efficiently with the implications of managing heterogeneous devices. Both the WBM and integrated platform approaches require a high-level information model that contains the man- agement information. The choice between an integrated, general-purpose management platform and a WBM depends on the carrier under consideration. WBM offers a lightweight implementation with low installation and operation costs. It can manage networks remotely and depends on open standards and interfaces that enjoy broad industry support. On the other hand, a network operator with a large investment in network equipment, and the resources to support a complex platform, may prefer an inte- grated management platform which closely accommodates their particular needs. This approach will be sure to provide efficient and consistent management through- out the network. The downside is that building on that platform in the future-inline with the inevitable evolution of the network infrastructure - will generally be more disruptive and expensive than an approach based on open standards. Network Management Using SNMP 4.1 Introduction The Simple Network Management Protocol (SNMP) is a protocol designed for communicating with network elements, such as switches and multiplexers, and for managing their operation. Managing a network element includes detecting and diagnosing faults, provisioning capacity, activating service and suspending and re-activating service. SNMP was introduced with the larger goal of allowing standardised, automated network management. The motivation for standardisation of management proto- cols is that independent vendors of SNMP-managed devices and other network equipment may develop and supply devices that can interwork and communicate with other NMS and OSS software that support SNMP. SNMP has been fairly successful in achieving its aims. The chief reason for the rise of SNMP has been its simplicity: implementing SNMP management in a net- work device is more straightforward than most other approaches to network man- agement.