Network management is any activity or procedure used in the maintenance, operation, creation, and administration of a computer network system. A network can be as simple as two PCs connected with a single CAT5 Ethernet cable, or can be a million computers attached over a hundred different types of hardware connections. In general, network management refers only to larger networks using a fairly consistent infrastructure; for example, a corporate office network may consist of a hundred PCs connected via Ethernet cables to a set of hubs and switches.

The operation component of network management relates to keeping the network software running. Operations includes monitoring of network traffic to spot problems such as traffic spikes or overburdened hubs and switches before they cause a systemwide network failure or cause individual users to lose network connectivity.

Maintenance of a network relates both physical and virtual repairs and upgrades – adding in new routers or switches, patching software on the network hardware or on the individual client computers, and adjusting software and hardware settings to optimize network traffic performance.

Installation of a network is the initial creation of the network architecture, laying the cables, siting the routers and switches, establishing power supplies for all the network hardware, ensuring that wireless portions of the network have adequate signal strength under operating conditions in the physical space being configured, etc.

Administration of a network relates to tracking resource usage in the network, assigning IP addresses, deciding which computers will go through which hubs and switches, and all of the general housekeeping tasks necessary to the orderly running of the network system.

Network management has become an involved technical discipline with its own set of techniques and professional jargon. Technological innovations have increased the ability of IT personnel to effectively manage a network; in the early days of PC networks a common joke was that the primary use of the network manager was so that someone would know if a machine had been stolen in the night (since it would no longer appear on the network). Today network managers can greatly streamline the operation of a network, performing load balancing and administrative tasks to keep the network functional and healthy.

There are a large number of tools available for network management in a PC environment. Tools like SNMP, CMIP, transaction languages, CORBA, and Java Management Extensions. Much network management involves collecting data on usage of the network through sniffers, monitoring agents, and packet tracing. It is not always easy for corporations, even those with IT departments, to effectively manage their own networks because of the constantly accelerating technological curve. Many companies find that outsourcing their network management to IT consulting companies like AccuTech International (www.accutechpro.com) results in a lower bottom-line total cost of ownership for PC systems, as well as providing greater network reliability and functionality.