whatever the nature of the network. It is one of the essential building blocks of the 6NET network, and must be so for any IPv6 public network, especially in the Internet service provider area. If IPv6 backbone networks are not subject to the same (or even an improved) standard of management and monitoring as existing IPv4 networks, the existing IPv4 user base will be unwilling to migrate to IPv6. Network Management covers many areas (also called network segments) of the network. Usual classification distinguishes Local area Networks (LAN) from Metropolitan (MAN) and Wide Area Networks (WAN). In this regard sets of very different functions have to be provided to the manager, from straightforward monitoring of link status, to traffic statistics gathering and analysis. These sets could roughly be classified in two categories: those needed for day to day network control operations and those dedicated to network behaviour analysis. The latter allows the manager to optimise the network or parts of it and to schedule the necessary evolutions.

This chapter brings together all the important network monitoring and management work conducted by the network management workpackage of 6NET. This chapter is designed as a “cookbook”, summarising the issues required for managing and monitoring an IPv6 network, and suggests appropriate tools that can be used to support the network management and monitoring function. The end result should be that this will be both a useful guide to designers of new IPv6 networks, and as a reference for more experienced network managers.