FCAPS

FCAPS Network and Enterprise management can be a huge task to take on, and without a plan to move forward you can easily lose control of the network and can end up with many problems. This is where the term FCAPS comes from. FCAPS is an ITU standard model for enterprise network management. It provides a set of guidelines to follow to properly administer a network and keep the network secure and running efficiently. There are 5 main topics that FCAPS covers, including fault-management, configuration, accounting, performance, and security. By following each of these guidelines as they are set out in this method allows the management to streamline the administration of the network. The first topic covered by FCAPS is the F, which stands for fault management. Fault management deals with identifying network problems either before, or after they happen, hopefully before. By finding faults in the network and taking steps to resolve them before they happen can help to drastically reduce downtime and keep the network running at maximum efficiency. There are also sub topics that can be included under fault management such as, fault detection, correction, isolation, network recovery, alarm handling, alarm filtering, alarm generation (FCAPS Standardization, 2004), etc. This goes back to our other discussion on setting alarms with a manager and agent that alerts the administrator to anything that might go wrong in the network, or are already wrong so actions can be taken to resolve any issues. The next topic under FCAPS is C which stands for Configuration. Setting up a network can be a huge undertaking, and keeping it running efficiently and keeping this efficiency level while expanding is important. This is where configuration can help. Under the umbrella of configuration administrators would monitor changes in the network, the addition of new equipment, removing obsolete equipment, and any changes in inventory that occur (FCAPS Standardization, 2004). We