OV Copyright © 2011 Element K Content LLC. All rights reserved. Network Management  Network Monitoring  Configuration Management Documentation  Network Performance Optimization

OV Copyright © 2011 Element K Content LLC. All rights reserved. Network Management Network management OperationsAdministrationMaintenanceProvisioning

OV Copyright © 2011 Element K Content LLC. All rights reserved. SNMP SNMP management system Servers Routers Printers

OV Copyright © 2011 Element K Content LLC. All rights reserved. Network Monitoring Tools PurposeTools LAN monitoring  Remote Monitoring (RMON)  pathping  OpManager  Distinct Network Monitor  Solarwinds ipMonitor QoS monitoring  QoS parameters  Router parameters  Load balancing  NimBus  XenMon  RT Audio and RT Video

OV Copyright © 2011 Element K Content LLC. All rights reserved. Network Monitoring Tools (Cont.) PurposeTools Bandwidth monitoring  Netflow analyzer  Rokario  Du Meter WAN monitoring  Exinda  Router monitoring  Castlerock  Visual Up Time  AdvantNet  Observer

OV Copyright © 2011 Element K Content LLC. All rights reserved. Categories of Network Monitoring Tools Network monitoring tools are broadly classified into three functional categories:  Status monitoring – Used to gather data related to the status of a network.  Traffic monitoring – Used to gather data related to the traffic generated on a network.  Route monitoring – Used to trace the route taken by packets and detect routing delays, if any.

OV Copyright © 2011 Element K Content LLC. All rights reserved. Network Traffic Analysis Network traffic analysis include:  Identification of the inbound and outbound protocols.  Identifying if the ports that are open and closed.  Checking the traffic that passes through a firewall.  Checking the throughput, threshold limits, and the overall network performance.  Tracing packets on the network.  Studying network utilization.

OV Copyright © 2011 Element K Content LLC. All rights reserved. Port Filtering TCP UDP

OV Copyright © 2011 Element K Content LLC. All rights reserved. Traffic Filtering Filtered content

OV Copyright © 2011 Element K Content LLC. All rights reserved. Network Diagnostics Some of the activities performed by the diagnostics tools are:  Monitors end-to-end application response time.  Analyzes network traffic.  Manages device performance.  Monitors and alerts availability, bandwidth utilization, and health of devices.  Provides network diagnostics for troubleshooting and resolving issues.  Offers network discovery tools that facilitate IP address management, port mapping, and ping sweeps.  Provides tools for real-time NetFlow analysis, configuration, and device management.

OV Copyright © 2011 Element K Content LLC. All rights reserved. System Performance Monitors System performance monitors:  Monitors services, processes, and resources  Counters and thresholds  Can be included in the operating system or separate software tools  Examples:  UNIX/Linux: top  Windows: Windows Reliability and Performance Monitor

OV Copyright © 2011 Element K Content LLC. All rights reserved. Protocol Analyzers Displays captured frames and contents

OV Copyright © 2011 Element K Content LLC. All rights reserved. Network Fault Tolerance One system fails, another takes over

OV Copyright © 2011 Element K Content LLC. All rights reserved. Network Administration  Network administration covers support functions required to manage a network.  Administration of a network includes:  Designing the network  Tracking usage  Assigning addresses  Planning upgrades  Taking service orders  Keeping track of network inventory  Collecting accounting data, and billing customers.

OV Copyright © 2011 Element K Content LLC. All rights reserved. Configuration Management Configuration management database contains records of the topology

OV Copyright © 2011 Element K Content LLC. All rights reserved. Network Documentation  Network maps  Location and routing information  Device information  Hardware and software configuration, including changes  Utilization statistics  Usage logs and reports  Policies and procedures  Guidelines for performing network management tasks

OV Copyright © 2011 Element K Content LLC. All rights reserved. Physical Network Diagrams 12-port switch File Server Remote Access Server Mail Server Web Server12-port switch 24-port switch

OV Copyright © 2011 Element K Content LLC. All rights reserved. Logical Network Diagrams File Server Mail Server Web Server Sample Internal Network: IP: Host name: mail.everythingforcoffee.com IP: Host name: mail.everythingforcoffee.com IP: Host name: Fs01.everythingforcoffee.com IP: Host name: Fs01.everythingforcoffee.com IP: Host name: IP: Host name:

OV Copyright © 2011 Element K Content LLC. All rights reserved. Critical Hardware and Software Inventories Hardware Inventory Entry Information to Include Standard workstation A basic description of a standard client workstation. Include minimum requirements and the installed operating system as well as how many workstations of this type are deployed. Specialty workstation A description of any specialty workstations deployed. Include a brief description of their roles and special configurations implemented on them. Basic server A list of the basic server hardware configuration and the role of these servers. Connectivity hardware A list of all connectivity hardware in as much detail as possible. Backup hardware Document critical information about the backup hardware, such as the vendor and model number of a tape drive, backup hard drives, DVD drives, and network attached storage if applicable.

OV Copyright © 2011 Element K Content LLC. All rights reserved. Critical Hardware and Software Inventories (Cont.) Software Inventory Entry Information to Include Operating system software All operating system software, including desktop and server operating systems. Productivity and application software Off-the-shelf productivity software, including any applications installed on client machines and servers. Maintenance utilities The utilities used to maintain a network, especially backup software and software configuration. Backup documentation Records of when backups were taken, how frequently to take them, what backups contain, where backups are stored, and credentials needed to restore backups. Overall asset inventory If your company maintains an overall asset inventory, attach a copy. Many companies use the inventory as a base to track hardware and maintenance.

OV Copyright © 2011 Element K Content LLC. All rights reserved. Network Policies One of a set of formalized statements defining network functions Establishes expectations for users, management, and IT personnel Acceptable use of network equipment

OV Copyright © 2011 Element K Content LLC. All rights reserved. Legal Compliance Requirements and Regulations  Organizations must consider their legal obligations, rights, liabilities, and limitations when creating policies.  Information security practices must comply with legal requirements that are documented in other departmental policies

OV Copyright © 2011 Element K Content LLC. All rights reserved. Network Baselines  Documents the network’s current performance level.  Reveals were bottlenecks are impeding system performance.  Provides evidence for upgrading systems.

OV Copyright © 2011 Element K Content LLC. All rights reserved. The Network Baselining Process 2. Design tests 3. Schedule tests 4. Run tests 5. Document results 6. Analyze data 7. Repeat tests when performance low 1. Evaluate network 8. Upgrade or reconfigure as needed

OV Copyright © 2011 Element K Content LLC. All rights reserved. QoS Different types of network traffic have different requirements Different types of network traffic have different requirements SLA SLA includes parameters and remedies for failure

OV Copyright © 2011 Element K Content LLC. All rights reserved. The Need for QoS Video Voice Data Audio Traditional data applications need lower packet loss Traditional data applications need lower packet loss Real-time applications need higher bandwidth priority Real-time applications need higher bandwidth priority

OV Copyright © 2011 Element K Content LLC. All rights reserved. QoS Parameters ParameterDescription Bandwidth The average number of bits of data that can be transmitted from a source to a destination over the network in one second. Latency Also called lag or delay is the time difference between transmission of a signal and when it was received. Jitter The variability over time in latency between sequentially transmitted data packets. Packet loss The number of packets that are lost or damaged during transmission. Echo A reflected sound, a distinct repetition of the original sound—a familiar phenomenon in phone calls when you hear your own voice after a few milliseconds (ms).

OV Copyright © 2011 Element K Content LLC. All rights reserved. Traffic Shaping  A mechanism in QoS for introducing some amount of delay in traffic that exceeds an administratively defined rate.  Smoothes down traffic burst.  Does not drop packets.

OV Copyright © 2011 Element K Content LLC. All rights reserved. Load Balancing Without load balancing, one server can be inundated with requests while others remain idle. With load balancing, request are more evenly distributed among the available servers.

OV Copyright © 2011 Element K Content LLC. All rights reserved. High Availability High data availability

OV Copyright © 2011 Element K Content LLC. All rights reserved. Caching Engines Indexes data for faster responses to requests Caching Engine

OV Copyright © 2011 Element K Content LLC. All rights reserved. High Bandwidth Applications Computer running high bandwidth application Computer running high bandwidth application

OV Copyright © 2011 Element K Content LLC. All rights reserved. Factors Affecting a QoS Implementation QoS Implementation Factor Description Packet classification Each packet coming to a router is classified based on its QoS requirements. This classification enables the router to process the packet based on its resource requirement. Policing An application requests the required amount of network resources, and it must always adhere to this request. An application must not send packets at a rate more than what was requested. Appropriate resource allocation A network may receive both data and voice packets simultaneously. It is the network device’s responsibility to appropriately allocate resources to both these types of data. Call admission Once a network receives a QoS request, it verifies the available network resources to see if it can provide the required quality. In case of unavailability of network resources, the network can deny the request.

OV Copyright © 2011 Element K Content LLC. All rights reserved. Reflective Questions 1. What network optimization tools, methods, or techniques do you feel will be most important to you as you manage your organization's network for optimal performance? 2. What are the network monitoring activities you are likely to perform in your organization?