CIM: Net management's best kept secret

It's not something a network manager is likely to see directly, but Common Information Model (CIM) technology has the potential to improve the way networks and systems are managed.

CIM defines a way to represent and exchange management data collected from any source, be it a router, server or desktop system. If the data is represented using CIM, any network management tool or application that understands CIM can analyze the data and make correlations between information coming from different locations in the net, uniting systems and network management under one umbrella standard.

The idea is that it should be possible to build applications using CIM data and run them across a variety of platforms from Compaq's Insite Manager, Hewlett-Packard's OpenView and Microsoft's SMS to Novell's ManageWise and Tivoli's Management Software.

The Desktop Management Task Force (DMTF) recently advanced the CIM standard by releasing the encoding specification for representing CIM data using Extensible Markup Language (XML). This means applications can retrieve CIM data using the Web technology of XML (see story, page 41).

But many network managers don't even know about CIM, so they're not pressuring their vendors to support the standard, says Rick Sturm, principal of the Enterprise Management Institute. Without user demand, CIM has much less of a chance of being widely accepted, he says.

Sturm blames the DMTF for not actively educating the market about its standards. He says the DMTF's Desktop Management Interface (DMI) is a prime example of where the DMTF has fallen down in the past in telling the market about its standards. Although DMI is being implemented, rollout is happening slowly because users aren't demanding it, Sturm says.

There are two parts to CIM: the specification and the schema. The specification describes the language and naming conventions, as well as the process of mapping CIM data to SNMP management information bases and DMI management information files.

The schema describes how to format data specific to different management areas, such as systems and applications. The schema also allows for product-specific extensions.

CIM technology could have a big impact on the management market if it were widely accepted, observers say.

Because any network management tool could have access to a broad range of management data through CIM, it seems likely that CIM would reduce the number of tools on the market, says Mark Bouchard, senior research analyst at META Group in Stamford, Conn. Managers would no longer need different tools to manage different kinds of networks and systems.

Because CIMisolates net managers from the complexity of their networks, managers won't have to base decisions about which network management platform to use based on the protocols used in the network.

Many vendors say they plan to support CIM by late next year. Microsoft is including CIM support in Windows NT 5.0. Cisco can export CIM-compliant data from CiscoWorks. HP can import CIM-compliant information into its AssetView asset management software.

Sturm hopes CIM can bring together management information. "CIM has the potential, but other things have had the potential and failed," he says.