ALSO CALLED: Policy-Based Management (Network Management), Policy-Based Networking, Group Policy Management, Network Policy Management, PBN, Network Resource Management, and Policy Management
DEFINITION: Policy-based management is an administrative approach that is used to simplify the management of a given endeavor by establishing policies to deal with situations that are likely to occur. Policies are operating rules that can be referred to as a means of maintaining order, security, consistency, or other ways of successfully furthering a goal or mission. For example, a town council might have in  … 
Definition continues below.

POLICY-BASED NETWORK MANAGEMENT DEFINITION (continued): …  place a policy against hiring the relatives of council members for civic positions. Then, each time that situation arose, council members could refer to the policy rather than deciding on the merits of individual cases. In the computing world, policy-based management is used as an administrative tool throughout an enterprise or a network, or on workstations that have multiple users. Policy-based management includes policy-based network management, the use of delineated policies to control access to and priorities for the use of resources. Policy-based management may be used in systems management, … 
Policy-Based Network Management definition sponsored by WhatIs.com, powered by WhatIs.com an online computer dictionary