Cisco Expert Network Consulting

A wealth of network management products from Cisco and third-party suppliers underscores the value and difficulty of maintaining networks. Progent's Cisco qualified network management engineers are expert at helping companies develop management strategies based on Simple Network Management Protocol, SYSLOG services, and Cisco NetFlow to build effective tools for network utilization and latency, monitoring key router and switch performance characteristics, and recognizing traffic patterns, processes, and devices that use available services.

Progent can assist customers to deploy a broad selection of open source and proprietary management tools to maintain a Cisco network. Utilities used by Progent's consultants include MRTG, Cacti, Nagios, Cisco Adaptive Security Device Manager (ASDM), Cisco Monitor Manager, CiscoWorks, Cisco Security Manager, OpenView, Concord E-Health, AlterPoint DeviceAuthority, Adventnet Netflow, Big Brother, Solarwinds Orion, and NetMRI.

Network management platforms can help organizations to understand current network usage and effectively prepare for future capacity increases. Management tools can also be deployed to identify poor or improper uses of system resources, for example streaming video, peer-to-peer file exchange, etc. that can eat up expensive and limited network resources. A carefully designed network management plan can also enable businesses to arrive at intelligent decisions on system upgrades once they recognize how much network resources actually needed at specific times.

Having an effective network management platform in place beforehand is vital to prevent severe problems that can be due to Denial Of Service attacks and malicious viruses/Trojans. Such assaults can render the network unstable and in the absence of proper tools it can be time consuming, and in some cases practically impossible, to identify the source of the problem.

Network Management Tools from Cisco
Cisco offers a variety of powerful tools that should be the foundation for any network management solution. Used in conjunction with appropriate outside vendor tools, Cisco's network management offerings can improve the business value of network infrastructures for companies of any size by helping with key areas such as resource utilization, throughput, resilience, protection, troubleshooting, and scalability. Cisco's top network management products include:

Adaptive Security Device Manager (ASDM) is a web Java applet that permits you set up and operate the management utilities on security appliances. Cisco Adaptive Security Device Manager is loaded by the network device, and allows you to set up, track, and control the device.

Cisco Monitor Manager is a management and monitoring application intended to address the needs of small and medium-sized organizations. Monitor Manager continuously scans key appliance processes on voice and data environments serving five to 250 users and with as many as 250 Voice over IP phones. Monitor Manager provides:

• Real-time monitoring of key device parameters on small and midsize business-class routers, switches, and voice gateways, Cisco Unified Communications Manager Express, Cisco Unity Express, security devices, WAPs, and Cisco Unified IP Phones
• Support for the Unified Communications 500 for organizations with as many as 50 workers

• Voice and data network discovery and physical topology
• Device and process views of Cisco Unified Communications implementation
• Networkwide device identification collection and documentation
• Advanced security and dependable communication
• Device operations monitoring
• IP Telephony monitoring
• Interface status and traffic tracking
• Real-time alerts and notices
• Reports
• Setup archive

Network Assistant is a desktop-based network management tool designed for for LANs and WLANS for expanding businesses with as many as 40 switches and routers. By running Smartports, Network Assistant simplifies setup, installation, and ongoing management and support of Cisco networks. Network Assistant offers a centralized system view and permits network administrators to deploy its functions among switches, routers, and WAPs.

Cisco Security Manager is a powerful but simple to operate solution for centrally provisioning all aspects of appliance configuration and policies for firewalls, virtual private networks, and Intrusion Prevention Systems. Cisco Security Manager efficiently handles even small environments with no more than than ten devices, but also scales to control large-scale systems with thousands of Cisco routers, security appliances, and switch services modules. Scalability is enabled through smart policy-driven control procedures that can streamline administration. Key features of Cisco Security Manager include:

• Supports provisioning for Cisco routers configured with an IOS security software image, Cisco ASA 5500 Series firewalls, Cisco PIX firewalls, Cisco IPS 4200 family inline security appliances, and Catalyst 6500 security services modules
• Respond more quickly to attacks: specify and apply new security policies to many hundreds of devices in just a few steps
• Intuitive GUI offers superior ease-of-use
• Multiple looks that offer flexible ways to control devices and security policies including the capability to administer the security network graphically on a topology image
• Extensive video training for the new user to reduce training time
• Centrally call out which policies are shared and inherited by new appliances to ensure corporate policies are implemented consistently, while providing optional versatility to modify policies at the individual device level
• Ability to create a common firewall rule table for Cisco firewalls with smart analysis of firewall policies to determine conflicts in the rule table
• Quickly set up location-to-location, hub-and-spoke, full-mesh IPsec, or extranet VPN interfaces with a VPN wizard
• Compatibility with Cisco ACS for granular role based access control to devices and administration functions
• Integration with Cisco security MARS to compare monitored data with corresponding security appliance rules to enable faster management decisions and increased network up time
• Ability to assign specific jobs to each manager in the course of the implementation of a policy, with formal change control and tracking; allows the security and systems operations staff to act in sync as a cohesive unit with efficient teamwork

Progent can also show you how to use network management applications to monitor and classify network data to enable traffic shaping, which permits you to program routers to enforce a variety of bandwidth constraints on certain classes of processes based on the importance you assign. By buffering and sorting excess packets that exceed your committed rates, and by giving priority to the most important processes, traffic shaping can prevent Internet Service Provider excess usage charges from spinning out of reach and/or eliminate lost worker productivity caused by indiscriminate enforcement of your network bandwidth limits during peak use.

Progent's CISM, CISSP, and ISSAP security consultants can show you how to create a comprehensive security plan that incorporates your network management processes, and Progent's remote and on-premises support specialists and Cisco CCIE-certified engineers can use advanced network monitoring and analysis technology to identify and remediate trouble quickly to keep your IT system in business.

To find out additional information concerning Progent's engineering help for Cisco technology, pick a topic:

• Introduction to Cisco Expertise
• Fast Online Help from a CCIE Consultant
• Cisco Firepower Firewalls: Integration and Troubleshooting Services
• Cisco ASA 5500-X Series Firewall with Firepower: Setup and Troubleshooting Services
• Cisco ASA 5500 Series Firewall Upgrade. Migration Services
• Cisco PIX 500 Firewall Upgrade. Migration Assistance
• Cisco Routers Configuration and Troubleshooting Services
• Cisco Wireless Engineering Expertise
• Aironet Wireless Access Points Engineering Services
• Cisco Small Business 100, 300 and 500 Wireless Access Points System Design Expertise
• Catalyst 802.11ax Wi-Fi 6/6E Wireless APs Solution Design, Deployment and Debugging Consulting
• Cisco Wireless Controllers Experts
• Cisco Meraki APs Design Help
• Cisco Unified Communications Manager (CUCM or Unified CM) and CallManager Integration and Technical Support
• Cisco Voice over IP Phones and IP Video Phones Expertise and Cisco Wireless VoIP Phone Configuration
• Cisco Jabber Configuration and Troubleshooting Services
• Cisco Catalyst Switches Consulting and Support Expertise
• Cisco Nexus Switches Consulting and Support Services
• Cisco Meraki MS Switches Support and Troubleshooting Expertise
• Cisco VPN Setup and Troubleshooting Support
• SIP and CUBE Integration Solutions: SIP PSTN Trunks and Cisco CUBE Integration Consulting
• Design Expertise for Cisco-powered Datacenters
• Data Center Design Services for Service Providers