"OpenNMS helps network administrators track machine uptime, outage and usage information so they can keep their operations healthy.
"In the late '90s one of the big buzzword phrases was service level agreement (SLA). Users entered into contracts wherein service providers (network services) were bound to supply a certain level of computing availability. IT departments and vendors were required to adhere to the SLA, or risk monetary penalties.
"Network management software was born to monitor network resources, track uptime and automatically alert someone, when a resource went down. The idea was to automate many of the mundane monitoring functions and free up the network administrators for more important jobs... like fixing network problems. Service level agreements were a definite impetus for network management software..."
