FCAPS is the ISO Telecommunications Management Network model and framework for network management. FCAPS is an acronym for Fault, Configuration, Accounting, Performance, Security which are the management categories into which the ISO model defines network management tasks.
Fault Management
Fault management encompasses the discipline of identifying faults in a network environment. Faults are identified reactively by receiving messages and SNMP Traps from network devices, or actively by polling network device MIBs and identifying real or potential error conditions.
Configuration Management
Configuration Management is typically identified with managing the software configurations of network devices. It addresses the following kinds of practical questions: What features are to be enabled? What addressing and routing configurations will be supplied? How will the configuration be maintained? How will a configuration be restored?
However, configuration management also covers several other topics. These include:
• Inventory Management
• Change Management
• Provisioning Management
Inventory Management
Inventory Management consists of tracking network devices and their attributes (e.g. chassis, cards, interface types, serial numbers, hardware revisions, etc.).
Change Management
Change Management encompasses the tracking of changes to the network, its devices and services, from request through planning, engineering, approval, implementation and operational hand-off.
Provisioning Management
For the purposes of this document, we will define provisioning management as the configuration of network devices to enable or disable network services. Provisioning can be as simple as network operators logging into network devices to modify configurations. Provisioning might also consist of implementing vendor, third-party, or homegrown applications capable of taking higher-level input.
Accounting Management
Accounting Management is the discipline of collecting data from network devices and the network environment for the purpose of tracking activity and possibly charge-back billing.
Performance Management
The definition of Performance Management in this document is limited to collecting data from network devices in order to provide network performance and capacity metrics. Some definitions of performance management include what-if analysis and modeling, which is beyond the scope of this document.
Security Management
Security Management is the discipline of securing the network, its devices, and services from unauthorized access.
