Cisco Certified Network Consulting

A wealth of network management products from Cisco and other suppliers highlights the importance and difficulty of maintaining networks. Progent's seasoned network management engineers are expert at helping businesses develop management strategies utilizing on Simple Network Management Protocol (SNMP), Syslog, and Cisco IOS NetFlow to build powerful tools for network utilization and latency, monitoring important router and switch performance metrics, and recognizing traffic patterns, applications, and devices that use available resources.

Progent can assist customers to deploy a broad selection of open source and proprietary management utilities to maintain a Cisco-powered environment. Tools familiar to Progent's consultants include MRTG, Cacti, Nagios, PRTG, Cisco Cisco ASDM, Cisco Network Assistant, Cisco Security Manager, OpenView, Concord E-Health, Adventnet Netflow, Big Brother, and Necordia NetMRI.

Network management platforms can enable IT administrators to understand existing system utilization and intelligently plan for future traffic expansion. Management tools can also be used to detect inefficient or inappropriate uses of network resources, for example streaming audio and video, peer-to-peer file sharing, etc. that can eat up expensive or limited network bandwidth. An efficiently planned network management plan can also help businesses to make informed choices on WAN and LAN upgrades once they appreciate how much system resources actually required at specific times.

Putting an efficient network management system in place ahead of time is vital to prevent major problems that can result from DoS attacks and dangerous viruses/Trojans. Such events can leave the network unusable and without proper tools it can be time consuming, and in some cases practically impossible, to identify the location of the trouble.

Network Management Solutions from Cisco
Cisco has created a selection of powerful utilities that should form the foundation for any network management solution. Used in combination with the top outside vendor tools, Cisco's network management offerings can enhance the business value of networks for companies of any size by improving important areas such as system utilization, performance, resilience, protection, troubleshooting, and scalability. Cisco's top network management tools include:

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

Monitor Manager is a management solution developed to handle the requirements of small and midsize companies. Monitor Manager continuously scans key appliance parameters on voice/data networks serving 5 to 250 workers and with as many as 250 IP phones. The application offers:

• Up-to-date monitoring of key device processes on small and midsize business-class routers and switches, Communications Manager Express, Unity Express, security appliances, WAPs, and IP phones
• Ability to manage the Unified Communications 500 appliance for businesses with up to 50 workers

• Voice and data network discovery and physical topology
• Physical and process views of Unified Communications implementation
• System wide inventory logging and documentation
• Advanced security and reliable operation
• Cisco device performance tracking
• VoIP Telephony monitoring
• Interface status and traffic monitoring
• Real-time alerts and notifications
• Documentation
• Configuration log

Cisco Network Assistant is a desktop-hosted management application designed for for LANs and WLANS for growing organizations with as many as 40 switches and routers. By using Smartports, the application simplifies configuration, installation, and continuing administration and maintenance of Cisco-based networks. Cisco Network Assistant offers a unified network view and permits IT administrators to deploy its features among switches, routers, and WAPs.

Security Manager is a powerful but simple to operate application for managing all aspects of appliance configuration and policies for firewalls, VPNs, and IPS. The solution effectively manages even small networks with no more than than ten devices, but also scales to control enterprise networks with thousands of devices. Expansion is achieved through smart policy-based management techniques that can streamline administrative overhead. Key features of Security Manager are:

• Allows control of Cisco routers configured with an IOS security software image, ASA 5500 family adaptive security appliances, Cisco PIX firewalls, IPS 4200 sensors, and Cisco Catalyst 6500 security modules
• Reacts faster. more rapidly to threats: define and apply updated policies to thousands of devices in just a few steps
• Rich GUI provides exceptional ease-of-use
• A variety of views that offer versatile methods to control devices and security policies such as the capability to administer the security network visually on a system topology image
• Comprehensive animated help for the new user to reduce training period
• Globally specify which policies are shared and automatically inherited by additional devices to ensure corporate policies are configured consistently, at the same time offering optional versatility to customize policies at the local appliance level
• Ability to build a single rule database for Cisco platforms with smart analysis of firewall policies to detect anomalies within the rule base
• Quickly set up site-to-site, hub-and-spoke, full-mesh IPsec, or extranet VPN connections by means of a few mouse clicks
• Integration with Cisco Access Control Server (ACS) for low-level role based connection management to appliances and management functions
• Integration with Cisco security MARS to associate monitored data against corresponding security appliance rules to promote quicker decision making and enhanced system up time
• Ability to allocate particular tasks to each administrator in the course of the deployment of a policy, with structured change management and logging; allows the security and network operations team to work cooperatively as a cohesive unit with efficient coordination

Progent can also help you to use network management utilities to monitor and categorize network data to implement traffic shaping, which allows you to configure Cisco routers to enforce different bandwidth constraints on designated types of activity according to the priorities you specify. By buffering and queuing excess packets that exceed your contracted rates, and by giving priority to the most important applications, traffic shaping can prevent Internet Service Provider overage charges from spiraling out of control and/or avoid gaps in productivity resulting from brute force enforcement of your network bandwidth limits during peak demand.

Progent's CISM and CISSP security consultants can show you how to create an end-to-end security strategy that incorporates your network management solution, and Progent's remote and on-site network experts and Cisco CCIE-certified consultants can utilize advanced network monitoring and analysis tools to isolate and repair problems quickly to keep your network productive.

For more details concerning Progent's consulting help for Cisco products, choose a subject:

• Overview of Cisco Expertise
• Timely Online Help from a Cisco CCIE Network Engineer
• Cisco Firepower NGFW Series Firewalls: Configuration and Management Expertise
• Cisco ASA 5500-X Firewalls with Firepower: Integration and Management Support
• Cisco ASA 5500 Series Firewall Engineering Support
• PIX 500 Firewall Troubleshooting Expertise
• Cisco Routers Engineering Services
• Cisco Wireless Consulting Services
• Aironet Wireless Access Points Engineering Expertise
• Cisco Small Business 100, 300 and 500 Wireless Access Points Consulting Help
• Cisco Catalyst 802.11ax Access Points Solution Design, Configuration and Troubleshooting Expertise
• Cisco WiFi Controllers Integration Consulting
• Cisco Meraki APs Engineering Support
• Cisco Unified Communications Manager (CUCM or Unified CM) and Cisco CallManager Integration and Troubleshooting
• Cisco Voice over IP Phones and IP Video Phones Expertise and Wireless VoIP Phone Integration
• Cisco Jabber Configuration and Troubleshooting Services
• Cisco Catalyst Switches Consulting and Support Services
• Cisco Nexus Switches Configuration and Maintenance Expertise
• Meraki Switches Support and Troubleshooting Services
• Cisco VPN and Security Engineering Help
• SIP and CUBE Integration Solutions: SIP Trunking and Cisco CUBE Integration Expertise
• Design Expertise for Cisco-based Datacenters
• Data Center Optimization Consulting for Service Providers