Cisco Certified Network Consultants

Network management platforms assist organizations to implement infrastructure effectively, access client details quickly, track network health, troubleshoot problems, protect against and react to threats, and maximize responsiveness. Network management systems can help detect inefficient or inappropriate uses of network resources such as streaming media or peer-to-peer file sharing that can burn up bandwidth, lower employee output or enable data leaks. A prudently crafted network management solution can also assist organizations to make smart network enhancement decisions by surfacing tendencies in network demand for different periods or types of activities.

Cisco has developed a diverse and expanding catalog of infrastructure management solutions that support centralized management for on-premises, cloud-based, or hybrid network models. With Cisco's later security, switching, and wireless infrastructure devices, you can run 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 access points to the Meraki dashboard to manage critical layers of your IT infrastructure from the cloud. Progent's Catalyst Wi-Fi AP consultants, Meraki WiFi AP experts, Catalyst switches experts, and Meraki switches consultants can help you to design, deploy and optimize a modern environment for network management.

Legacy Network Management Platforms from Cisco and Others
A wealth of network management tools from Cisco and third-party suppliers underscores the value and difficulty of supporting IT infrastructure. Progent's seasoned network management consultants are experienced at helping companies design management strategies based on Simple Network Management Protocol, SYSLOG services, and Cisco Netflow protocols to create powerful tools for network bandwidth usage and latency, viewing important router and switch performance metrics, and identifying traffic profiles, processes, and devices that use network resources.

Progent can assist customers to utilize a rich selection of free and proprietary monitoring and management solutions to manage a Cisco network. Tools familiar to Progent's consultants include MRTG, Cacti, Nagios, Cisco Cisco Adaptive Security Device Manager, Cisco Monitor Manager, Cisco Network Assistant, Cisco Security Manager, OpenView, Wireshark/Ethereal, Concord E-Health, AlterPoint DeviceAuthority, Advent and Firewall Analyzer, Big Brother, and Necordia NetMRI.

Network management platforms can help organizations to understand current system utilization and intelligently prepare for future capacity expansion. Network management tools can also be used to highlight inefficient or improper utilization of system resources, for example streaming video, peer-to-peer file sharing, etc. that can use up expensive and scarce network bandwidth. A carefully crafted network management plan can also enable companies to arrive at informed decisions on network upgrades after they understand how much network resources actually needed at any one time.

Putting an efficient network management platform in operation beforehand is vital to avoid severe problems that can be due to Denial Of Service attacks and dangerous viruses/Trojans. Such assaults can leave the network unstable and without appropriate utilities it can be time consuming, and in some cases virtually impossible, to identify the source of the problem.

Network Management Products from Cisco
Cisco provides a variety of effective tools that should be the foundation for any management strategy. Used in conjunction with the top outside vendor applications, Cisco's network management offerings can enhance the competitive value of networks for companies of any size by addressing important areas such as resource utilization, performance, resilience, security, troubleshooting, and scalability. Cisco's top network management products include:

Cisco Adaptive Security Device Manager is a web utility that permits you set up and operate the management utilities on security appliances. Adaptive Security Device Manager is loaded by the Cisco appliance, and enables you to set up, track, and control the device.

Cisco Monitor Manager is a comprehensive management solution intended to handle the needs of small and medium-sized organizations. Cisco Monitor Manager actively monitors important device processes on voice/data networks used by five to 250 workers and equipped with up to 250 Cisco Unified IP phones. Monitor Manager provides:

• Up-to-date scanning of key appliance processes on SMB-class routers and switches, Communications Manager Express, Cisco Unity Express, security appliances, wireless access points, and IP phones
• Ability to manage the Cisco Unified Communications 500 Series communications appliance for companies with up to 50 workers

• Network discovery and topology
• Device and process views of Unified Communications deployment
• System wide device identification logging and documentation
• Advanced security and dependable operation
• Device performance monitoring
• VoIP Telephony tracking
• Interface status and traffic tracking
• Immediate alarms and notifications
• Reports
• Configuration archive

Network Assistant is a desktop-based management application designed for for LANs and WLANS for growing organizations with up to 40 switches and routers. By utilizing Smartports technology, the application streamlines configuration, installation, and continuing management and support of Cisco-powered environments. It provides a centralized system view and allows network administrators to deploy its functions among switches, routers, and wireless access points.

Cisco Security Manager is a highly functional but simple to operate application for managing all facets of appliance set up and security policies for Cisco firewalls, virtual private networks, and Intrusion Prevention Systems (IPS). The solution effectively manages even small networks with no more than than ten devices, but also scales to manage large-scale networks with thousands of Cisco routers, security appliances, and switch services modules. Scalability is achieved through smart policy-driven control techniques that can simplify administrative overhead. Key features of Cisco Security Manager include:

• Supports control of Cisco router platforms configured with an IOS security image, ASA 5500 Series adaptive security appliances, Cisco PIX security appliances, Cisco IPS 4200 sensors, and Cisco Catalyst 6500 Series security services modules
• Respond faster. more rapidly to attacks: define and apply new security policies to many hundreds of devices in a few easy steps
• Rich graphical user interface offers superior ease-of-use
• Multiple views that provide versatile ways to manage devices and policies such as the option to administer the security network graphically on a topology image
• Comprehensive animated help for the first-time operator to accelerate learning time
• Centrally specify which policies are common and inherited by new appliances to ensure corporate policies are implemented regularly, while providing sufficient flexibility to modify policies at the individual appliance level
• Ability to create a common firewall rule database for Cisco platforms with intelligent analysis of firewall policies to detect anomalies in the rule base
• Quickly configure site-to-site, hub-and-spoke, full-mesh IPsec, or extranet VPN links by means of a VPN wizard
• Compatibility with Cisco ACS for granular role based connection control to devices and management functions
• Integration with Cisco security MARS to correlate events with related security appliance rules to enable quicker management decisions and increased system availability
• Capability to assign specific tasks to each administrator during the deployment of a rule, with structured change control and logging; allows the security and network operations team to work in sync as a cohesive group with effective 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 constraints on certain types of activity according to the priorities you specify. By storing and queuing data packets above your committed volume, and by giving priority to the most important applications, traffic shaping can prevent service provider excess usage charges from spiraling out of reach and/or avoid lost worker productivity caused by brute force enforcement of your network traffic volume restrictions during periods of heavy use.

Progent's CISM, CISSP, and ISSAP security professionals can show you how to create a comprehensive security plan that encompasses your network management solution, and Progent's remote and on-premises network specialists and Cisco CCIE and CNA qualified engineers can use advanced network management tools to isolate and fix problems quickly to keep your IT system productive.

To see additional information concerning Progent's professional support for Cisco solutions, pick a subject:

• Overview of Cisco Consulting Services
• Fast and Affordable Online Support from a CCIE Engineer
• Cisco Firepower NGFW Firewalls: Integration and Management Expertise
• ASA 5500-X Firewall with Cisco Firepower: Integration and Troubleshooting Support
• Cisco ASA 5500 Series Firewall Consulting Services
• PIX 500 Series Firewall Upgrade. Migration Expertise
• Cisco Routers Engineering Support
• Cisco Wireless Network Design Expertise
• Aironet Access Points Consulting Help
• Cisco Small Business Wireless APs Deployment Services
• Cisco Catalyst 802.11ax Wi-Fi 6/6E Access Points Planning, Configuration and Debugging Consulting
• Cisco Wireless Controllers Consultants
• Meraki APs Engineering Services
• Cisco Unified Communications Manager (CUCM or Unified CM) and Cisco CallManager Integration and Technical Support
• Cisco Voice over IP (VoIP) Phones and IP Video Phones Consulting Services and Cisco Wireless VoIP Phone Solutions
• Cisco Jabber Consulting and Support Expertise
• Cisco Catalyst Switches Deployment Services
• Cisco Nexus Switches Configuration and Maintenance Expertise
• Cisco Meraki MS Switches Configuration and Maintenance Services
• Cisco VPN and Security Setup and Troubleshooting Help
• SIP and CUBE Infrastructure Solutions: SIP Trunking and Cisco CUBE Integration Expertise
• Cisco Duo MFA Two-factor Authentication Services for Telecommuters
• Design Expertise for Cisco-powered Datacenters
• Data Center Optimization Services for ISPs