Cisco Certified Expert Network Consultants

Network management tools help organizations to deploy infrastructure effectively, look up user information quickly, track network health, troubleshoot problems, protect against and respond to threats, and optimize performance. Network management systems can spot inefficient or improper uses of network resources like streaming media or peer-to-peer file sharing that can burn up bandwidth, lower worker productivity or enable data leakage. A prudently crafted network management solution can also help companies to make informed network enhancement moves by showing tendencies in network usage for different periods or tasks.

Cisco has developed a diverse and expanding portfolio of infrastructure management platforms that support centralized management for on-premises, cloud-based, or hybrid network architectures. With Cisco's later generation of security, switching, and wireless networking devices, you can run Meraki, Cisco DNA Center, or CLI management platforms for network monitoring and management. For instance, you can interface newer Catalyst or Meraki switches and Catalyst or Meraki Wi-Fi APs to the Meraki dashboard to monitor and manage vital components of your IT infrastructure from the cloud. Progent's Cisco Catalyst Wi-Fi access point consultants, Meraki WiFi access point experts, Catalyst switches integration experts, and Cisco Meraki switches consulting experts can help your organization to plan, implement and optimize a modern solution for network infrastructure management.

Traditional Network Management Tools from Cisco and Others
An abundance of network management utilities from Cisco and third-party vendors highlights the importance and complexity of maintaining networks. Progent's Cisco-certified network management consultants are experienced at assisting companies develop management strategies utilizing on SNMP, Syslog, and Cisco IOS NetFlow to create powerful tools for understanding network utilization and network latency, monitoring key router and switch operational characteristics, and identifying traffic patterns, applications, and devices that use network resources.

Progent can assist customers to utilize a rich selection of free and proprietary management utilities to maintain a Cisco network. Utilities used by Progent's engineers include MRTG, Cacti, Nagios, PRTG, Cisco Adaptive Security Device Manager (ASDM), Cisco Monitor Manager, CiscoWorks, Cisco Security Manager, OpenView, Concord E-Health, Adventnet Netflow and Firewall Analyzer, Big Brother, and NetMRI.

Network management platforms can allow IT administrators to understand current system usage and effectively prepare for downstream traffic expansion. Management tools can also be deployed to highlight inefficient or inappropriate uses of system services, for example streaming multimedia, peer-to-peer file exchange, etc. that can use up valuable and scarce network bandwidth. An efficiently crafted network management plan can also aid businesses to make informed choices on WAN and LAN upgrades once they appreciate the amount of network resources historically required at any one time.

Having an effective network management solution in operation in advance is critical to prevent severe problems that can follow Denial Of Service attacks and malicious viruses. These events can leave the network unstable and in the absence of proper utilities it can be difficult, and in some cases practically impossible, to identify the source of the trouble.

Network Management Tools from Cisco
Cisco has created an array of powerful tools that should form the basis for any management strategy. Utilized in combination with the top third-party tools, Cisco's network management offerings can enhance the business value of networks for companies of all sizes by improving key areas such as resource utilization, throughput, resilience, protection, repair, and capacity planning. Cisco's most familiar network management tools include:

Adaptive Security Device Manager (ASDM) is a browser-based Java applet that permits you configure and monitor the management utilities on network appliances. Cisco Adaptive Security Device Manager is loaded by the Cisco appliance, and allows you to set up, track, and control the unit.

Monitor Manager is a comprehensive management solution intended to meet the needs of small and medium-sized organizations. Cisco Monitor Manager continuously scans important device parameters on voice and data networks used by five to 250 users and with up to 250 IP phones. Monitor Manager offers:

• Real-time scanning of key appliance parameters on SMB-class routers, switches, and voice gateways, Cisco Communications Manager Express, Cisco Unity Express, security appliances, WAPs, and VoIP phones
• Support for the Unified Communications 500 Series for organizations with up to 50 users

• Network discovery and topology
• Device and service level views of Cisco Unified Communications implementation
• Networkwide device identification logging and documentation
• Advanced security and dependable communication
• Appliance performance tracking
• VoIP Telephony monitoring
• Connection status and data traffic monitoring
• Immediate alerts and event notification
• Documentation
• Setup archive

Network Assistant is a PC-based management application designed for for wired and wireless LANs (WLANs) for growing companies that have up to 40 Cisco switches and routers. By running Smartports technology, the application streamlines configuration, installation, and ongoing administration and support of Cisco-powered environments. The application provides a unified network view and permits network administrators to deploy its functions across Cisco switches, routers, and WAPs.

Cisco Security Manager is a highly functional but easy-to-use application for managing all facets of device set up and security policies for firewalls, virtual private networks (VPNs), and IPS. The solution efficiently manages even small environments with no more than than ten devices, but also expands to control enterprise networks composed of thousands of Cisco routers, security appliances, and switch services modules. Expansion is achieved via intelligent policy-based management procedures that can simplify administration. Highlights of Security Manager include:

• Allows provisioning for Cisco routers configured with a Cisco IOS security image, ASA 5500 firewalls, Cisco PIX firewalls, Cisco IPS 4200 Series sensors, and Catalyst 6500 security services modules
• Reacts faster. more rapidly to attacks: define and assign new security policies to many hundreds of devices in a few simple steps
• Rich graphical user interface offers exceptional ease-of-use
• A variety of views that offer flexible methods to control devices and policies including the option to administer the security network visually on a system topology image
• Extensive video training for the new user to speed up training time
• Centrally call out which policies are shared and inherited by additional appliances to ensure company-wide policies are implemented regularly, while providing optional flexibility to modify policies at the individual device level
• Ability to create a single rule table for all Cisco firewalls with intelligent evaluation of firewall policies to detect conflicts within the rule table
• Easily 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 appliances and administration services
• Operation with security MARS system to correlate events with related firewall rules to support quicker decision making and enhanced system availability
• Capability to allocate specific tasks to each administrator in the course of the implementation of a policy, with formal change control and logging; permits the security and systems operations team to act in sync as a single group with effective coordination

Progent can also help you to use network management tools to monitor and classify network data to enable traffic shaping, which allows you to set up Cisco routers to enforce different bandwidth constraints on certain types of activity based on the priorities you assign. By storing and queuing excess packets above your committed rates, and by giving preference to business-critical applications, traffic shaping can keep service provider overage charges from spinning out of control and/or eliminate lost worker productivity caused by brute force policing of your network bandwidth limits during periods of heavy use.

Progent's CISM and CISSP security specialists can assist you to create a comprehensive security strategy that incorporates your network management processes, and Progent's remote and on-site support experts and Cisco CCIE and CNA qualified consultants can utilize the latest network monitoring and analysis tools to isolate and remediate problems rapidly to keep your network running smoothly.

To see more details about Progent's engineering expertise for Cisco products, select a subject:

• Overview of Cisco Expertise
• Timely Online Assistance from a Cisco Certified Internetwork Expert (CCIE) Network Engineer
• Cisco Firepower Firewalls: Configuration and Management Expertise
• ASA 5500-X Firewall with Cisco Firepower: Integration and Management Support
• Cisco ASA 5500 Firewalls Consulting Assistance
• PIX Firewall Consulting Support
• Cisco Routers Consulting Services
• Cisco Wireless Deployment Help
• Aironet Wireless Access Points Deployment Help
• Cisco Small Business 100, 300 and 500 Wireless APs Engineering Services
• Catalyst Wi-Fi 6/6E APs Solution Design, Configuration and Troubleshooting Expertise
• Cisco WiFi Controllers Experts
• Cisco Meraki Wireless APs Consulting Expertise
• Cisco Unified Communications Manager (CUCM or Unified CM) and Cisco CallManager Consulting and Troubleshooting
• Cisco VoIP Phones and IP Video Phones Consulting Services and Cisco Wireless IP Phone Configuration
• Cisco Jabber Deployment Services
• Cisco Catalyst Switches Engineering Expertise
• Cisco Nexus Switches Configuration and Maintenance Services
• Cisco Meraki MS Switches Support and Troubleshooting Services
• Cisco VPN and Network Security Consulting Support
• SIP and CUBE Infrastructure Solutions: SIP Trunking and Cisco CUBE Integration Consulting
• Cisco Duo MFA Two-factor Authentication (2FA) Services for Remote Workers
• Infrastructure Design for Cisco-powered Datacenters and Colocation Centers
• Infrastructure Optimization Expertise for Internet Service Providers