Cisco Systems Inc has announced a new European network management support strategy, based around an alliance with London-based Micromuse Ltd: Micromuse is to work with Cisco’s sales channels to provide a range of network mangement services, including installation and customisation of network management applications, software training classes, network management consulting services and post-sales technical support contracts. However at present there are no plans to extend the strategy to the US through similar alliances, although this has not been ruled out for the future. In Europe, the agreement with Micromuse is not exclusive, and Cisco says that it plans to enter similar partnerships in the future. Support is to be based on the CiscoWorks Unix-based network management application, and to this end, Micromuse is to become a certified CiscoWorks training partner. Cisco has also been detailing its future strategy for CiscoWorks, its router management application: the system currently runs with SunNet Manager, but the company plans to put it up under IBM’s NetView/6000, and HP OpenView, while a configuration control tool for personal computer-Windows-based systems is also planned. In addition, Cisco says that over the next couple of years it is to add software management tools (enabling all routers in the network to be updated to new software releases automatically) and and the ability to globally view the router network and provide global scheduling. Separately, Cisco says it is to implement SNMP version 2 on its routers beginning in the second half of next year. It has licensed an implementation developed by SNMP Research Inc of Knoxville, Tennessee, and says that work has begun on implementing this on the range of routers. Cisco says that version 1 will be offered concurrently for as long as there is demand for it.
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