Technology Reference Guide

	Technology Reference Guide 8. Network Management F. 3COM Transend

What is it?
Transcend is the network management system offered by 3COM. The Transcend product modules are designed to provide network management support for 3COM device families. These modules integrate with standard management systems such as HP OpenView, or NetView. There are also several user interfaces which allow standalone control of the 3COM devices, one for OS/2 called the ISOVIEW Network Manager which manages LinkBuilder devices, a Windows-based interface called Linkbuilder FMS Manager for Windows, which is designed for standalone LANs employing Linkbuilder stackable ethernet hubs, and a standalone UNIX manager for Netbuilder bridge/routers.

What does it do?
With the exception of the standalone user interfaces mentioned above, the Transcend products are designed to be used in conjunction with a global network management system. The systems supported include SunNet Manager (Sun Microsystems), HP OpenView, and NetView/6000 (IBMs NetView version for RS/6000s). All Transcend applications are based on SNMP management protocols.

The basic operation the Transcend product set is as follows: Smartagents are intelligent SNMP agents built into 3COM manageable devices, including hubs, bridges, routers, etc. These communicate with the device management modules which reside, along with NetView, OpenView, etc. on the management workstation. Modules include LinkBuilder, Netbuilder and LANPlex management modules, among others. These modules format the data from the Smartagents, and present extensive graphical views, allowing both monitoring and control of the devices. These management modules, in turn, interface with the global management system, (OpenView, NetView, etc.) to provide a centralized control console.

How is it used?
Transcend products are designed specifically to manage 3COM networking hardware. They are generally designed to be used, in conjunction with a more global management system, in networking environments that use 3COM devices. Since it does not offer a unified console interface, with features such as topology mapping, server control, asset management, etc., Transcend does not function as a standalone management system. The exceptions to this are the limited-function standalone control interfaces for certain products with certain operating systems.

Where do I get more information?
Contact your local CBV Office.