Cisco Certified Network Consulting and Support

An abundance of network management products from Cisco and other suppliers underscores the importance and complexity of network management. Progent's Cisco qualified network management engineers are experienced at assisting companies design management strategies utilizing on Simple Network Management Protocol (SNMP), Syslog, and Cisco NetFlow to build effective mechanisms for tracking network utilization and latency, viewing key router and switch performance characteristics, and recognizing traffic profiles, processes, and appliances utilizing network resources.

Progent can help businesses to deploy a broad selection of open source and proprietary monitoring and management solutions to maintain Cisco infrastructure. Tools used by Progent's engineers include Cacti, Nagios, Paessler Router Traffic Grapher, Cisco Cisco Adaptive Security Device Manager, Cisco Monitor Manager, Cisco Network Assistant, Cisco Security Manager, OpenView, Concord E-Health, AlterPoint DeviceAuthority, Advent and Firewall Analyzer, Big Brother, Solarwinds Orion, and Necordia NetMRI.

Network management platforms can allow organizations to be aware of current system usage and intelligently plan for downstream traffic expansion. Network management utilities can also be deployed to detect inefficient or improper utilization of network services, such as streaming audio and video, peer-to-peer file exchange, etc. that can use up valuable or scarce network resources. A well planned network management strategy can also enable companies to arrive at intelligent decisions on WAN and LAN enhancements after they understand how much network bandwidth really needed at any one time.

Putting an efficient network management platform in operation ahead of time is critical to prevent major disruptions that can be due to Denial Of Service attacks and malicious viruses. These events can leave the network unusable and in the absence of appropriate tools it can be difficult, and sometimes practically impossible, to discover the location of the problem.

Network Management Products from Cisco
Cisco provides an assortment of effective utilities that should be the basis for any network management solution. Utilized in combination with the top third-party applications, Cisco's network management offerings can enhance the business value of networks for organizations of all sizes by improving important areas such as system utilization, performance, availability, security, troubleshooting, and scalability. Cisco's most popular network management tools include:

Adaptive Security Device Manager (ASDM) is a web utility that permits you set up and monitor the software built into network devices. Adaptive Security Device Manager is loaded by the Cisco appliance, and allows you to configure, monitor, and manage the unit.

Monitor Manager is a comprehensive management solution developed for the requirements of small and midsize businesses (SMBs). Monitor Manager continuously tracks important appliance processes on voice/data environments serving 5 to 250 workers and with up to 250 IP phones. Cisco Monitor Manager provides:

• Real-time tracking of important appliance processes on small and midsize business-class routers and switches, Cisco Unified Communications Manager Express, Cisco Unity Express, security appliances, access points, and Cisco Unified IP Phones
• Compatibility with the Unified Communications 500 Series appliance for companies with up to 50 users

• Voice and data network discovery and physical topology
• Device and service level views of Cisco Unified Communications implementation
• System wide device identification logging and reporting
• Highly secure and dependable communication
• Cisco device performance tracking
• IP Telephony tracking
• Interface status and traffic monitoring
• Immediate alarms and event notification
• Documentation
• Setup log

Cisco Network Assistant is a PC-hosted management tool optimized for LANs and WLANS for growing organizations with up to 40 Cisco switches and routers. By utilizing Cisco's Smartports mechanism, Network Assistant simplifies configuration, installation, and ongoing administration and support of Cisco-based networks. The application provides a centralized network view and permits network managers to deploy its features among Cisco switches, routers, and access points.

Security Manager is a highly functional but simple to operate application for centrally provisioning all aspects of device set up and security policies for PIX and ASA firewalls, virtual private networks, and Intrusion Prevention Systems (IPS). Security Manager efficiently handles even small networks consisting of no more than than ten appliances, but also expands to manage large-scale systems composed of thousands of routers, switches, and firewalls. Expansion is achieved through intelligent policy-driven control techniques that can streamline administration. Highlights of Security Manager are:

• Supports control of Cisco router platforms configured with an IOS security software image, Cisco ASA 5500 security appliances, PIX firewalls, Cisco IPS 4200 family inline security appliances, and Cisco Catalyst 6500 Series security modules
• Respond faster. more rapidly to attacks: specify and assign new security policies to many hundreds of devices in a few simple steps
• Intuitive GUI offers exceptional ease-of-use
• A variety of views that provide flexible ways to manage appliances and security policies including the ability to manage the security network visually on a topology image
• Extensive video training for the new user to speed up learning period
• Centrally specify which policies are common and inherited by additional devices to ensure corporate policies are configured consistently, at the same time providing sufficient flexibility to modify policies at the individual appliance level
• Capability to create a common rule database for all Cisco firewalls with smart evaluation of firewall policies to detect conflicts in the rule base
• Easily configure site-to-site, hub-and-spoke, full mesh, or extranet Virtual Private Network interfaces by means of a few mouse clicks
• Integration with Cisco ACS for low-level role based access control to appliances and management services
• Operation with security MARS to associate events against corresponding security appliance rules to help with quicker management decisions and increased system availability
• Ability to allocate particular jobs to each administrator during the implementation of a rule, with structured change management and logging; permits the security and network operations team to work cooperatively as a cohesive group with effective teamwork

Progent can also show you how to utilize network management utilities to monitor and classify system data to implement traffic shaping, which permits you to configure Cisco routers to impose different throughput constraints on certain types of activity according to the priorities you specify. By buffering and sorting data packets that exceed your committed volume, and by assigning preference to business-critical applications, traffic shaping can prevent service provider overage charges from spinning out of reach and/or eliminate lost worker productivity caused by indiscriminate policing of your network bandwidth limits during peak demand.

Progent's CISM, CISSP, and ISSAP security professionals can help you to create an end-to-end security plan that encompasses your network management processes, and Progent's remote and on-premises support specialists and Cisco CCIE-certified consultants can utilize the latest network management tools to identify and remediate problems rapidly to keep your IT system in business.

To learn additional details about Progent's consulting help for Cisco networking products, select a subject:

• Overview of Progent's Cisco Network Support
• Timely Online Help from a CCIE Network Engineer
• Cisco Firepower Firewalls: Configuration and Troubleshooting Support
• ASA 5500-X Firewalls with Cisco Firepower Services: Configuration and Troubleshooting Expertise
• ASA 5500 Series Firewall Troubleshooting Support
• Cisco PIX Firewall Engineering Help
• Cisco Routers Consulting Support
• Cisco Wireless Engineering Support
• Aironet APs Deployment Expertise
• Cisco Small Business WiFi APs System Design Expertise
• Catalyst 802.11ax APs Solution Design, Deployment and Debugging Consulting
• Cisco Wireless Controllers Integration Consulting
• Meraki Wireless Access Points Deployment Support
• Cisco Unified Communications Manager (CUCM or Unified CM) and CallManager Integration and Troubleshooting
• Cisco Voice over IP Phones and IP Video Desktop Phones Consulting Services and Cisco Wireless VoIP Phone Solutions
• Cisco Jabber Configuration and Troubleshooting Services
• Cisco Catalyst Switches Configuration and Maintenance Services
• Cisco Nexus Switches Consulting and Support Expertise
• Cisco Meraki Switches Configuration and Maintenance Services
• Cisco VPN and Security Integration Expertise
• SIP and CUBE Integration Solutions: SIP PSTN Trunks and Cisco CUBE Integration Consulting
• Design Solutions for Cisco-based Datacenters and Colocation Centers
• Data Center Optimization Services for ISPs