Cisco Expert Network Consultants

Network management platforms assist organizations to deploy infrastructure effectively, access client details quickly, track network health, debug problems, defend against and respond to cyber attacks, and optimize performance. Network management systems can help detect inefficient or inappropriate uses of network services like streaming multimedia or peer-to-peer file sharing that can burn up bandwidth, reduce employee output or leave you vulnerable to data leakage. A well planned network management environment can also help companies to make smart network enhancement decisions by surfacing trends in network usage for different periods or activities.

Cisco has developed a diverse and growing catalog of network management platforms that support unified management for local, cloud-based, or hybrid network models. With Cisco's newer generation of security, switching, and wireless networking products, you can choose among Meraki, Cisco DNA Center, or CLI management platforms for network management. For instance, you can connect the latest Catalyst or Meraki switches and Catalyst or Meraki Wi-Fi APs to the Meraki dashboard to manage critical components of your IT infrastructure from the cloud. Progent's Catalyst WiFi AP consultants, Meraki WiFi access point consulting experts, Catalyst switches consulting experts, and Cisco Meraki switches consulting experts can assist you to design, deploy and optimize a modern solution for network monitoring and management.

Traditional Network Management Platforms from Cisco and Others
An abundance of network management tools from Cisco and other suppliers highlights the importance and complexity of network management. Progent's Cisco-certified network management consultants are expert at helping companies develop network management strategies based on SNMP, SYSLOG services, and NetFlow protocols to build powerful tools for understanding network utilization and network latency, monitoring key router and switch performance characteristics, and recognizing traffic profiles, processes, and appliances utilizing available resources.

Progent can help businesses to utilize a rich selection of free and license-based management utilities to manage a Cisco network. Utilities familiar to Progent's consultants include MRTG, Nagios, PRTG, Cisco Cisco Adaptive Security Device Manager, Cisco Network Assistant, Cisco Security Manager, OpenView, AlterPoint DeviceAuthority, Adventnet Netflow, Big Brother, and Necordia NetMRI.

Network management tools can help organizations to understand existing network usage and intelligently plan for future capacity expansion. Network management utilities can also be deployed to detect inefficient or inappropriate uses of network resources, such as streaming audio and video, peer-to-peer file exchange, etc. that can use up expensive or limited network resources. An efficiently planned network management solution can also aid companies to make informed decisions on system improvements once they understand the amount of network resources historically required at various times.

Putting an effective network management platform in operation beforehand is vital to avoid severe problems that can follow DoS attacks and malicious viruses. These assaults can render the network unusable and in the absence of appropriate tools it can be difficult, and in some cases virtually impossible, to find the location of the problem.

Network Management Tools from Cisco
Cisco provides an array of powerful utilities that should be the foundation for any management solution. Used in combination with appropriate outside vendor applications, Cisco's network management offerings can improve the business value of networks for organizations of all sizes by addressing important areas such as system utilization, performance, resilience, security, troubleshooting, and capacity planning. Cisco's most popular network management tools include:

Cisco ASDM is a browser-based utility that allows you to configure and monitor the software built into security devices. ASDM is loaded by the Cisco device, and allows you to set up, monitor, and control the unit.

Cisco Monitor Manager is a management application designed to address the requirements of small and midsize companies. Monitor Manager continuously tracks key device processes on voice and data environments serving 5 to 250 users and equipped with as many as 250 VoIP phones. The application provides:

• Up-to-date scanning of key device processes on SMB-class routers and switches, Cisco Unified Communications Manager Express, Cisco Unity Express, security appliances, WAPs, and IP phones
• Ability to manage the Cisco Unified Communications 500 appliance for companies with as many as 50 users

• Network discovery and physical topology
• Physical and service level looks at Cisco Unified Communications implementation
• Networkwide inventory logging and documentation
• Highly secure and reliable operation
• Device performance tracking
• IP Telephony tracking
• Interface status and traffic monitoring
• Immediate alarms and event notification
• Reports
• Setup log

Cisco Network Assistant is a desktop-hosted management application optimized for wired and wireless LANs (WLANs) for expanding organizations that have as many as 40 Cisco switches and routers. By utilizing Cisco's Smartports technology, Network Assistant simplifies setup, installation, and ongoing administration and support of Cisco-based networks. Cisco Network Assistant offers a centralized system view and permits network managers to employ its functions among Cisco switches, routers, and WAPs.

Cisco Security Manager is a highly functional but easy-to-use application for centrally provisioning all facets of device set up and policies for firewalls, VPNs, and IPS. Cisco Security Manager effectively manages even small networks with fewer than ten devices, but also scales to control enterprise systems with thousands of routers, switches, and firewalls. Expansion is achieved through intelligent policy-based control techniques that can streamline administrative overhead. Key features of Cisco Security Manager are:

• Supports control of Cisco routers running a Cisco IOS security image, Cisco ASA 5500 family adaptive security appliances, PIX firewalls, Cisco IPS 4200 family inline security appliances, and Cisco Catalyst 6500 family security services modules
• Respond faster. more rapidly to attacks: specify and assign new security policies to thousands of devices in a few easy steps
• Rich graphical user interface provides superior ease-of-use
• A variety of looks that provide versatile ways to control appliances and policies including the option to administer the security network visually on a system topology image
• Extensive video help for the novice operator to reduce learning period
• Globally specify which policies are shared and automatically inherited by additional devices to make sure corporate policies are implemented regularly, while providing sufficient versatility to modify policies at the local appliance level
• Ability to create a common firewall rule database for all Cisco platforms with intelligent evaluation of firewall policies to determine conflicts in the rule base
• Easily set up location-to-location, hub-and-spoke, full-mesh IPsec, or extranet VPN interfaces by means of a VPN wizard
• Compatibility with Cisco ACS for low-level role based access management to devices and management services
• Operation with Cisco security MARS to associate events with related firewall rules to help with faster management decisions and enhanced system up time
• Capability to assign specific tasks to every manager in the course of the deployment of a rule, 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 show you how to utilize network management applications to analyze and categorize system data to implement traffic shaping, which permits you to program routers to enforce a variety of bandwidth restrictions on certain classes of activity based on the importance you specify. By storing and queuing excess packets that exceed your contracted volume, and by assigning priority to business-critical processes, traffic shaping can keep Internet Service Provider overage charges from spinning out of reach and/or eliminate gaps in productivity caused by brute force enforcement of your network bandwidth limits during periods of heavy use.

Progent's CISM, CISSP, and ISSAP security specialists can show you how to create a comprehensive security plan that incorporates your network management solution, and Progent's remote and on-premises support specialists and Cisco CCIE and CNA qualified engineers can utilize the latest network monitoring and analysis technology to isolate and remediate problems rapidly to keep your network productive.

To find out more information about Progent's professional expertise for Cisco solutions, select a subject:

• Overview of Progent's Cisco Network Support
• Fast Remote Support from a CCIE Engineer
• Cisco Firepower Firewalls: Configuration and Management Expertise
• Cisco ASA 5500-X Firewalls with Firepower: Setup and Troubleshooting Services
• ASA 5500 Firewall Integration Assistance
• Cisco PIX 500 Firewall Management Assistance
• Cisco Routers Engineering Support
• Cisco Wireless Deployment Expertise
• Cisco Aironet Wireless Access Points Consulting Help
• Cisco Small Business 100, 300 and 500 WiFi APs Deployment Services
• Catalyst Wi-Fi 6/6E Wireless Access Points Solution Design, Configuration and Debugging Consulting
• Cisco Wireless Controllers Consultants
• Cisco Meraki Wireless Access Points Deployment Services
• Cisco Unified Communications Manager (CUCM or Unified CM) and Cisco CallManager Integration and Troubleshooting
• Cisco Voice over IP Phones and IP Video Desktop Phones Consulting Services and Cisco Wireless VoIP Phone Solutions
• Cisco Jabber Consulting and Support Services
• Catalyst Switches Configuration and Maintenance Services
• Cisco Nexus Switches Support and Troubleshooting Services
• Cisco Meraki MS Switches Consulting and Support Services
• Cisco Security and VPN Setup and Troubleshooting Help
• SIP and CUBE Infrastructure Solutions: SIP Trunking and Cisco CUBE Integration Consulting
• Cisco Duo MFA Two-factor Authentication Services for At-Home Workers
• Design and Support for Cisco-based Datacenters and Colocation Centers
• Infrastructure Design Services for Service Providers