Vitto, My opinion is probably a bit jaded, but here it is anyway... First off, regarding OS, I'd say use whatever OS the customer is most familiar with using/maintaining. If they're a Windows shop you don't want to complicate the administration of the NMS by putting on an OS that they're unfamiliar with. With regards to the NMS applications themselves, I'd be glad to help you get up and running with the stuff we offer here at SolarWinds. Easy to install/use and you can download free copies from SolarWinds.com. Josh -----Original Message----- From: vitto malitani [mailto:vmalitani@gmail.com] Sent: Tuesday, December 09, 2008 11:18 AM To: nanog@nanog.org Subject: Net Mgmt Tools and supporting OS I am fairly new user of nanog mail list so I am not sure if the question below is appropriate for this list. If not, please excuse it. - I am building a new low-budget customer WAN/LAN network and need some ideas for network management tools. I've seen couple of email threads regarding all sort of "net goodies". However, since I haven't used them all, I am not sure which OS would be the most appropriate for these aps? Can anyone share their ideas in regards of apps and supporting platforms? I would be most comfortable with free distribution of linux, but I am not sure which distro supports most of the tools? Is the paid OS required for all these tools, like RedHat Server or SuSe or Windows platforms? Thanks much, Vitto