Cisco Network Consulting and Support

Network management tools assist companies to deploy network infrastructure efficiently, access client details quickly, track system health, debug issues, protect against and respond to cyber attacks, and maximize responsiveness. Network management systems can help detect inefficient or improper uses of network resources like streaming multimedia or peer-to-peer file sharing that can burn up bandwidth, reduce worker output or allow data leakage. A well planned network management solution can also assist companies to make informed capacity planning moves by surfacing tendencies in resource demand for various periods or types of tasks.

Cisco offers a diverse and expanding catalog of network management platforms that support centralized management for on-premises, cloud-based, or hybrid network models. With Cisco's newer security, switching, and Wi-Fi infrastructure devices, you can choose among Meraki, DNA Center, or CLI management platforms for network management. For instance, you can interface newer Catalyst or Meraki switches and Catalyst or Meraki Wi-Fi access points to the Meraki dashboard to manage vital components of your corporate infrastructure from the cloud. Progent's Catalyst WiFi access point experts, Meraki WiFi AP experts, Catalyst switches experts, and Meraki switches consultants can help you to plan, implement and tune a modern solution for network infrastructure monitoring and management.

Traditional Network Management Platforms from Cisco and Others
An abundance of network management utilities from Cisco and other vendors underscores the value and difficulty of network management. Progent's Cisco-certified network management engineers are expert at assisting companies develop management solutions based on Simple Network Management Protocol (SNMP), SYSLOG services, and Cisco Netflow protocols to build effective mechanisms for understanding network bandwidth usage and latency, viewing key router and switch operational metrics, and recognizing traffic patterns, processes, and appliances utilizing available services.

Progent can help customers to utilize a broad range of open source and license-based management solutions to maintain Cisco infrastructure. Utilities used by Progent's consultants include MRTG, Cacti, Nagios, Cisco Adaptive Security Device Manager (ASDM), Cisco Monitor Manager, Cisco Security Manager, OpenView, AlterPoint DeviceAuthority, Adventnet Netflow, Big Brother, and NetMRI.

Network management platforms can help organizations to be aware of current system utilization and effectively plan for downstream traffic expansion. Network management tools can also be used to detect poor or inappropriate uses of network services, for example streaming audio and video, peer-to-peer file exchange, etc. that can eat up expensive and scarce network resources. An efficiently designed network management plan can also enable businesses to arrive at intelligent choices on wide and local area network upgrades after they appreciate how much network bandwidth really needed at various times.

Putting an efficient network management system in operation ahead of time is critical to avoid severe problems that can result from Denial Of Service attacks and malicious viruses/Trojans. These events can render the network unstable and in the absence of appropriate tools it can be time consuming, and sometimes practically impossible, to find the location of the problem.

Network Management Products from Cisco
Cisco has developed an assortment of powerful tools that should form the foundation for any network management strategy. Utilized in combination with appropriate third-party applications, Cisco's network management software can improve the competitive value of network infrastructures for organizations of all sizes by improving key areas such as system utilization, throughput, availability, security, troubleshooting, and scalability. Cisco's most familiar network management tools include:

Cisco Adaptive Security Device Manager is a web utility that permits you set up and monitor the management utilities on network devices. ASDM is installed by the Cisco appliance, and allows you to set up, track, and control the device.

Cisco Monitor Manager is a management application designed to handle the requirements of small and midsize companies. Cisco Monitor Manager actively monitors important device parameters on voice and data networks serving 5 to 250 workers and equipped with up to 250 Cisco Unified IP phones. Monitor Manager offers:

• Real-time scanning of important device parameters on SMB-class routers, switches, and voice gateways, Unified Communications Manager Express, Cisco Unity Express, security appliances, wireless access points, and Cisco Unified IP Phones
• Support for the Unified Communications 500 Series for businesses with as many as 50 workers

• Voice and data network discovery and physical topology
• Device and process views of Unified Communications deployment
• System wide inventory collection and reporting
• Highly secure and reliable communication
• Device operations monitoring
• VoIP Telephony monitoring
• Interface status and data traffic monitoring
• Immediate alarms and notices
• Documentation
• Setup log

Cisco Network Assistant is a desktop-hosted network management tool optimized for LANs and WLANS for growing organizations that have as many as 40 Cisco switches and routers. By running Smartports technology, the application streamlines configuration, deployment, and continuing management and support of Cisco networks. The application provides a centralized network view and permits IT administrators to employ its functions among Cisco switches, routers, and WAPs.

Security Manager is a feature-rich but easy-to-use application for centrally provisioning all facets of appliance configuration and policies for Cisco PIX and ASA security appliances, virtual private networks (VPNs), and IPS. Security Manager efficiently handles even small environments with fewer than ten appliances, but also scales to control enterprise networks composed of thousands of Cisco routers, security appliances, and switch services modules. Scalability is achieved through smart policy-based management techniques that can streamline administration. Key features of Security Manager include:

• Supports control of Cisco routers running a Cisco IOS security image, Cisco ASA 5500 firewalls, PIX firewalls, Cisco IPS 4200 Series inline security appliances, and Cisco Catalyst 6500 family security services modules
• Respond faster. more rapidly to threats: define and apply updated policies to thousands of devices in a few easy steps
• Rich graphical user interface provides exceptional ease-of-use
• Multiple views that offer versatile ways to control devices and policies such as the option to administer the security environment visually on a system topology image
• Extensive video training for the first-time user to accelerate training period
• Globally call out which policies are common and automatically inherited by additional devices to ensure corporate policies are configured regularly, at the same time offering sufficient flexibility to modify policies at the local appliance level
• Ability to create a single firewall rule database for Cisco platforms with smart evaluation of firewall policies to detect anomalies within the rule table
• Easily configure site-to-site, hub-and-spoke, full-mesh IPsec, or extranet Virtual Private Network links by means of a VPN wizard
• Integration with Cisco ACS for low-level role based connection control to appliances and administration functions
• Operation with security MARS to associate events with related firewall rules to support quicker management decisions and enhanced network availability
• Ability to assign particular jobs to each manager during the implementation of a rule, with structured change management and tracking; permits the security and systems operations staff to act in sync as a single unit with efficient teamwork

Progent can also show you how to use network management tools to monitor and classify network data to implement traffic shaping, which permits you to program Cisco routers to impose different throughput restrictions on designated classes of activity based on the priorities you assign. By storing and queuing data packets above your contracted rates, and by giving priority to the most important applications, traffic shaping can prevent service provider overage penalties from spinning out of reach and/or eliminate lost productivity resulting from brute force enforcement of your network traffic volume limits during periods of heavy use.

Progent's CISM and CISSP security professionals can show you how to create an end-to-end security plan that incorporates your network management solution, and Progent's remote and on-site support experts and Cisco CCIE and CNA qualified consultants can use advanced network monitoring and analysis tools to identify and remediate trouble quickly to keep your network productive.

To find out more information concerning Progent's engineering expertise for Cisco products, choose a topic:

• Overview of Progent's Cisco Engineering Services
• Fast and Affordable Remote Support from a Cisco CCIE Engineer
• Cisco Firepower NGFW Firewalls: Configuration and Management Support
• ASA 5500-X Firewalls with Cisco Firepower: Integration and Management Support
• Cisco ASA 5500 Firewall Upgrade. Migration Expertise
• Cisco PIX 500 Firewall Troubleshooting Expertise
• Cisco Routers Consulting Support
• Cisco Wireless Deployment Expertise
• Cisco Aironet APs Deployment Expertise
• Cisco Small Business 100, 300 and 500 WiFi Access Points Deployment Help
• Catalyst Wi-Fi 6/6E Wireless APs Planning, Configuration and Troubleshooting Expertise
• Cisco Wireless Controllers Experts
• Cisco Meraki Access Points Engineering Help
• Cisco Unified Communications Manager (CUCM or Unified CM) and CallManager Integration and Troubleshooting
• Cisco Voice over IP Phones and IP Video Desktop Phones Expertise and Wireless IP Phone Configuration
• Cisco Jabber Configuration and Troubleshooting Services
• Cisco Catalyst Switches Consulting and Support Expertise
• Nexus Switches Support and Troubleshooting Services
• Cisco Meraki Switches Deployment Expertise
• Cisco VPN and Security Consulting Help
• SIP and CUBE Integration Solutions: SIP PSTN Trunks and CUBE Integration Expertise
• Cisco Duo MFA Two-factor Authentication Services for Telecommuters
• Design Solutions for Cisco-based Datacenters
• Network Design Services for ISPs