Telecommunications and Networks - Principles of Information Systems - page 243

these resources are used correctly. Novell NetWare, Windows 2000, Windows 2003, and
Windows 2008 are common network operating systems.
MySpace, the popular social networking Web site that offers an interactive, user-
submitted network of friends, personal profiles, blogs, photos, music, and videos interna-
tionally, was one of the first very busy Web sites to adopt the use of Windows Server 2008.
Because companies use networks to communicate with customers, business partners, and
employees, network outages or slow performance can mean a loss of business. Network
management includes a wide range of technologies and processes that monitor the network
and help identify and address problems before they can create a serious impact.
Software tools and utilities are available for managing networks. With network-
management software , a manager on a networked personal computer can monitor the use
of individual computers and shared hardware (such as printers), scan for viruses, and ensure
compliance with software licenses. Network-management software also simplifies the process
of updating files and programs on computers on the network—a manager can make changes
through a communications server instead of having to visit each individual computer. In
addition, network-management software protects software from being copied, modified, or
downloaded illegally and performs error control to locate telecommunications errors and
potential network problems. Some of the many benefits of network-management software
include fewer hours spent on routine tasks (such as installing new software), faster response
to problems, and greater overall network control.
Today, most IS organizations use network management software to ensure that their
network remains up and running and that every network component and application is
performing acceptably. The software enables IS staff to identify and resolve fault and per-
formance issues before they affect customers and service. The latest network-management
technology even incorporates automatic fixes—the network-management system identifies
a problem, notifies the IS manager, and automatically corrects the problem before anyone
outside the IS department notices it.
T-Mobile Austria GmbH is a subsidiary of T-Mobile International and serves about one-
third of all mobile users in Austria. Its infrastructure is highly diverse and includes a mix of
hardware from Alcatel, Cisco, Ericsson, Hewlett-Packard, and Siemens using the Microsoft
Windows NT and 2000, Solaris, HP-UX, and Linux operating systems. This collection of
systems, hardware, and applications requires constant monitoring to detect potential device
failures or system bottlenecks before they can generate customer complaints or service failures.
“Tivoli Netcool service monitors our Internet services, our mobile radio networks, and most
importantly, provides round-the-clock management of our host and server devices. This
ensures that important applications will never fail without being noticed,” says Dr. Sabine
Ringhofer, Senior Manager, Network Operations, T-Mobile Austria. 38

network-management
software
Software that enables a manager on
a networked desktop to monitor the
use of individual computers and
shared hardware (such as printers),
scan for viruses, and ensure com-
pliance with software licenses.

Securing Data Transmission
The interception of confidential information by unauthorized individuals can cause a com-
promise of private information about employees or customers, reveal marketing or new
product development plans, or cause organizational embarrassment. Organizations with
widespread operations need a way to maintain the security of communications with em-
ployees and business partners, wherever their facilities are located.
Guided media networks have an inherently secure feature; only devices physically at-
tached to the network can access the data. Wireless networks, on the other hand, are
surprisingly often configured by default to allow access to any device that attempts to “listen
to” broadcast communications. Action must be taken to override the defaults.
Encryption of data is one approach taken to protect the security of communications over
both wired and wireless networks. Encryption is the process of converting an original message
into a form that can only be understood by the intended receiver. A key is a variable value
that is applied (using an algorithm) to a set of unencrypted text to produce encrypted text
or to decrypt encrypted text (see Figure 6.12). The key is chosen from one of a large number
of possible encryption keys. The longer the key, the greater the number of possible encryption
keys. An encryption protocol based on a 56-bit key, for example, has 2 56 different possible
keys while one based on a 128-bit key has 2 128 different possible keys. Of course, it is essential

encryption
The process of converting an origi-
nal message into a form that can
only be understood by the intended
receiver.