Cisco Network Consulting and Support

Network management platforms help companies to implement network infrastructure efficiently, look up client details quickly, track network operation, troubleshoot problems, defend against and react to cyber attacks, and optimize responsiveness. Network management systems can help detect inefficient or improper uses of network services like streaming media or peer-to-peer file sharing that can burn up bandwidth, reduce employee productivity or allow data leakage. A well crafted network management environment can also help organizations to make smart capacity planning moves by surfacing tendencies in network demand for various periods or types of jos.

Cisco offers a rich and expanding portfolio of network management solutions that support centralized management for local, cloud-based, or hybrid network models. With Cisco's newer security, switching, and wireless networking products, you can run Meraki, Cisco DNA Center, or CLI management platforms for network monitoring and management. For example, you can interface newer Catalyst or Meraki switches and Catalyst or Meraki Wi-Fi APs to the Meraki dashboard to monitor and manage critical components of your network infrastructure from the cloud. Progent's Catalyst Wi-Fi access point experts, Meraki WiFi access point consulting experts, Catalyst switches integration experts, and Cisco Meraki switches experts can help your organization to plan, implement and tune a modern environment for network infrastructure monitoring and management.

Traditional Network Management Platforms from Cisco and Others
A wealth of network management products from Cisco and third-party suppliers underscores the value and difficulty of supporting IT infrastructure. Progent's Cisco-certified network management consultants are experienced at assisting businesses design network management solutions utilizing on SNMP, Syslog, and Cisco IOS NetFlow to create effective mechanisms for understanding network utilization and network latency, monitoring important router and switch performance characteristics, and recognizing traffic patterns, applications, and devices that use available services.

Progent can help businesses to utilize a rich selection of free and license-based monitoring and management solutions to maintain a Cisco-powered environment. Utilities familiar to Progent's engineers include MRTG, Cacti, Nagios, Cisco Adaptive Security Device Manager (ASDM), Cisco Monitor Manager, Cisco Network Assistant, CiscoWorks, Cisco Security Manager, OpenView, Wireshark/Ethereal, AlterPoint DeviceAuthority, Adventnet Netflow and Firewall Analyzer, Big Brother, and Necordia NetMRI.

Network management platforms can allow organizations to be aware of existing network utilization and effectively prepare for future capacity expansion. Management tools can also be used to identify poor or inappropriate uses of system resources, such as streaming video, peer-to-peer file sharing, etc. that can eat up expensive and limited network resources. An efficiently designed network management plan can also assist businesses to arrive at intelligent decisions on WAN and LAN enhancements once they appreciate the amount of system resources actually required at various times.

Putting an effective network management solution in operation ahead of time is essential to avoid major problems that can follow Denial Of Service (DoS) attacks and malicious viruses. Such assaults can leave the network unstable and in the absence of appropriate utilities it can be time consuming, if not virtually impossible, to find the source of the trouble.

Network Management Tools from Cisco
Cisco provides a selection of effective tools that should be the foundation for any management solution. Used in combination with appropriate third-party products, Cisco's network management offerings can enhance the competitive value of networks for organizations of any size by helping with important areas such as system utilization, performance, availability, security, troubleshooting, and scalability. Cisco's top network management products include:

Adaptive Security Device Manager (ASDM) is a browser-based Java applet that allows you to configure and monitor the software on security appliances. Adaptive Security Device Manager is installed by the adaptive security device, and allows you to configure, monitor, and manage the unit.

Monitor Manager is a management solution designed to address the requirements of small and midsize businesses (SMBs). Cisco Monitor Manager continuously checks key device parameters on voice/data environments used by 5 to 250 workers and equipped with up to 250 IP phones. The application provides:

• Real-time scanning of key device parameters on small and midsize business-class network appliances, Cisco Communications Manager Express, Unity Express, security devices, wireless access points, and IP phones
• Ability to manage the Cisco Unified Communications 500 communications appliance for companies with as many as 50 users

• Network discovery and physical topology
• Physical and service level looks at Cisco Unified Communications implementation
• System wide device identification collection and documentation
• Highly secure and dependable communication
• Appliance operations tracking
• VoIP Telephony tracking
• Interface status and traffic tracking
• Immediate alarms and notifications
• Documentation
• Setup archive

Cisco Network Assistant is a desktop-hosted management application optimized for wired and wireless LANs (WLANs) for expanding organizations with up to 40 switches and routers. By utilizing Cisco's Smartports technology, the application simplifies configuration, deployment, and continuing administration and maintenance of Cisco networks. Network Assistant offers a centralized system view and permits IT managers to deploy its features across switches, routers, and access points.

Security Manager is a feature-rich but simple to operate application for managing all aspects of appliance configuration and security policies for PIX and ASA firewalls, VPNs, and Intrusion Prevention Systems. Security Manager effectively manages even small environments with no more than than ten devices, but also expands to control large-scale systems composed of thousands of devices. Scalability is enabled via intelligent policy-driven control techniques that can simplify administration. Highlights of Cisco Security Manager include:

• Allows control of Cisco router platforms running a Cisco IOS security image, ASA 5500 Series firewalls, Cisco PIX security appliances, IPS 4200 inline security appliances, and Catalyst 6500 Series security modules
• Reacts faster. more rapidly to attacks: specify and assign new security policies to many hundreds of devices in a few easy steps
• Rich GUI offers superior ease-of-use
• Multiple looks that offer flexible methods to manage appliances and policies including the ability to manage the security network graphically on a system topology image
• Extensive video training for the new operator to speed up training period
• Globally call out which policies are shared and automatically inherited by new devices to make sure corporate policies are implemented regularly, at the same time offering optional versatility to customize policies at the individual appliance level
• Capability to build a common firewall rule database for Cisco firewalls with smart analysis of firewall policies to determine anomalies in the rule table
• Quickly configure location-to-location, hub-and-spoke, full mesh, or extranet Virtual Private Network connections with a few mouse clicks
• Compatibility with Cisco ACS for low-level role based connection management to devices and administration functions
• Operation with Cisco security MARS to associate monitored data against related firewall rules to promote quicker management decisions and increased network up time
• Capability to allocate particular jobs to every administrator in the course of the implementation of a policy, with structured change management and logging; permits the security and systems operations team to work together as a single unit with effective coordination

Progent can also assist you to utilize network management applications to monitor and categorize network data to implement traffic shaping, which permits you to program Cisco routers to enforce a variety of bandwidth constraints on designated types of processes according to the priorities you assign. By storing and sorting excess packets above your contracted rates, and by assigning priority to the most important applications, traffic shaping can keep Internet Service Provider excess usage penalties from spiraling out of reach and/or avoid lost productivity resulting from indiscriminate enforcement of your network traffic volume restrictions during peak use.

Progent's CISM and CISSP security professionals can help you to create an end-to-end security plan that incorporates your network management solution, and Progent's remote and on-premises support specialists and Cisco CCIE-certified consultants can use advanced network monitoring and analysis technology to identify and remediate trouble rapidly to keep your network running smoothly.

To find out more details about Progent's professional support for Cisco technology, select a subject:

• Introduction to Cisco Network Support
• Timely Remote Assistance from a CCIE Engineer
• Cisco Firepower NGFW Series Firewalls: Configuration and Troubleshooting Support
• Cisco ASA 5500-X Firewall with Cisco Firepower Services: Consulting and Management Expertise
• ASA 5500 Firewall Troubleshooting Assistance
• Cisco PIX Series Firewall Management Services
• Cisco Routers Configuration and Troubleshooting Expertise
• Cisco Wireless Consulting Expertise
• Cisco Aironet APs Consulting Expertise
• Cisco Small Business Wireless APs Consulting Support
• Cisco Catalyst Wi-Fi 6/6E APs Solution Design, Deployment and Troubleshooting Expertise
• Cisco WiFi Controllers Consultants
• Meraki APs Deployment Help
• Cisco Unified Communications Manager (CUCM or Unified CM) and Cisco CallManager Integration and Troubleshooting
• Cisco Voice over IP Phones and IP Video Desktop Phones Expertise and Wireless VoIP Phone Configuration
• Cisco Jabber Configuration and Troubleshooting Expertise
• Catalyst Switches Configuration and Maintenance Expertise
• Nexus Switches Deployment Expertise
• Cisco Meraki Switches Support and Troubleshooting Services
• Cisco VPN and Security Consulting Support
• SIP and CUBE Integration Solutions: SIP Trunking and Cisco CUBE Integration Consulting
• Cisco Duo MFA Two-factor Authentication (2FA) Services for Remote Workers
• Design and Support for Cisco-powered Data Centers
• Network Optimization Consulting for ISPs