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Traditional Network Management Options
Network teams are forced to choose between two network management approaches, each of which falls short in important ways:

• Use vendor-provided, device-specific management tools (sometimes called Element Management Systems or an EMS) to manage different types of devices. This enables control and tracking for each type of device, but requires dedicated staff and maintenance of numerous tools. More important, this approach introduces the likelihood of conflicting management across the network – often creating catastrophic conditions (including failed security and compliance audits, applications that don’t work, and unstable or unavailable connections).
• Use a traditional “closed” network management platform (sometimes called Network Change and Configuration Management solutions or an NCCM) to manage a subset of devices in the network. While this offers the potential for management consistency and efficiency, vendors of traditional network management solutions have proprietary architectures. This “closed” approach impedes the vendor’s ability to keep pace with the deep, domain-specific details of equipment from an exploding number of networking technology providers. The result is a least-common-denominator management capability that still requires network management teams to revert to a native EMS for all but the most basic operations.

A new approach is needed that provides the uniformity and efficiency of a single management platform combined with the deep network device detail and advanced capabilities provided by a vendor-specific EMS. Network management teams need consistent change management, auditing, policy management, and reporting combined with power tools for managing advanced network technologies such as firewall rules, application traffic policies, and load balancing parameters.

This challenge is being answered by the combination of an open source project and an alliance of networking solution vendors.

The Open Network Management Initiative
In 2006, network management and equipment providers established the Open Network Management Initiative – a new approach that bridges the gap between element management systems and traditional “closed” network management platforms by tapping into the power of collaborative Internet communities and open source software.

The foundation of the initiative is the ZipTie Open Networking Alliance (ZONA). ZONA is a group of like-minded networking technology vendors who have come together to promote interoperability and open network management standards. As of December 2007, ZONA members included network equipment providers Citrix Systems, Force10 Networks, Fortinet, Juniper Networks, Radware, Riverbed Technology and Vyatta. As part of the standardization effort, ZONA members contribute value-added management components to the networking community. These components – including scripts, change templates, rules, policies, adaptors, plug-ins, and best practices – enable comprehensive “no exceptions” management of advanced open networks.

ZONA is based around an open source project and community called ZipTie (www.ziptie.org). The ZipTie Project is an open and standardized framework for network inventory and configuration management. ZipTie maps the detailed configuration and management information from any network device into a common database, and allows anyone to write management components that operate against this rich inventory database. The original code for ZipTie was contributed by AlterPoint. and is available for free under the terms of the Mozilla Public License (MPL). AlterPoint continues to support the ZipTie Project through sponsorship of a core community development team.

During its first 18 months, the ZipTie Project gained significant momentum by delivering three major releases and building a user community numbering more than 6,000. At current growth rates, this number is expected to surpass 20,000 during 2008.

ZipTie-compatible management components are developed using the ZipTie Development Environment (ZDE). The ZDE enables ZONA members and the ZipTie community to create, edit, and extend adapters, scripts, and plug-ins that can be used with ZipTie and other network management platforms that adopt the ZipTie inventory framework. The ZDE simplifies creation of network components by providing configuration by convention and the use of Perl – a common, high-level scripting language familiar to network engineers and tools developers.

ZipTie management components are available in the ZipForge (www.zipforge.org), a network management exchange where members of the ZipTie community and ZONA can download, develop, and share a growing body of scripts, change templates, rules, policies, adaptors, plug-ins and best practices.

Conclusion
By embracing an open and collaborative approach to software development, the Open Network Management Initiative is changing the way that complex networks are managed. This new approach produces a win-win-win situation for network equipment providers, management software vendors, and corporate network management teams alike.

Network equipment providers are empowered to offer management software and tools that exploit the advanced and unique capabilities of their equipment. Management software vendors who utilize the ZipTie framework are able to provide both deep and broad management across all types of networks and network devices. Corporate network teams and tools developers have the ability to download, use, and extend a network inventory platform at no cost. In return, these beneficiaries are requested to contribute new capabilities back to the open community, in order that all may benefit.

The power of open source and community provides all constituents in the networking industry with a new and more agile approach for network management – open network management.

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