Cisco Expert Network Consulting

An abundance of network management products from Cisco and third-party suppliers highlights the value and difficulty of maintaining networks. Progent's Cisco qualified network management consultants are expert at helping businesses develop network management solutions utilizing on Simple Network Management Protocol (SNMP), SYSLOG services, and NetFlow protocols to create effective mechanisms for tracking network utilization and network latency, monitoring important router and switch performance metrics, and recognizing traffic profiles, applications, and appliances that use available resources.

Progent can help businesses to utilize a rich range of open source and license-based monitoring and management utilities to manage a Cisco network. Utilities used by Progent's engineers include MRTG, Nagios, PRTG, Cisco Cisco Adaptive Security Device Manager, Cisco Monitor Manager, Cisco Network Assistant, Cisco Security Manager, OpenView, AlterPoint DeviceAuthority, Advent and Firewall Analyzer, Big Brother, Solarwinds Orion, and Necordia NetMRI.

Network management tools can enable organizations to understand existing system usage and intelligently plan for future capacity increases. Network management tools can also be used to detect inefficient or inappropriate utilization of system services, such as streaming video, peer-to-peer sharing, etc. that can use up valuable and scarce network bandwidth. A carefully designed network management strategy can also assist businesses to make informed choices on WAN and LAN upgrades once they recognize how much system resources actually needed at any one time.

Putting an efficient network management system in operation ahead of time is essential to prevent severe disruptions that can be caused by DoS attacks and malicious viruses. Such assaults can render the network unusable and without appropriate utilities it can be time consuming, and in some cases virtually impossible, to discover the source of the problem.

Network Management Solutions from Cisco
Cisco has developed a selection of powerful tools that should form the foundation for any management strategy. Used in conjunction with the top third-party tools, Cisco's network management software can improve the business value of networks for organizations of any size by improving important areas such as resource utilization, throughput, availability, security, troubleshooting, and capacity planning. Cisco's most popular network management products include:

Adaptive Security Device Manager (ASDM) is a web Java applet that lets you configure and operate the management utilities built into security devices. ASDM is installed by the adaptive security device, and enables you to set up, monitor, and manage the device.

Cisco Monitor Manager is a management solution designed to address the requirements of small and medium-sized companies. Monitor Manager continuously scans key appliance processes on voice and data networks used by 5 to 250 workers and equipped with as many as 250 Voice over IP phones. The application offers:

• Real-time tracking of key device parameters on Cisco SMB-class routers, switches, and voice gateways, Cisco Unified Communications Manager Express, Cisco Unity Express, security appliances, wireless access points, and IP phones
• Compatibility with the Unified Communications 500 for businesses with as many as 50 users

• Voice and data network discovery and physical topology
• Physical and process looks at Cisco Unified Communications implementation
• System wide device identification collection and reporting
• Highly secure and dependable operation
• Device operations tracking
• IP Telephony tracking
• Interface status and data traffic monitoring
• Immediate alarms and notices
• Documentation
• Setup archive

Cisco Network Assistant is a PC-hosted management application optimized for LANs and WLANS for expanding organizations that have as many as 40 Cisco switches and routers. By using Cisco's Smartports mechanism, Network Assistant simplifies setup, installation, and ongoing administration and maintenance of Cisco-based networks. Network Assistant offers a unified network view and permits network managers to deploy its features among Cisco switches, routers, and WAPs.

Security Manager is a feature-rich but simple to operate application for centrally provisioning all aspects of appliance set up and policies for firewalls, virtual private networks, and IPS. Security Manager effectively manages even small environments with fewer than ten appliances, but also expands to control large-scale systems with thousands of appliances. Scalability is enabled through smart policy-based control techniques that can streamline administration. Key features of Cisco Security Manager include:

• Allows control of Cisco routers running a Cisco IOS security image, Cisco ASA 5500 family adaptive security appliances, Cisco PIX security appliances, Cisco IPS 4200 Series sensors, and Cisco Catalyst 6500 security services modules
• Respond faster. more rapidly to attacks: define and apply updated policies to thousands of appliances in just a few steps
• Intuitive graphical user interface provides exceptional ease-of-use
• A variety of looks that provide versatile ways to manage appliances and policies including the ability to manage the security network graphically on a topology image
• Extensive video help for the new user to reduce training period
• Globally call out which policies are shared and inherited by additional devices to make sure company-wide policies are configured regularly, while offering optional flexibility to modify policies at the individual device level
• Ability to build a single rule database for Cisco platforms with intelligent evaluation of firewall policies to determine anomalies in the rule table
• Easily set up site-to-site, hub-and-spoke, full mesh, or extranet Virtual Private Network interfaces by means of a few mouse clicks
• Compatibility with Cisco Access Control Server (ACS) for granular role based access management to devices and management functions
• Operation with security MARS system to compare monitored data with related firewall rules to enable quicker management decisions and enhanced network availability
• Ability to allocate specific tasks to every manager during the implementation of a policy, with structured change control and tracking; permits the security and network operations staff to act in sync as a single group with effective teamwork

Progent can also assist you to use network management tools to analyze and categorize system data to implement traffic shaping, which allows you to configure routers to enforce different bandwidth restrictions on certain types of activity based on the importance you assign. By buffering and queuing excess packets above your contracted volume, and by giving preference to the most important applications, traffic shaping can keep Internet Service Provider overage penalties from spiraling out of reach and/or eliminate lost worker productivity caused by indiscriminate 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 strategy that incorporates your network management solution, and Progent's remote and on-site network specialists and Cisco CCIE-certified engineers can use advanced network monitoring and analysis tools to isolate and fix trouble rapidly to keep your IT system productive.

To learn additional information concerning Progent's consulting support for Cisco technology, select a subject:

• Overview of Cisco Consulting Services
• Fast Online Access to a Cisco Certified Internetwork Expert (CCIE) Engineer
• Cisco Firepower NGFW Firewalls: Integration and Troubleshooting Support
• ASA 5500-X Firewalls with Cisco Firepower Services: Integration and Management Services
• Cisco ASA 5500 Series Firewall Consulting Support
• Cisco PIX 500 Series Firewall Engineering Services
• Cisco Routers Engineering Expertise
• Cisco Wireless Engineering Services
• Aironet APs Consulting Support
• Cisco Small Business Wireless APs Consulting Services
• Catalyst Wi-Fi 6/6E Wireless Access Points Solution Design, Deployment and Debugging Support
• Cisco WiFi Controllers Experts
• Meraki APs Deployment Expertise
• 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 Expertise and Cisco Wireless VoIP Phone Configuration
• Cisco Jabber Deployment Services
• Cisco Catalyst Switches Deployment Services
• Nexus Switches Deployment Services
• Cisco Meraki MS Switches Deployment Expertise
• Cisco Security and VPN Integration Support
• SIP and CUBE Infrastructure Solutions: SIP PSTN Trunks and CUBE Integration Consulting
• Infrastructure Design for Cisco-powered Datacenters
• Data Center Design Consulting for Service Providers