Cisco Certified Expert Network Consulting

Network management platforms assist organizations to implement network infrastructure effectively, access user details rapidly, monitor network operation, debug problems, protect against and respond to threats, and optimize performance. Network management tools can spot inefficient or inappropriate uses of network resources such as streaming multimedia or peer-to-peer file sharing that can burn up bandwidth, lower worker output or allow data leaks. A prudently crafted network management environment can also help organizations to make smart capacity planning decisions by surfacing tendencies in resource demand for different periods or jos.

Cisco has developed a diverse and growing portfolio of infrastructure management platforms that support centralized management for on-premises, cloud-based, or hybrid network architectures. With Cisco's later security, switching, and wireless infrastructure products, you can run 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 critical layers of your corporate infrastructure from the cloud. Progent's Catalyst Wi-Fi access point consultants, Meraki WiFi AP consultants, Catalyst switches experts, and Meraki switches consulting experts can help you to design, implement and optimize an up-to-date environment for network monitoring and management.

Traditional Network Management Platforms from Cisco and Others
An abundance of network management tools from Cisco and third-party vendors highlights the importance and difficulty of supporting IT infrastructure. Progent's Cisco qualified network management engineers are expert at helping businesses design management solutions utilizing on SNMP, SYSLOG services, and Cisco NetFlow to create effective mechanisms for understanding network utilization and latency, monitoring key router and switch performance characteristics, and identifying traffic patterns, applications, and devices utilizing network resources.

Progent can assist customers to deploy a broad range of free and proprietary monitoring and management utilities to manage Cisco infrastructure. Utilities familiar to Progent's engineers include Cacti, Nagios, Paessler Router Traffic Grapher, Cisco Cisco ASDM, Cisco Monitor Manager, Cisco Security Manager, OpenView, AlterPoint DeviceAuthority, Adventnet Netflow and Firewall Analyzer, Big Brother, Solarwinds Orion, and NetMRI.

Network management platforms can allow IT administrators to be aware of current system usage and intelligently prepare for downstream traffic increases. Management tools can also be used to highlight inefficient or improper utilization of network resources, for example streaming video, peer-to-peer file exchange, etc. that can waste valuable or scarce network resources. A carefully planned network management plan can also aid businesses to make informed choices on system upgrades once they appreciate the amount of system resources historically required at various times.

Putting an effective network management solution in operation ahead of time is vital to prevent severe problems that can be caused by Denial Of Service attacks and malicious viruses. These assaults can leave the network unusable and in the absence of proper tools it can be difficult, if not virtually impossible, to discover the source of the trouble.

Network Management Solutions from Cisco
Cisco has developed a variety of powerful utilities that should be the foundation for any network management solution. Utilized in conjunction with appropriate third-party products, Cisco's network management software can enhance the business value of network infrastructures for organizations of all sizes by improving important areas such as system utilization, performance, resilience, security, repair, and capacity planning. Cisco's top network management products include:

Cisco ASDM is a web Java applet that permits you set up and operate the software on network devices. Adaptive Security Device Manager is loaded by the adaptive security appliance, and enables you to set up, track, and manage the device.

Monitor Manager is a comprehensive management solution intended for the requirements of small and midsize businesses. Monitor Manager continuously checks important appliance processes on voice and data environments used by five to 250 workers and equipped with up to 250 VoIP phones. The application provides:

• Real-time tracking of key device parameters on small and midsize business-class routers, switches, and voice gateways, Unified Communications Manager Express, Cisco Unity Express, security appliances, wireless access points, and IP phones
• Compatibility with the Cisco Unified Communications 500 Series communications appliance for companies with up to 50 users

• Network discovery and physical topology
• Physical and process views of Unified Communications implementation
• Networkwide inventory logging and documentation
• Highly secure and dependable operation
• Cisco device performance tracking
• Cisco Unified IP Telephony tracking
• Connection status and data traffic monitoring
• Real-time alarms and event notification
• Documentation
• Configuration archive

Cisco Network Assistant is a PC-based network management tool designed for for wired and wireless LANs (WLANs) for expanding organizations with as many as 40 switches and routers. By using Cisco's Smartports technology, the application simplifies setup, deployment, and continuing administration and maintenance of Cisco networks. It provides a centralized network view and permits network administrators to employ its features across switches, routers, and access points.

Security Manager is a feature-rich but simple to operate solution for managing all facets of appliance configuration and security policies for Cisco PIX and ASA security appliances, virtual private networks (VPNs), and Intrusion Prevention Systems (IPS). Cisco Security Manager effectively manages even small networks consisting of no more than than ten devices, but also scales to control enterprise networks with thousands of routers, switches, and firewalls. Expansion is achieved via intelligent policy-based management procedures that can simplify administrative overhead. Highlights of Cisco Security Manager are:

• Supports control of Cisco router platforms configured with an IOS security image, Cisco ASA 5500 adaptive security appliances, Cisco PIX security appliances, IPS 4200 Series inline security appliances, and Catalyst 6500 security services modules
• Respond faster. more rapidly to threats: define and apply new security policies to many hundreds of appliances in a few easy steps
• Intuitive graphical user interface provides exceptional ease-of-use
• A variety of looks that provide versatile ways to manage devices and policies including the capability to manage the security network visually on a topology map
• Comprehensive animated help for the new operator to accelerate training time
• Centrally call out which policies are shared and automatically inherited by new devices to ensure corporate policies are configured regularly, at the same time offering sufficient versatility to customize policies at the local device level
• Ability to build a single firewall rule table for all Cisco firewalls with smart analysis of firewall policies to determine conflicts within the rule base
• Quickly set up site-to-site, hub-and-spoke, full-mesh IPsec, or extranet Virtual Private Network links with a VPN wizard
• Compatibility with Cisco ACS for granular role based access management to devices and management functions
• Operation with Cisco security MARS to associate monitored data against related firewall rules to enable faster management decisions and increased system availability
• Ability to allocate specific tasks to each administrator in the course of the deployment of a policy, with formal change management and logging; permits the security and network operations staff to work in sync as a cohesive unit with efficient teamwork

Progent can also help you to utilize network management applications to monitor and classify network data to enable traffic shaping, which allows you to set up Cisco routers to impose a variety of throughput restrictions on designated types of processes according to the priorities you assign. By storing and queuing data packets that exceed your contracted rates, and by giving priority to the most important processes, traffic shaping can prevent ISP excess usage charges from spiraling out of control and/or avoid lost productivity caused by indiscriminate enforcement of your network traffic volume restrictions during peak demand.

Progent's CISA and ISSAP security professionals can show you how to develop a comprehensive security plan that incorporates 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 identify and fix problems quickly to keep your IT system running smoothly.

To find out additional details concerning Progent's engineering help for Cisco products, pick a subject:

• Introduction to Cisco Engineering Services
• Timely Online Assistance from a Cisco CCIE Network Engineer
• Cisco Firepower NGFW Series Firewalls: Configuration and Troubleshooting Support
• ASA 5500-X Firewall with Firepower Services: Configuration and Troubleshooting Services
• Cisco ASA 5500 Firewall Integration Support
• PIX 500 Series Firewall Maintenance Help
• Cisco Routers Consulting Support
• Cisco Wireless Network Design Services
• Cisco Aironet APs Engineering Services
• Cisco Small Business WiFi Access Points Engineering Expertise
• Catalyst 802.11ax Access Points Solution Design, Configuration and Troubleshooting Support
• Cisco WiFi Controllers Experts
• Meraki Access Points Engineering Support
• Cisco Unified Communications Manager (CUCM or Unified CM) and CallManager Configuration and Technical Support
• Cisco VoIP Phones and IP Video Phones Consulting and Wireless VoIP Phone Configuration
• Cisco Jabber Consulting and Support Expertise
• Cisco Catalyst Switches Deployment Expertise
• Nexus Switches Consulting and Support Expertise
• Cisco Meraki Switches Consulting and Support Services
• Cisco VPN Setup and Troubleshooting Support
• SIP and CUBE Infrastructure Solutions: SIP Trunks and Cisco CUBE Integration Consulting
• Cisco Duo MFA Two-factor Authentication Services for Telecommuters
• Design Expertise for Cisco-powered Datacenters and Colocation Centers
• Data Center Design Services for Service Providers