Network Monitoring

SNMP-based tools use Simple Network Management Protocol (SNMP) to interact with network hardware and track the real-time status and use of resources, such as CPU stats, memory consumption, bytes transmitted and received, and other metrics. SNMP is one of the most widely used monitoring protocols, along with Microsoft Windows Management Instrumentation (WMI) for Windows servers—accessed by either DCOM or WinRM—and Internet Control Message Point (ICMP) for error reporting.

Flow-based tools monitor traffic flow to provide statistics about protocols and users. Some also inspect packet sequences to identify performance issues between two IP addresses. These flow tools capture traffic flow data and send them to a central collector for processing and storage. Flows provide the deep-dive details that are missed in SNMP-based tools. SNMP gives you "how much," but not what was using it. That "what" is identified by the size, protocol, source, and destination of a flow. This is useful when you need to look back on an issue reported for the last day or, even worse, last week.

Active network monitoring solutions inject packets into the network and measure end-to-end reachability, round-trip time, bandwidth, packet loss, link utilization and more. By conducting and measuring real-time / synthetic transactions from a user’s perspective, these solutions enable faster and more reliable detection of outages and performance degradation.

Log analysis / aggregation tools analyze logs generated by network devices, servers, and applications to identify issues and potential security threats. Log analysis tools help IT teams troubleshoot issues quickly, identify root causes, and prevent future occurrences. Log analysis tools also provide insights into user behavior and application usage, enabling IT teams to optimize application performance and user experience.

Data collection. Network monitoring tools collect data using various techniques such as SNMP, packet sniffing, flow analysis, and log analysis. The tools collect data on network traffic, bandwidth usage, device availability, and application performance, among other metrics.

Data analysis. Once the data is collected, network monitoring tools analyze it to identify trends, patterns, and anomalies. Network monitoring tools use advanced algorithms and machine learning techniques to analyze the data and identify potential issues. The tools also provide insights into network performance and security, enabling IT teams to make data-driven decisions. The data can be used for capacity planning as the usage of your network changes to being more remote work or more cloud focused.

Data visualization. Network monitoring tools visualize the data using dashboards, graphs, charts, and alerts, making it easy for IT teams to identify issues and take corrective actions proactively. The visualization tools also provide historical data, enabling IT teams to track network performance and identify trends.

Improved network performance. Provide real-time visibility into the network, enabling IT teams to detect and resolve issues proactively.

Increased network security. Detect security threats such as malware, DDoS attacks, and data breaches. This helps increase network security and reduce risks of data loss or theft.

Reduced downtime. By proactively monitoring the network, IT teams can detect and resolve issues before they lead to downtime, reducing the impact on business operations. This helps improve customer satisfaction and reduce costs.

Cost savings. By detecting and resolving issues proactively, organizations can save money on IT support and maintenance costs. With the data collected, you understand how under- or over-utilized your resources are. This helps you right-size your equipment, expensive carrier circuits, and other aspects of your infrastructure to deliver a cost-effective solution. And you can budget and plan more accurately, preventing emergency expenses when you reach capacity.

Improved IT team productivity. Automate many of the tasks associated with network monitoring and free your IT teams to focus on more strategic tasks. This helps improve IT team productivity and efficiency.