It really depends on what you're trying to accomplish with the programs you download. However the Just For Fun Network Management System is a pretty good program. One or Zero AIMS is another great program featuring it's own help desk and knowledge base.
A network diagram and a spreadsheet of IP addresses are the two most useful tools.
Integrated network management systems are made up of network monitoring and network analysis tools.
Spread sheets, network diagrams
SNMP (System Network Management Protcol)
Simple Network Management Protocol
Network management is defined as activities, methods, procedures, and tools that assit in the operation of maintenance, administration, and provisioning of a given network system.
Ping Traceroute Network scanners Bandwidth monitoring tools Network protocol analyzers Remote desktop tools Network management systems Wake-on-LAN tools Network mapping tools
The network security tools that you should have in place include firewalls, proxy servers, encryption, logical security and access controls, anti-virus software and log management tools. It is also vital to make sure that everything has been updated to the most current versions available ensure network security.
A network manager would like to have network management capabilities when (a) a component of the network fails, (b) a component of the network is about to fail, and is acting "flaky" (c) a component of the network has been compromised from a security standpoint and is attacking the network, e.g., by launching a DOS attack by flooding the network with packets, (d) traffic levels exceed a certain threshold on a link, causing packets to be dropped, (e) everything is running smoothly (in order to know that everything is running smoothly and there are no problems). There are many additional reasons as well.
decision accounting
disk management
Some collaboration tools that are needed for a network administrator include the chat tools so that they can chat with other network members who have a connection issue. They can even have port to port communication so that they can repair a computer remotely.