Impact of cloud computing on network management

Abstract

Cloud computing solution is now being adopted for reasons of economic and technical benefits by organizations to deliver array of services over the internet. Service provisioning has increased, so has the subscribers that access these services, as well as increased complexity in cloud infrastructures. However, cloud benefits to providers and clients may erode if there are no adequate cloud managing/monitoring frameworks built on the peculiar characteristics of the mission-critical environment. Plethora of literatures have been written on cloud architecture, implementation, services, virtual machines, energy efficiency, security, privacy, data loss etc. but not much on how cloud has changed our perception of network management with respect to five functional areas: Fault Configuration, Application, Performance and Security (FCAPS) of International Standard Organization (ISO). Noting that not much work has been done in this direction, this paper presents detailed analysis of the cloud, cloud network management with emphasis to the ISO functional areas. It uses key cloud-centric issues of concern to discuss and critically analyse the impact of cloud computing to network management and proffer significant ways forward within the possible capabilities of existing technology.

Keywords Cloud-based virtual network (CVN), Cloud computing, Data Centre, Fault Configuration, Application, Performance and Security (FCAPS), Virtual Machine (VM)

Vol. 26, No. 1, June 2019