Cisco Certified Expert Network Consultants

A wealth of network management utilities from Cisco and third-party suppliers highlights the value and complexity of network management. Progent's Cisco qualified network management consultants are experienced at assisting companies design management strategies based on Simple Network Management Protocol (SNMP), SYSLOG services, and Cisco NetFlow to build powerful tools for understanding network utilization and network latency, viewing important router and switch performance characteristics, and recognizing traffic profiles, processes, and devices that use available services.

Progent can help businesses to deploy a rich selection of open source and license-based monitoring and management solutions to maintain a Cisco network. Tools familiar to Progent's consultants include MRTG, Cacti, Nagios, PRTG, Cisco Adaptive Security Device Manager (ASDM), Cisco Network Assistant, CiscoWorks, Cisco Security Manager, OpenView, Concord E-Health, Adventnet Netflow and Firewall Analyzer, Big Brother, and Necordia NetMRI.

Network management tools can allow organizations to understand existing system usage and intelligently plan for downstream capacity increases. Management utilities can also be used to detect poor or improper uses of network services, such as streaming audio and video, peer-to-peer file sharing, etc. that can eat up valuable or limited network bandwidth. A well crafted network management strategy can also enable businesses to arrive at intelligent choices on system upgrades once they appreciate the amount of system bandwidth actually required at specific times.

Putting an efficient network management platform in place beforehand is vital to prevent severe problems that can follow Denial Of Service attacks and dangerous viruses. Such events can leave the network unusable and in the absence of proper utilities it can be time consuming, and in some cases practically impossible, to discover the source of the problem.

Network Management Solutions from Cisco
Cisco offers an array of powerful utilities that should be the basis for any network management strategy. Used in combination with appropriate outside vendor products, Cisco's network management software can improve the competitive value of network infrastructures for companies of any size by dealing with key areas such as system utilization, throughput, availability, security, troubleshooting, and scalability. Cisco's most popular network management products include:

Cisco ASDM is a browser-based utility that lets you configure and operate the management utilities built into security devices. ASDM is installed by the network device, and enables you to configure, monitor, and control the device.

Monitor Manager is a comprehensive management solution intended for the needs of small and medium-sized businesses. Monitor Manager actively checks important device processes on voice and data networks serving 5 to 250 workers and equipped with as many as 250 IP phones. Cisco Monitor Manager offers:

• Up-to-date tracking of key appliance processes on small and midsize business-class network appliances, Cisco Communications Manager Express, Unity Express, security appliances, WAPs, and Cisco Unified IP Phones
• Support for the Cisco Unified Communications 500 Series appliance for companies with up to 50 workers

• Network discovery and physical topology
• Device and process looks at Unified Communications deployment
• Networkwide device identification collection and documentation
• Advanced security and dependable operation
• Appliance operations tracking
• VoIP Telephony tracking
• Connection status and traffic tracking
• Real-time alerts and notices
• Documentation
• Configuration log

Cisco Network Assistant is a desktop-hosted network management tool designed for for LANs and WLANS for expanding organizations with up to 40 switches and routers. By using Cisco's Smartports technology, the application streamlines configuration, installation, and ongoing management and maintenance of Cisco networks. The application offers a centralized network view and allows network administrators to employ its functions among Cisco switches, routers, and access points.

Cisco Security Manager is a powerful but easy-to-use application for managing all aspects of device set up and security policies for Cisco PIX and ASA security appliances, virtual private networks (VPNs), and IPS. Cisco Security Manager effectively manages even small networks consisting of no more than than ten devices, but also scales to control enterprise systems composed of thousands of Cisco routers, security appliances, and switch services modules. Expansion is enabled through smart policy-based management procedures that can streamline administration. Key features of Security Manager are:

• Allows control of Cisco router platforms running a Cisco IOS security software image, ASA 5500 family adaptive security appliances, PIX security appliances, Cisco IPS 4200 inline security appliances, and Catalyst 6500 Series security services modules
• Reacts faster. more rapidly to attacks: specify and assign updated policies to thousands of appliances in just a few steps
• Intuitive GUI provides exceptional ease-of-use
• A variety of looks that provide flexible ways to control devices and policies including the ability to administer the security environment graphically on a topology image
• Comprehensive animated training for the novice user to accelerate learning time
• Globally specify which policies are shared and automatically inherited by additional appliances to ensure corporate policies are configured consistently, at the same time offering sufficient versatility to customize policies at the local device level
• Capability to build a single rule database for all Cisco platforms with intelligent analysis of firewall policies to determine anomalies in the rule table
• Easily configure location-to-location, hub-and-spoke, full mesh, or extranet Virtual Private Network interfaces by means of a few mouse clicks
• Integration with Cisco Access Control Server (ACS) for low-level role based access control to appliances and management functions
• Operation with security MARS system to correlate events with related firewall rules to help with faster management decisions and enhanced system availability
• Capability to assign particular tasks to each administrator during the deployment of a policy, with structured change control and tracking; permits the security and systems operations team to work in sync as a cohesive unit with effective teamwork

Progent can also show you how to use network management tools to monitor and categorize network data to implement traffic shaping, which allows you to set up routers to enforce a variety of throughput constraints on designated classes of activity based on the priorities you specify. By buffering and sorting data packets that exceed your committed volume, and by assigning preference to business-critical applications, traffic shaping can prevent ISP overage penalties from spinning out of control and/or avoid gaps in productivity caused by indiscriminate policing of your network bandwidth restrictions during peak use.

Progent's CISM and CISSP security professionals can help you to develop a comprehensive security plan that encompasses your network management solution, and Progent's remote and on-site support experts and Cisco CCIE-certified engineers can use advanced network monitoring and analysis tools to identify and remediate trouble rapidly to keep your network running smoothly.

To find out more details concerning Progent's consulting support for Cisco products, pick a subject:

• Introduction to Cisco Consulting Services
• Timely Online Access to a CCIE Network Engineer
• Cisco Firepower NGFW Firewalls: Integration and Troubleshooting Support
• Cisco ASA 5500-X Firewall with Firepower: Consulting and Troubleshooting Support
• Cisco ASA 5500 Series Firewall Management Expertise
• PIX 500 Series Firewall Consulting Assistance
• Cisco Routers Configuration and Troubleshooting Services
• Cisco Wireless Consulting Services
• Cisco Aironet Access Points Deployment Help
• Cisco Small Business Wireless APs Engineering Services
• Cisco WiFi Controllers Consulting
• Cisco Meraki APs Deployment Help
• Cisco Unified Communications Manager (CUCM or Unified CM) and Cisco CallManager Integration and Troubleshooting
• Cisco Voice over IP (VoIP) Phones and IP Video Desktop Phones Consulting and Wireless IP Phone Solutions
• Cisco Jabber Migration and Support Expertise
• Cisco Catalyst Switches Engineering Services
• Nexus Switches Consulting and Support Services
• Meraki Switches Support and Troubleshooting Services
• Cisco VPN and Network Security Engineering Assistance
• SIP and CUBE Infrastructure Solutions: SIP Trunking and CUBE Integration Expertise
• Design and Support for Cisco-based Datacenters
• Network Optimization Expertise for ISPs