Network Management Solutions From CCIE Certified Professionals
A wealth of network management utilities from Cisco and third-party vendors underscores the value and complexity of network management. Progent's seasoned network management engineers are expert at assisting companies design management strategies utilizing on Simple Network Management Protocol, Syslog, and Cisco IOS NetFlow to create powerful tools for tracking network utilization and latency, viewing key router and switch operational characteristics, and recognizing traffic patterns, processes, and devices that use network resources.
Progent can help businesses to deploy a rich range of free and license-based monitoring and management utilities to manage a Cisco network. Utilities used by Progent's engineers include MRTG, Nagios, PRTG, Cisco Cisco Adaptive Security Device Manager, Cisco Monitor Manager, CiscoWorks, Cisco Security Manager, OpenView, Wireshark/Ethereal, Concord E-Health, AlterPoint DeviceAuthority, Adventnet Netflow, Solarwinds Orion, and NetMRI.
Network management tools can allow organizations to be aware of existing network usage and effectively prepare for future traffic increases. Management tools can also be deployed to detect inefficient or improper uses of network resources, for example streaming audio and video, peer-to-peer file sharing, etc. that can use up expensive and scarce network resources. A well designed network management strategy can also assist businesses to make informed decisions on WAN and LAN upgrades after they appreciate how much system bandwidth historically required at various times.
Putting an efficient network management platform in operation in advance is vital to avoid severe disruptions that can be due to Denial Of Service (DoS) attacks and dangerous viruses. These events can render the network unusable and without appropriate utilities it can be difficult, and sometimes virtually impossible, to identify the location of the problem.
Network Management Tools from Cisco
Cisco has created an array of effective utilities that should form the foundation for any management solution. Utilized in combination with the top outside vendor products, Cisco's network management offerings can improve the competitive value of network infrastructures for companies of all sizes by improving important areas such as system utilization, throughput, availability, security, repair, and scalability. Cisco's most familiar network management products include:
Adaptive Security Device Manager (ASDM) is a browser-based utility that permits you configure and operate the software on security appliances. Cisco ASDM is installed by the network device, and allows you to set up, track, and control the device.
Cisco Monitor Manager is a management and monitoring application designed to address the needs of small and midsize businesses. Monitor Manager continuously monitors key device parameters on voice and data networks used by 5 to 250 workers and with as many as 250 Voice over IP phones. Monitor Manager provides:
Real-time tracking of key appliance processes on SMB-class routers, switches, and voice gateways, Unified Communications Manager Express, Unity Express, security devices, access points, and IP phones
Compatibility with the Unified Communications 500 Series communications appliance for organizations with as many as 50 users
Cisco Monitor Manager monitors the network on a round-the-clock basis and periodically touches and collects identification and performance-tracking data from the monitored devices in the system. Monitor Manager is a Microsoft Windows-based application and is completely nondisruptive to IT processes and does not deploy any agent software on target appliances. The application provides a variety of valuable features and benefits including:
Network discovery and topology
Physical and service level looks at Unified Communications deployment
Networkwide device identification collection and documentation
Highly secure and dependable operation
Device performance monitoring
IP Telephony monitoring
Interface status and data traffic monitoring
Real-time alarms and notifications
Documentation
Configuration archive
Network Assistant is a PC-based network management tool designed for for wired and wireless LANs (WLANs) for expanding organizations with up to 40 Cisco switches and routers. By running Cisco's Smartports technology, Cisco Network Assistant simplifies setup, installation, and ongoing management and support of Cisco networks. It provides a unified network view and allows IT managers to employ its functions among switches, routers, and wireless access points.
Cisco Security Manager is a highly functional but easy-to-use application for centrally provisioning all facets of device set up and security policies for firewalls, virtual private networks (VPNs), and Intrusion Prevention Systems (IPS). Cisco Security Manager efficiently handles even small environments with no more than than ten appliances, but also scales to control enterprise systems with thousands of routers, switches, and firewalls. Expansion is achieved via intelligent policy-based control techniques that can streamline administrative overhead. Highlights of Security Manager are:
Allows provisioning for Cisco routers running an IOS security image, ASA 5500 firewalls, PIX firewalls, IPS 4200 Series sensors, and Cisco Catalyst 6500 Series security modules
Respond faster. more rapidly to attacks: specify and apply new security policies to thousands of devices in a few easy steps
Intuitive graphical user interface offers exceptional ease-of-use
Multiple views that offer versatile ways to control devices and policies including the option to manage the security network graphically on a topology image
Extensive animated training for the first-time operator to accelerate training time
Centrally call out which policies are common and automatically inherited by additional devices to ensure company-wide policies are configured consistently, at the same time offering sufficient flexibility to customize policies at the local device level
Ability to build a common rule database for all Cisco platforms with intelligent analysis of firewall policies to detect conflicts in the rule base
Easily configure location-to-location, hub-spoke, full-mesh IPSec, or extranet VPN connections by means of a few mouse clicks
Compatibility with Cisco ACS for granular role based connection management to appliances and administration services
Integration with security MARS system to correlate monitored data with related security appliance rules to help with faster decision making and enhanced system availability
Capability to assign particular tasks to every administrator in the course of the implementation of a policy, with formal change control and logging; permits the security and network operations staff to work in sync as a cohesive unit with effective coordination
How Progent's Consultants Can Help You with Network Management Solutions
Progent's Cisco-qualified network engineers can help you to use Cisco's network management tools alongside a variety of powerful third-party applications to develop a comprehensive management toolkit to keep your network running smoothly, consolidate valuable resources, protect your data, recover quickly from equipment failure or malicious assaults, and allow you to expand or reassign network hardware effectively and affordably as your company grows.
Progent can also assist you to use network management applications to analyze and categorize network data to enable traffic shaping, which allows you to program routers to enforce different bandwidth restrictions on designated types of activity according to the importance you assign. By buffering and queuing data packets above your committed rates, and by assigning priority to the most important processes, traffic shaping can prevent Internet Service Provider excess usage charges from spiraling out of control and/or avoid lost productivity caused by indiscriminate enforcement of your network bandwidth limits during peak use.
Progent's CISM and CISSP security specialists can help you to create a comprehensive security strategy that encompasses your network management processes, and Progent's remote and on-premise network experts and Cisco CCIE and CNA qualified consultants can utilize the latest network management tools to isolate and fix trouble quickly to keep your network productive.
To find out more information concerning Progent's consulting help for Cisco networking products, choose a topic:
A wealth of network management utilities from Cisco and third-party vendors underscores the value and complexity of network management. Progent's seasoned network management engineers are expert at assisting companies design management strategies utilizing on Simple Network Management Protocol, Syslog, and Cisco IOS NetFlow to create powerful tools for tracking network utilization and latency, viewing key router and switch operational characteristics, and recognizing traffic patterns, processes, and devices that use network resources.
