subject: How to Monitor Distributed Networks [print this page] How to Monitor Distributed Networks How to Monitor Distributed Networks
If you work in a business that is growing, you understand how quickly your network must scale in order to meet the demand. For networking folks, this can be both exciting and troublesome. It's exciting, because you are always working with new technologies that can help you optimize your resources and grow with the demand. But at the same time, it can be overwhelming to monitor and manage your network .
While you can often keep tabs on a network's core data center, rapidly expanding businesses can face the problem of deploying network architecture to far-flung locations. In order to monitor remote sites and equipment, you should consider network management tools that will provide a snapshot of your ever expanding network platform.
Some of the best tools have customized views that will let you take a look at the areas of concern, such as new expansion areas, or regions that have proved to be problematic. Similarly, you should be able to take a top-level approach with your customized windows, allowing you to get lists of certain metrics. In addition, they constantly monitor bandwidth utilization, server resources and disk space levels.
Keeping track of your network performance in this way is going to give you the edge that you need when dealing with a network distributed over a large area. You're not going to be able to be everywhere at the same time physically, so you should find a solution that can be your eyes out in the field.
Your network is an immense system, and it is getting larger by the week. Make sure you're using the right software to keep an eye on it, looking at bandwidth, server performance and your Cisco devices using IP SLA.
