Network monitoring is the process of managing a network to achieve the best possible performance, reliability, and security.
- Continuously monitor servers, routers, switches, and firewalls to identify and resolve issues in real time.
- Analyze network traffic, bandwidth use, and device performance data to identify potential issues and prevent downtime.
- Proactively manage your network infrastructure, track its health, troubleshoot issues, and ensure the best operations.
- Enhance the stability and security of the network to improve overall performance and minimize disruptions.
Why is network monitoring important?
Network monitoring is essential for maintaining the smooth operation of a network. It helps you optimize the overall performance and identify potential issues before they escalate.
What happens if you do not monitor your network?
Unexpected network downtime
Unforeseen security breaches
Random performance bottlenecks
Results
A loss of productivity
Financial losses
Damage to your organization's reputation
Compromised data integrity
What happens if you monitor your network?
Bandwidth congestion identification
Suspicious activity tracking
Performance bottleneck troubleshooting
Results
A reduction in downtime, which leads to increased productivity
Improved network efficiency, which translates to financial gains
An enhanced overall user experience, which leads to improved trust
Easy compliance with policies, which improves your security posture
How can you implement full-fledged network monitoring?
- Define objectives and requirements.
- Select the right network monitoring tool.
- Add your network devices.
- Configure thresholds and alert requirements.
- Create dashboards and generate reports as needed.
- Integrate with third-party tools.
What are network monitoring tools?
Network monitoring tools are applications that help network administrators monitor and manage the performance of their network. These tools provide real-time insights into network traffic, bandwidth usage, device health, and security threats. By using network monitoring tools, administrators can quickly identify and resolve issues, optimize network performance, and ensure high overall network reliability and security.
Types of network monitoring protocols
- Simple Network Management Protocol (SNMP)
- Windows Management Instrumentation (WMI)
- Internet Control Message Protocol
- Cisco Discovery Protocol
- Traffic monitoring protocols like NetFlow, sFlow, J-Flow, Cflow, IPFIX, NetStream, and AppFlow
- Syslog
How network monitoring works
- Data collection
For optimal performance and security, it is important to track metrics consistently from different network devices, such as switches, routers, and firewalls. These vital metrics can be effectively transmitted to a network monitoring tool using protocols like SNMP or WMI.- SNMP data collection methods include polling, traps, or SNMP commands.
- WMI data is collected either through queries or events.
- Analysis and alerts
- Data analysis
- Data aggregation: Collected data from various sources (SNMP traps, WMI queries, logs, etc.) is aggregated and displayed consistently in the UI.
- Trend analysis: Historical data is analyzed to identify trends over time. This includes looking at usage patterns, performance metrics, and resource utilization to predict potential issues.
- Threshold settings: Define thresholds for required KPIs to receive alerts on breaches.
- Anomaly detection: Advanced monitoring tools use machine learning and statistical methods to detect anomalies.
- Correlation: Analyze data to pinpoint potential causes of issues. For example, high network latency may be linked to spikes in a specific device's CPU usage.
- Alert generation
- Triggering events: These include thresholds, anomalies, or significant events. For instance, a network device going offline might trigger an alert.
- Severity levels: There include trouble, warning, and critical. Critical alerts might require immediate attention, while trouble alerts may just require acknowledgment.
- Customizable alerts: Specify which events should trigger notifications based on your operational needs.
- Alert delivery
- Notification methods
- SMS
- Integrations with third-party systems
- Notification methods
- Logging and history
All alerts are typically logged for historical analysis, helping teams track issues over time and refine their monitoring strategies.
- Data analysis
- Reporting
- Built-in reports: Get detailed reports on monitors, monitor groups, SLAs, outages, and more to track trends over a specific period. Export these reports in CSV, PDF, and email formats for internal use.
- Top N reports: View the top and bottom values of a specified performance attribute by utilizing top N and bottom N reports. The data will be presented in a table format and sorted based on the monitored parameter.
- Automated reports: Schedule regular reports (daily, weekly, and monthly) to make certain that any report can automatically be generated and sent to stakeholders, ensuring they stay informed about network performance without manual intervention.
- Customizable reports: Users can customize reports to focus on specific metrics or devices, allowing them to tailor the information to their needs. For instance, a report could be created to focus solely on critical network devices or specific geographic regions.
- Visualization
- Dashboards: Visualization starts with dashboards that provide real-time overviews of network health. Dashboards can include widgets for key metrics, status indicators, and charts.
- Graphs and charts: Common visualizations include line graphs, bar charts, pie charts, and heat maps. These help convey information clearly and quickly, making it easier to spot trends, spikes, or anomalies.
- Maps: Visual representations of networks, like topology and Layer 2 maps, illustrate device connections and relationships. They help you understand the layout and identify potential points of failure.
- Drill-down features: Users can often click visual elements to drill down to more detailed data, such as specific device metrics or historical performance for a particular service.
- Alert visualizations: Alerts are visually highlighted on dashboards, often with color coding (e.g., red for critical alerts and yellow for warnings), to help administrators prioritize their responses.
- Dashboards: Visualization starts with dashboards that provide real-time overviews of network health. Dashboards can include widgets for key metrics, status indicators, and charts.
What are the key network devices that need to be monitored?
- Devices: Routers, switches, firewalls, access points, wireless LAN controllers, load balancers, storage area networks, and VPNs
- A few metrics to monitor: CPU and memory usage, bandwidth utilization, packet loss, error rates, interface statuses, device configuration changes, firmware vulnerabilities, and compliance with policies
Benefits of network monitoring
Improved network performance
- Identify and troubleshoot bottlenecks.
- Optimize bandwidth usage.
An enhanced security posture
- Detect and respond to suspicious activity.
- Prevent data breaches and cyberattacks.
Reduced downtime and outages
- Proactively identify and resolve issues.
- Minimize disruptions to business operations.
Cost savings
- Prevent expensive downtime and data loss.
- Optimize resource allocation and cut down on hardware expenditures.
Improved IT efficiency
- Streamline network management.
- Automate alerts and reporting.
What are the key factors to consider when choosing a network monitoring solution?
1. Core capabilities
- Network discovery: The automatic identification of network devices and their configurations
- Performance analysis: In-depth analysis of network performance trends to identify bottlenecks and optimize resource utilization
- Real-time monitoring: Continuous tracking of network performance metrics, including bandwidth utilization, latency, and packet loss
- Network configuration management (NCM): Network configuration and change management capabilities for comprehensive monitoring
- Network automation: The ability to execute scripts to apply configuration changes across network devices
- Alerting and notifications: Timely alerts for critical issues, such as device failures or security breaches
- Security monitoring: The detection of security threats, including unauthorized access attempts and malicious activity
- Reporting: Customizable reports for detailed insights into network health and performance
2. Scalability
- The ability to grow: The solution's ability to scale with your network's expansion, handling increasing numbers of devices and traffic, which is easier if it is a SaaS solution
- Support for any network: Support for various deployment models, including on-premises, cloud-based, or hybrid deployment
3. Ease of use
- An intuitive interface: A user-friendly interface for easy navigation and configuration
- A shorter learning curve: Minimal training to use the solution effectively for users with varied levels of technical expertise
4. Integration capabilities
- Third-party integrations: Compatibility with other tools and systems
- API support: Integrations with automation tools for streamlined workflows
5. Support and reliability
- Responsive support: Reliable, timely technical support from the vendor
- Enhancements: Frequent updates to address security vulnerabilities and introduce new features
6. Costs
- The licensing model: The evaluation of licensing costs based on the number of devices, number of users, or bandwidth usage
- The total cost of ownership: The consideration of initial purchase costs, maintenance fees, and potential training expenses
7. Security
- Data encryption: Strong encryption for sensitive data like credentials
- Access controls: Robust access controls to protect against unauthorized access
What else should you check?
- Cloud-based vs. on-premises deployment: Evaluate the benefits and drawbacks of each deployment model based on your specific needs and security requirements.
- The vendor's reputation: Research the vendor's reputation, customer reviews, and market standing.
- Future-proofing: Consider the solution's ability to adapt to emerging technologies and network trends.
- Compliance: Ensure the solution meets industry compliance standards, such as the GDPR or SOC.
Site24x7: A 1-stop solution for complete network monitoring
Easy deployment, easier maintenance, and a peerless scope of coverage based on continuous research that has fostered over 15 years of invaluable customer trust
- Multi-location monitoring
Allows monitoring from multiple geographic locations, helping you assess performance from different user perspectives - SNMP and WMI support
Supports standard protocols like SNMP for monitoring network devices and WMI for Windows servers, making it versatile across different environments - Multiple visualization options
Offers customizable dashboards that can display key metrics and visualization options like topology and Layer 2 maps, which provide a consolidated view of network health - Monitoring for any device
Allows you to choose a device template to match your device type from over 11,000 options or to create a custom one - Comprehensive monitoring
Provides NCM that also includes firmware vulnerability management and network configuration compliance - Network automation
Lets you easily create scripts that can be executed automatically based on compliance rules - Support for software-defined networks and SD-WANs
Monitors software-defined networks and SD-WANs, like Cisco Meraki, Cisco Application Centric Infrastructure, and VMware VeloCloud, apart from supporting on-premises networks - Alerting and notifications
Offers configurable alerts based on thresholds for various metrics, with notifications delivered via email, SMS, or integrations with other tools (e.g., Slack and PagerDuty) - Reporting and analytics
Generates detailed reports on performance trends, availability, and compliance, and these reports can be scheduled and customized