Faced with increasing complexity of our LAN (400 workstations), due to the diversity of equipment being connected and the variety of services being offered we decided to use Mosaic as integrating front-end LAN management tool. Unfortunately, the diversity that lets users choose the system that best meets their needs also creates nightmare to system administrators. They must invest considerable time and money gaining proficiency in a mess of administrative approaches, inconsistent software tools, and inadequate management facilities. For an effective LAN Management a complete set of business productivity tools is needed including: network management systems, desktop publishing, databases, spreadsheets, forms, business graphics, clocks, calendars, etc. Despite the availability of computerized support tools, effective network management requires a high degree of operators alertness, coupled with the assimilation and mastery of vast amounts of operation and maintenance knowledge. Data should be imported and exported to other systems. The goals of network management are to reduce both network downtime and operating costs and to increase the availability of resources and support cooperative exchange, coordination and the sharing information inside the organization and with the outside world. In line with these goals author has investigated the use and influence of WWW and Mosaic in effective LAN Management.
Mosaic is used: as a tool to monitor on-line data on the LAN, for LAN topology management, as a front-end to network management database, as user friendly interface to other network management applications, for searching LAN management archives, and for effective physical network management. Mosaic integrated with network management systems, databases, and electronic mail is a challenging tool to cope with information overload inherently present in todays LAN based high technology environments. Using Mosaic this way: reduces the time, training, and costs required by management tasks, increases a portability of user skills between different platforms, reduces the skill level required to perform management tasks, and provide a consistent management environment for heterogenous systems.
Key words: WWW, Hypertext, Computer Graphics, Computer Communication, LAN
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