The ATMman Relational Network Manager provides centralized administrative control of the Agile ATM backbone network. It is an optional SNMPv2 management application that runs on a SPARCstation and communicates with ATMizer(TM) Relational Switches as well as other components of the Agile Relational Network.
ATMman provides the administrator with the tools to configure, monitor, debug and secure the network. In addition, it provides: mapping of relational LANs to the physical network topology; control over endstations attempting to connect to relational LANs; and logging of endstations that move, add and change on the network.
ATMman provides detailed operational statistics to assist in debugging and capacity planning. It allows the administrator to monitor and control the operation of all elements of the backbone network:
ATMizers automatically create relational LANs based on protocol type and subnetwork address. ATMman allows the administrator to subdivide a relational LAN into partitions. This isolates unrelated user groups from each other even though they happen to be using the same protocol type.
The Agile Relational Network automatically adapts to endstation moves, adds and changes. With ATMman, an administrator can implement policies that shape this flexibility to meet an organization's specific security and control requirements. Policies may be assigned to each LAN segment to control endstation access to new or existing relational LANs. This allows administrators to manage new endstations, new protocol types and new network addresses that appear on the network.
ATMman captures, filters and displays events generated by the Agile Relational Network. An administrator can define the handling of incoming events based upon severity, source and type. An event can be ignored, sent to the console, logged to a file, or cause a UNIX script to execute.
ATMman's interactive command line interface is easy to navigate. Context sensitive help supports inexperienced users, while short cut commands and aliases speed access for expert users.
ATMman commands may also be combined with UNIX shell commands in a script file to automate frequent tasks. The UNIX cron facility allows UNIX shell scripts to generate status and utilization reports at regularly scheduled intervals.
ATMman is an SNMPv2 manager that implements secure sets and acknowledged traps. These new features of SNMP are of particular value to local backbone networks. They provide the administrator secure configuration control and ensure that significant events such as the attachment of new endstations are detected.