Mosaic Launches New Dimensions in the LAN Management

Faced with increasing complexity of our LAN (400 workstations), due to the diversity of eqiupment being connected and the variety of services being offered we decided to use Mosaic as the 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 consideerable time and money gaining profiency in a mess of administrarive approaches, inconsistent software tools, and inadequate management facilities. For an effective LAN management a complete set of business productive tools is needed including: network managing systems, desktop publishing, databases, spreadsheets, forms, business graphics, clocks, calendars, etc. DEspite the availability of computerized support tools, effective network management reqiures a high degree of operators alertness, coupled with the assimilation and mastery of vast amounts of operation and maintenance knowledge. Data shouöd 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 sharing information inside the organisation and with the outside world. IN line with this goals the author has investigated the use and influence of WWW and Mosaic in effective LAN management. Mosaic is used: as atool to monitor on-line data on the LAN, for LAN topology management, as afront-end to network management database, as user friendly interface to ther network management applications, for searching LAN management archives, and for effective phisical network management. Mosaic integrated with network management systems, databases, and electronic mail is challeging tool to cope with information overload inherently present in todays LAN based hicg technology environments. Using Mosaic this way: reduces the time, training and costs required by management tsks, increase a portability of user skills between different platforms, reduces the skill level required to perform management tsks, and provides a consistent management environment for heterogenous systems.