Cisco Expert Network Consultants

An abundance of network management utilities from Cisco and other suppliers highlights the importance and difficulty of maintaining networks. Progent's Cisco qualified network management consultants are experienced at assisting companies design network management solutions utilizing on Simple Network Management Protocol, Syslog, and Cisco Netflow protocols to build powerful mechanisms for network bandwidth usage and network latency, monitoring important router and switch performance characteristics, and recognizing traffic profiles, applications, and appliances that use network resources.

Progent can help customers to utilize a rich range of open source and proprietary management solutions to maintain a Cisco-powered environment. Tools used by Progent's engineers include MRTG, Cacti, Nagios, Cisco Adaptive Security Device Manager (ASDM), Cisco Monitor Manager, Cisco Security Manager, OpenView, Concord E-Health, AlterPoint DeviceAuthority, Adventnet Netflow, Solarwinds Orion, and NetMRI.

Network management tools can allow IT administrators to understand existing system utilization and intelligently plan for future capacity expansion. Management tools can also be deployed to highlight poor or improper utilization of network resources, such as streaming video, peer-to-peer file exchange, etc. that can use up expensive and scarce network bandwidth. An efficiently crafted network management solution can also enable organizations to make intelligent decisions on wide and local area network enhancements once they recognize the amount of system resources really needed at various times.

Having an efficient network management solution in place ahead of time is critical to avoid major disruptions that can result from Denial Of Service attacks and dangerous viruses/Trojans. Such events can render the network unusable and without proper utilities it can be difficult, and in some cases practically impossible, to identify the location of the trouble.

Network Management Products from Cisco
Cisco has developed an assortment of effective utilities that should be the foundation for any network management solution. Used in conjunction with the top third-party tools, Cisco's network management offerings can enhance the competitive value of networks for companies of all sizes by addressing key areas such as system utilization, performance, resilience, security, repair, and capacity planning. Cisco's most popular network management tools include:

Cisco ASDM is a web utility that permits you configure and monitor the software built into network devices. ASDM is installed by the Cisco appliance, and allows you to set up, monitor, and manage the unit.

Monitor Manager is a management solution designed for the needs of small and midsize businesses (SMBs). Cisco Monitor Manager continuously checks key device processes on voice/data networks used by 5 to 250 users and equipped with as many as 250 VoIP phones. The application provides:

• Up-to-date tracking of important appliance processes on SMB-class routers and switches, Unified Communications Manager Express, Unity Express, security appliances, WAPs, and VoIP phones
• Support for the Cisco Unified Communications 500 Series appliance for businesses with as many as 50 workers

• Network discovery and topology
• Physical and service level looks at Cisco Unified Communications implementation
• System wide inventory collection and reporting
• Advanced security and dependable communication
• Device operations monitoring
• Cisco Unified IP Telephony monitoring
• Interface status and data traffic monitoring
• Real-time alarms and notices
• Reports
• Configuration archive

Cisco Network Assistant is a desktop-hosted management tool optimized for wired and wireless LANs (WLANs) for expanding businesses that have as many as 40 Cisco switches and routers. By running Cisco's Smartports technology, the application simplifies setup, deployment, and continuing administration and support of Cisco-powered environments. The application provides a centralized system view and allows network managers to deploy its functions among Cisco switches, routers, and access points.

Cisco Security Manager is a powerful but easy-to-use application for managing all facets of appliance set up and policies for Cisco firewalls, virtual private networks, and Intrusion Prevention Systems. Cisco Security Manager efficiently manages even small networks with fewer than ten devices, but also scales to manage large-scale networks with thousands of routers, switches, and firewalls. Expansion is achieved via intelligent policy-based control techniques that can streamline administration. Highlights of Security Manager include:

• Allows provisioning for Cisco routers configured with an IOS security software image, Cisco ASA 5500 family adaptive security appliances, PIX security appliances, Cisco IPS 4200 inline security appliances, and Catalyst 6500 security services modules
• Respond faster. more rapidly to threats: specify and apply updated policies to thousands of devices in a few easy steps
• Intuitive GUI offers exceptional ease-of-use
• A variety of views that offer versatile ways to manage devices and policies including the option to administer the security environment visually on a topology map
• Extensive video training for the new user to speed up training time
• Centrally call out which policies are shared and automatically inherited by additional appliances to make sure company-wide policies are implemented regularly, at the same time offering optional flexibility to customize policies at the local device level
• Capability to build a common rule table for Cisco firewalls with intelligent evaluation of firewall policies to determine anomalies within the rule table
• Quickly configure site-to-site, hub-spoke, full-mesh IPsec, or extranet VPN connections with a few mouse clicks
• Compatibility with Cisco ACS for low-level role based connection control to devices and administration functions
• Integration with security MARS to compare events with related firewall rules to help with faster management decisions and enhanced system availability
• Ability to allocate specific jobs to each administrator during the implementation of a policy, with structured change control and tracking; permits the security and network operations staff to work in sync as a cohesive unit with effective teamwork

Progent can also show you how to utilize network management utilities to monitor and classify network data to enable traffic shaping, which allows you to program routers to enforce a variety of throughput restrictions on designated types of processes based on the importance you specify. By buffering and sorting data packets above your committed rates, and by giving preference to the most important processes, traffic shaping can keep service provider overage charges from spiraling out of control and/or eliminate gaps in worker productivity caused by brute force policing of your network traffic volume limits during peak demand.

Progent's CISM and CISSP security consultants can assist you to create a comprehensive security plan that encompasses your network management solution, and Progent's remote and on-site network specialists and Cisco CCIE and CNA qualified consultants can utilize the latest network monitoring and analysis technology to identify and fix trouble quickly to keep your network productive.

For additional details about Progent's consulting assistance for Cisco products, select a topic:

• Overview of Cisco Expertise
• Timely Online Help from a Cisco Certified Internetwork Expert (CCIE) Consultant
• Cisco Firepower Series Firewalls: Integration and Troubleshooting Expertise
• Cisco ASA 5500-X Firewall with Firepower: Consulting and Troubleshooting Services
• Cisco ASA 5500 Firewalls Upgrade. Migration Help
• PIX 500 Firewall Troubleshooting Help
• Cisco Routers Engineering Services
• Cisco Wireless Deployment Services
• Aironet APs Consulting Help
• Cisco Small Business 100, 300 and 500 WiFi Access Points Consulting Expertise
• Cisco WiFi Controllers Integration Consulting
• Cisco Meraki Access Points Deployment Expertise
• 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 Cisco Wireless VoIP Phone Integration
• Cisco Jabber Configuration and Troubleshooting Expertise
• Cisco Catalyst Switches Deployment Services
• Nexus Switches Consulting and Support Services
• Meraki MS Switches Support and Troubleshooting Services
• Cisco VPN and Network Security Integration Support
• SIP and CUBE Infrastructure Solutions: SIP PSTN Trunks and Cisco CUBE Integration Expertise
• Infrastructure Design for Cisco-powered Datacenters
• Network Design Consulting for Service Providers