Cisco Certified Network Consulting

Network management tools assist organizations to implement infrastructure effectively, access client information rapidly, monitor network health, troubleshoot problems, protect against and respond to cyber attacks, and maximize responsiveness. Network management systems can spot inefficient or improper uses of network resources such as streaming media or peer-to-peer file sharing that can waste bandwidth, lower employee productivity or enable data leakage. A well crafted network management environment can also help companies to make smart capacity planning decisions by showing tendencies in network usage for different periods or tasks.

Cisco offers a rich and growing portfolio of network management solutions that support centralized management for on-premises, cloud-based, or hybrid network models. With Cisco's later generation of security, switching, and Wi-Fi infrastructure products, you can run Meraki, Cisco DNA Center, or CLI management platforms for network monitoring and management. For example, you can interface the latest Catalyst or Meraki switches and Catalyst or Meraki WiFi 6/6E access points to the Meraki dashboard to manage vital components of your corporate infrastructure from the cloud. Progent's Catalyst WiFi AP consultants, Meraki WiFi AP consultants, Catalyst switches consultants, and Cisco Meraki switches experts can assist you to plan, deploy and tune a modern solution for network infrastructure monitoring and management.

Legacy Network Management Tools from Cisco and Others
A wealth of network management tools from Cisco and other vendors underscores the value and difficulty of supporting IT infrastructure. Progent's seasoned network management consultants are experienced at assisting businesses design management solutions based on Simple Network Management Protocol (SNMP), Syslog, and NetFlow protocols to build powerful mechanisms for network utilization and latency, monitoring important router and switch operational metrics, and identifying traffic profiles, processes, and appliances that use network services.

Progent can assist businesses to deploy a rich range of open source and proprietary monitoring and management tools to manage a Cisco network. Utilities used by Progent's engineers include Cacti, Nagios, Paessler Router Traffic Grapher, Cisco Cisco Adaptive Security Device Manager, Cisco Monitor Manager, Cisco Security Manager, OpenView, AlterPoint DeviceAuthority, Advent and Firewall Analyzer, Solarwinds Orion, and NetMRI.

Network management platforms can allow IT administrators to be aware of existing system utilization and intelligently prepare for downstream capacity expansion. Management utilities can also be used to detect poor or inappropriate utilization of system services, such as streaming multimedia, peer-to-peer sharing, etc. that can use up expensive and scarce network bandwidth. A well crafted network management strategy can also help businesses to make intelligent decisions on WAN and LAN enhancements once they recognize how much system bandwidth actually required at specific times.

Having an effective network management system in operation in advance is vital to prevent severe disruptions that can follow Denial Of Service attacks and malicious viruses/Trojans. These assaults can leave the network unstable and without appropriate tools it can be time consuming, if not virtually impossible, to discover the location of the problem.

Network Management Solutions from Cisco
Cisco has developed an array of powerful tools that should form the foundation for any management strategy. Used in combination with appropriate outside vendor products, Cisco's network management offerings can improve the competitive value of network infrastructures for companies of all sizes by helping with key areas such as system utilization, throughput, resilience, security, troubleshooting, and capacity planning. Cisco's top network management products include:

Cisco ASDM is a browser-based utility that allows you to configure and operate the software built into network devices. Adaptive Security Device Manager is installed by the adaptive security appliance, and allows you to set up, track, and control the unit.

Monitor Manager is a comprehensive management solution intended to handle the requirements of small and medium-sized businesses. Monitor Manager continuously monitors important appliance parameters on voice and data networks serving five to 250 workers and with as many as 250 Voice over IP phones. Cisco Monitor Manager offers:

• Up-to-date monitoring of key device parameters on Cisco SMB-class routers and switches, Communications Manager Express, Cisco Unity Express, security devices, access points, and Cisco Unified IP Phones
• Support for the Unified Communications 500 Series appliance for organizations with up to 50 users

• Voice and data network discovery and topology
• Device and service level views of Unified Communications implementation
• System wide inventory logging and reporting
• Advanced security and reliable operation
• Appliance operations tracking
• IP Telephony monitoring
• Interface status and data traffic monitoring
• Immediate alerts and notices
• Documentation
• Configuration log

Network Assistant is a desktop-based management tool designed for for LANs and WLANS for growing companies with as many as 40 Cisco switches and routers. By using Cisco's Smartports technology, Cisco Network Assistant streamlines setup, deployment, and continuing management and maintenance of Cisco networks. Network Assistant provides a centralized network view and permits IT administrators to employ its functions across Cisco switches, routers, and wireless access points.

Cisco Security Manager is a powerful but easy-to-use solution for managing all facets of appliance set up and security policies for Cisco PIX and ASA security appliances, virtual private networks (VPNs), and Intrusion Prevention Systems (IPS). Cisco Security Manager effectively handles even small environments consisting of fewer than ten appliances, but also scales to control enterprise systems with thousands of routers, switches, and firewalls. Scalability is enabled through smart policy-based management procedures that can streamline administration. Highlights of Cisco Security Manager are:

• Allows provisioning for Cisco routers running an IOS security image, ASA 5500 Series adaptive security appliances, Cisco PIX security appliances, IPS 4200 inline security appliances, and Catalyst 6500 Series security services modules
• Reacts faster. more rapidly to attacks: specify and assign new security policies to many hundreds of devices in a few simple steps
• Rich graphical user interface provides superior ease-of-use
• A variety of views that provide flexible methods to manage devices and security policies such as the option to administer the security network graphically on a topology image
• Comprehensive video training for the novice user to speed up learning time
• Globally call out which policies are shared and automatically inherited by new appliances to make sure corporate policies are implemented consistently, while offering sufficient flexibility to modify policies at the local appliance level
• Capability to create a single firewall rule table for all Cisco platforms with intelligent evaluation of firewall policies to determine conflicts within the rule base
• Quickly configure site-to-site, hub-spoke, full-mesh IPsec, or extranet VPN interfaces with a VPN wizard
• Compatibility with Cisco ACS for granular role based connection management to appliances and administration functions
• Operation with security MARS to correlate monitored data with related security appliance rules to enable quicker management decisions and enhanced system up time
• Capability to assign specific tasks to every administrator during the deployment of a policy, with structured change control and logging; permits the security and network operations team to act together as a cohesive group with efficient coordination

Progent can also assist you to utilize network management applications to monitor and classify network data to enable traffic shaping, which permits you to configure Cisco routers to enforce a variety of throughput restrictions on designated classes of processes according to the priorities you assign. By buffering and sorting excess packets that exceed your contracted rates, and by giving preference to business-critical applications, traffic shaping can prevent Internet Service Provider excess usage charges from spiraling out of reach and/or eliminate gaps in worker productivity caused by brute force enforcement of your network bandwidth restrictions during peak use.

Progent's CISM, CISSP, and ISSAP security consultants can help you to create a comprehensive security plan that incorporates your network management solution, and Progent's remote and on-site support specialists and Cisco CCIE-certified engineers can utilize advanced network monitoring and analysis technology to identify and remediate problems quickly to keep your network running smoothly.

To find out additional information about Progent's consulting assistance for Cisco products, pick a topic:

• Introduction to Progent's Cisco Consulting Services
• Timely Remote Access to a Cisco Certified Internetwork Expert (CCIE) Engineer
• Cisco Firepower NGFW Firewalls: Configuration and Troubleshooting Expertise
• ASA 5500-X Series Firewall with Firepower Services: Consulting and Management Expertise
• Cisco ASA 5500 Series Firewall Troubleshooting Support
• PIX 500 Firewall Troubleshooting Assistance
• Cisco Routers Configuration and Troubleshooting Expertise
• Cisco Wireless Deployment Support
• Cisco Aironet Access Points Design Help
• Cisco Small Business Wireless Access Points Consulting Support
• Cisco Catalyst 802.11ax Wi-Fi 6/6E Wireless Access Points Planning, Configuration and Debugging Expertise
• Cisco Wireless Controllers Consultants
• Cisco Meraki Access Points Engineering Support
• Cisco Unified Communications Manager (CUCM or Unified CM) and Cisco CallManager Consulting and Technical Support
• Cisco VoIP Phones and IP Video Phones Consulting and Cisco Wireless IP Phone Integration
• Cisco Jabber Deployment Expertise
• Catalyst Switches Consulting and Support Services
• Nexus Switches Configuration and Maintenance Services
• Meraki Switches Configuration and Maintenance Services
• Cisco VPN and Security Integration Expertise
• SIP and CUBE Infrastructure Solutions: SIP Trunking and CUBE Integration Expertise
• Cisco Duo MFA Two-factor Authentication Services for an At-Home Workforce
• Design Solutions for Cisco-based Data Centers
• Data Center Design Expertise for ISPs