Comprehensive Network Management System (CNMS) for a Transit Administration - Case Study
A transit administration operates a bus, light rail and metro rail system in a metropolitan city. The system requires a robust land/mobile radio communications system for its operations.
Customer's needs:
With a diversified network infrastructure and heterogeneous equipment in place, the transit administration found it challenging to monitor and manage various devices in the network. In addition, existing network monitoring application was able to monitor and manage a limited type of devices, and managing other devices was difficult, tedious and labor intensive.
The customer needed a tool that would help him comprehensively manage and monitor all the network devices remotely. The tool should also be able to add/remove any device to/from the network easily and without any interruption. The monitoring tool should be simple to use and it should monitor all types of devices, irrespective of the communication protocol or medium.
GL's solution:
GL Communications studied the existing network, and came up with a pilot project – development of a Comprehensive Network Management System (CNMS) – that showed the customer how GL's solution could help him.
GL's solution was based on Simple Network Management Protocol (SNMP), which could manage and monitor most of the devices on the network. The solution also addressed legacy devices that were being monitored using contact closures or serial communications. Our tool was able to manage and control equipment on the network remotely. It was easy to use and saved man–hours.
GL used Newpoint's network management system with Mercury and element manager. We developed a variety of customized GUI options to make it very user– friendly.
Results and benefits:
GL's CNMS solution benefited the customer in many ways. It helped the transit administration:
- Monitor the health of the network devices.
- Configure and troubleshoot the devices remotely.
- Generate automatic alarms to alert users about the device status.
- Improve performance, reporting, and documentation.
- Increase productivity by saving on time and labor costs.