for inclusion often left me baffled, however. The glossary lists TCP, but not IP, IPX, or UDP. It includes the World Wide Web, but not the Internet. It defines a T1 line, but not a T3 line. Unix network administrators will appreciate the glossary listing Unix and POSIX, but not Windows, OS/2, or NT.

Appendix B lists network standards, and it is quite a useful compendium. Like the glossary, though, there are some rather odd omissions. It lists the 10base2, 10base5, and 100baseT standard s, while omitting 10baseT, which is described elsewhere in the book as the version of Ethernet most organizations use. The 8-pin RJ-45 telephone connector is described, while omitting its cousin the RJ-11, used for standard telephony and local serial communications.

An interesting slip is the definition of PPP as "the successor to SLIP" while defining SLIP as "a protocol superseding PPP." In other words, SLIP (Serial Line Internet Protocol) and PPP (Point-to-Point Protocol) replace each other? And in looking for clarification, neither SLIP nor PPP can be found in the 12-page index.

Same Audiences, Different Messages

These two books address the same audiences: network engineers and managers. The subject matter, however, is quite different.

Leinwand and Conroy's book explains how to manage a network. The focus is on troubleshooting, securing, and analyzing existing networks. The authors are more interested in showing you how to find a flaw in the network quickly than in explaining why you should choose a specific protocol or type of cable.

Geier, on the other hand, explains how to redesign and modify your network. His focus is on planning ahead, avoiding obsolescence, and preventing legacy systems. Network Reengineering gets right down to the nitty-gritty of wiring specs and choosing an NOS (Network Operating System).

If you are taking over the r esponsibility for a network, and you need to wrap your arms around it and get it under control, then Network Management is the book for you. Its light, easy style makes it quick to read, and it is packed with good fundamental and philosophical information. Network Management is a good standalone introduction to the subject of network management, and may go as deep as some people will ever require.

If, on the other hand, you have been tasked with bringing a network up to state-of-the-art and planning its future, then look to Network Reengineering. It is more technical than Network Management, and reads more like a textbook. It is loaded with detail, and deserves a place on any network engineer's desk. It should be accompanied by other reference books to fill in a few holes, but that makes the data it does contain no less valuable.

I would not hesitate to recommend either of these books. In fact, someone performing the function of network engineer and manager would find these books complementary, and would probably benefit from reading them both.