Subject: Advanced Network Technologies

Topic: Network Security

Difficulty: High

Network documentation is a form of technical documentation. It is the practice of maintaining records about networks of computers.The documentation is used to give administrators information about how the network should look, perform and where to troubleshoot problems as they occur.As the purpose of network documentation is to keep networks running as smoothly as possible while minimizing downtime when repairs are necessary, essential parts of network documentation include:

i) Map of the entire network to include locations of hardware and the cabling that connects the hardware

ii) Server information such as data on the individual servers, schedules and locations of backups

iii) Software information such as current versions, dates, licensing and support

iv) Vendor and contractor information

v)Service agreements

vi) Detailed record of problems and solutions: dated along with procedures and results

OAMP

OAMP stands for operations, administration, maintenance and provisioning. Operations are the normal network operations. Administration these are the support procedures performed on a network e.g. allocating of passwords. Maintenance this are performed to keep the network operating smoothly they include configuring updates or aligning to new policy and regulations. Provisioning this is providing users are given access to data repositories applications and databases the process may imply that the access rights and privileges are monitored and tracked to enhance and ensure security. It also involves providing of user accounts their rights and all the resources associated with them.

The ” O ” in OAM :

Operation activities are undertaken to keep the network (and the services that the network provides) up and running. It includes monitoring the network and finding problems.Ideally these problems should be found before users are affected.

The ” A ” in OAM :

Administration activities involve keeping track of resources in the network and how they are used. It includes all the bookkeeping that is necessary to track networking resources and the network under control.

The ” M ” in OAM :

Maintenance activities are focused on facilitating repairs and upgrades — for example, when equipment must be replaced, when a router needs a patch for an operating system image, or when a new switch is added to a network. Maintenance also involves corrective and preventive measures to make the managed network run more effectively, e.g., adjusting device configuration and parameters

The ” P ” in OAM&P

Provisioning is used to configure the network to provide new services, whereas OAM is used to keep the network in a state that it can support already existing services.