Abstract: Astrolog is a highly dynamic and decentralized management system meant for the management of Astrolab which is a distributed system comprising of heterogeneous machines running varied operating systems connected by a LAN. This paper discusses the details of ongoing research and development of Astrolog and discusses its contributions towards the development of better and efficient techniques for network and system management. The design of Astrolog strikes a balance between a centralized management system and a totally distributed management system drawing on strengths of both the mechanisms. It introduces a unique dynamically variant hierarchial management architecture. It incorporates the mobile agent based technology to make it more dynamic in nature. Astrolog is also an integrated management environment and it differs from other management systems because it provides the facility of network as well as system management. Astrolog is designed for management of a platform which is in extensive and regular usage, thus the design is highly practical in approach.

Keywords: Network Management, System Management, SNMP, CMIP, Mobile Agents, Java.