When service providers and device manufacturers need to roll out their new devices on a large scale, they turn to an Element Management System (EMS) to control their devices in bulk. Suddenly an EMS becomes their #1 priority, and it has to be delivered as soon as possible. Aggressive timelines become inevitable.

But is an EMS the only option to manage the devices in bulk? Aren’t there other ways to get this job done?

Apart from an EMS, the other ways to handle devices are:

• CLI
• Craft Interface
• Embedded WebGUI

When do these methods not come up to scratch?

• To configure the devices, reams of CLI commands become a significant hindrance
• For monitoring purposes, WebGUI and CLI need to be seriously enhanced to become a display and reporting tool
• To represent the geographical locations of the devices, an EMS is the only way

To reap the maximum benefits from your devices, an EMS will always be the best way to go. But an important thing to note here is that your EMS needs to be capable of handling the full range of devices in the spectrum of your solution.

How does an EMS add value to the high-end devices?

In a broad range of devices, at one end of the spectrum lies the complex, high-functional and high-performing devices. To obtain all the possible benefits of such devices, monitoring and managing them should be done around the clock. An EMS is a must if the cost of managing a device is insignificant when compared to the cost of the device itself.

How does an EMS add value to the standard devices?

Configuring standard devices should be easy enough. However, when scores of devices are on the table in front of you, a management system becomes unavoidable, since individual management of each device is an onerous task. By centralizing the management functions onto an EMS server and offloading this from the network devices, their performance can be greatly improved.

Although the cost of developing an EMS may seem to be larger than that of the devices themselves, it’s essential that an EMS be deployed for the continuous and efficient running of those devices.

So what does an EMS, designed for many different devices, inherently do to acquire all the necessary information? The basic functionality of a good EMS is as follows:

1. Periodically collect performance metrics from each device.
2. Continuously monitor the performance of the devices.
3. Provide real time information about the performance of devices.
4. Enforce the Quality of Service (QoS) as per the SLA.
5. Detect faults and raise an appropriate alarm when a deviation from the target QoS is encountered.
6. Supply with charts, graphs and reports as required.

The ability to handle multiple type of devices is a tall order, considering the different metrics that need to be monitored for each type of device. Dhyan’s NetMan® EMS has been successful over many years in the management of a variety of devices: high end data center fabric switches, video gateways, smart meters, lighting infrastructure – to name just a few.

When an EMS becomes your #1 priority, get your hands on NetMan®, the best-in-class EMS designed to manage all types of devices – complex or standard. With Dhyan’s 16 years of expertise, you’ll be in safe hands.