Definitions: Configuration Management
Created on: Jan 27, 2009 10:50 AM by Loraine Lawson - Last Modified: Mar 30, 2009 12:25 PM by Loraine Lawson
Definition
Network configuration management is important when it comes to maintaining robust network services with fewer data centers.
Business Applications
Networks are becoming more diverse with new types of network equipment, such as WAN optimizers that join traditional routers and switches. The only way organizations can be assured that their network infrastructure is configured to deliver the required volume and quality of traffic in and out of their data centers is by fitting all of these elements in a consolidated and automated management system.
Some of the key elements of an effective configuration-management system requires first and foremost an easy-to-use common interface for managing device types from different vendors.
Security Issues
Mae Kowalke, TMCnet Senior Editor, wrote in 2008 that IT departments at enterprises often are kept busy with the time-consuming but necessary tasks associated with changing and configuring various network devices. Such maintenance might seem mundane, but it’s necessary to ensure that systems are kept running and security isn’t compromised.
She notes that change and configuration management can be a problem. NSolutions with its configuration product, Network Ontology and Virtualization Appliance (NOVA), controls changes to ensure uptime and security.
Technical Details
Because of idiosyncratic interfaces and command structures, it’s never been easy to define, implement and maintain consistent configuration standards for the myriad of devices and vendors that populate enterprise networks. Effective network configuration management requires first and foremost an easy-to-use common interface for managing device types from different vendors. (See The Importance of Wide Area Network Configuration.)
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