The OEM arrangement originated with Micromuse, which IBM acquired for its Netcool network node monitoring technology back in 2005. In essence, Cisco provided the node aggregation technology, plus proprietary extensions for configuring its own devices, while Netcool handled the higher level service and policy management. The new offering adds some newer Cisco and IBM Tivoli technologies to the mix, and Cisco will still embed, resell, and support it.
The new piece of the mix, ANA, is a superset of Cisco’s node aggregation technology, in that it can paint a consolidated picture of multiple networks or network domains. ANA is technology that came to Cisco through its 2006 acquisition of Sheer Networks.
We are developing an open OSS that will support specific applications, such as service assurance, where IBM’s technology will fit in, said Karen Sage, director of network systems monitor for Cisco.
The touch point is that Cisco’s ANA technology does the device and network recognition, while IBM’s Tivoli Netcool technology handles the higher level applications for managing the network and associated service level agreements.
And, according to Sage, ANA is a way step to a broader end-to-end capability that it is developing jointly with the Nokia Siemens Networks joint venture. The goal of that initiative is to provide a common view of diverse network elements that will go further than rudimentary node monitoring to encompass basic fault, configuration, performance and security (FCAPS) management functionality as well as a variety of common functions, such as data acquisition and network element mediation, which will be utilized by higher-level OSS applications. But that’s for the future.
The Cisco Assurance Management Solution will be released in mid-Q3.
