A large computer network is many times the backbone of any company, large or small. In many cases, a company cannot function at all if its network is not working properly or it is configured incorrectly, resulting loses of many thousands of dollars (just imagine a search engine or a communication company without its Internet access for only a few hours). Relying heavily on computer networks has also many advantages (it greatly facilitates communication between people and departments, it eases data access, and it ensures a better workflow throughout the company), but it can also many problems if the network is taken care of. By growing bigger and bigger, companies require larger and more complex networks. More and more customers also prefer on-line based software packages for many of their needs (anti virus detection, document and email keeping and security to name just a few) and the service providing company is totally dependant on their networks functioning perfectly around the clock, all year long.

One of the most efficient, reliable and cost effective methods of controlling and managing a network is an automated network configuration manager tool. Unbelievably, but ISO (the International Organization for Standards) states five important areas a configuration manager tool must address: security management, fault management, configuration management and performance management.

In the next paragraphs, we will look at all of these major areas. The security management is one of the most important part of every automated configuration manager tool, as the company's documents and data should remain confidential, no matter how large and complex it is. The Security Management module informs the network administrator if any attempts to access the network have been made from unauthorized sources. The Security Management can be configured to inform the administrators if and when any given component has been accessed through e-mails, SMS or other selected communication method. The administrator can also configure in great detail what components to be monitored (files from the server, routers or modems).

The Fault Management is another vital part of any configuration manager tool, as the administrator should be constantly in control of the network, knowing if and what segments of it are not functioning properly or if the network is faced with any other, functioning related problem. Configuration Management is a powerful tool that allows owners and administrators to monitor, manage and track every software and hardware element. Microsoft's System Management Server is a perfect example of a network configuration manager tool module used to track hardware and software versions. The Performance Management of the network configuration manager tool is used to perfectly balance and distribute the available resources in order to assure maximum efficiency. If the company's network witnesses a great amount of traffic and the business relies on these numbers, the performance management module is very important to assure maximum speed. For example, if a server is busy to its maximum, the network configuration manager tool performance management can be configured to spread the load to the other servers housing the same information. Find out more at http://www.configurationcontrolmanager.com

Overall, network configuration manager tools are vital software tools for companies that rely their business on the perfect functioning of their networks. There are many configuration tools available on the market, and among the most known solutions, one can mention Intuit's manager Software to IBM's Tivoli, Fidelia's Helix to AdventNet.