NETWORK & SYSTEMS MANAGEMENT Network Management Platform: SPECTRUM Enterprise Manager 4.0 A nticipating and detecting problems before users call means zeroing in on trouble spots as soon as they pop up. Network management platforms are designed to help map and configure your network, intelligently handle problem notification (events or traps) and take the tedium out of continuously monitoring network devices and testing connectivity. Tools like Cabletron Systems' SPECTRUM Enterprise Manager 4.0, Hewlett-Packard Co.'s Open View Network Node Manager and Computer Associates International's Unicenter The Next Generation (TNG) are powerful network monitoring engines. Diligently probing devices via the Simple Netwo rk Management Protocol (SNMP), tracking volumes of network data and acting on trouble reports requires powerful software and lots of computing horsepower. In addition to offering network monitoring, these platforms must include applications that configure and monitor specific network devices or provide an open standard for supporting third-party applications. Finally, as enterprise networks grow, management platforms must scale--either by designating a set of peer servers or creating a hierarchy of management stations down to the departmental level. Every network management platform has its strengths and weaknesses. However, we've found that integrated intelligence and support for device management applications are critical to successfully deploying a network management solution. This year's Well-Connected winner, Cabletron's SPECTRUM Enterprise Manager 4.0, does that better than any others. SPECTRUM offers impressive intelligence in network discovery and modeling, and an inference handling engine, which can understand and interpret alarms based on network topology. For instance, when a router connecting a remote network goes down, instead of generating an alarm for each monitored node on the wrong side of the failed router, SPECTRUM will present an alarm highlighting the router as the potential trouble spot. In contrast, HP's OpenView Network Node Manager excels as a management station, with support for more than 500 third-party plug-ins for managing everything from routers to remote-access servers. OpenView is often licensed as the framework for configuration and management products for specific vendor platforms. One of the latest additions to the network management arena, Computer Associates' Unicenter TNG takes network topologies into a new dimension. Instead of presenting a 2-D view of the network, Unicenter TNG displays a 3-D representation of the network with flight simulator-like controls that let you navigate the network landscape. But the view isn't the only plus for this well-rounded netwo rk and systems management application; the object orientation of its database means centralized sharing of calendaring and correlation for both network and systems management targets. SPECTRUM Enterprise Manager 4.0 , $15,000, Cabletron Systems, (603) 332-9400, www.cabletron.com Honorable Mentions: Unicenter TNG , $2,500, Computer Associates International, (516) 342-5224, www.cai.com HP OpenView Network Node Manager , $12,995 to $15,995, Hewlett-Packard Co., (800) 637-7740, www.hp.com/go/openview Awards Table of Contents

Updated April 24, 1997