Network outages can completely cripple digital businesses resulting in major financial and reputation damage. 31% of organizations face 1-5 unplanned outages annually, says Statista. The average cost of downtime exceeds $300,000 according to this study. No wonder network monitoring is a $2.5 billion market growing at over 10% CAGR, as per Markets and Markets.
This article will convince you why monitoring network device health, traffic patterns and security events is critical. We discuss how leading solutions can help your organization:
- Ensure high availability and optimal performance
- Troubleshoot issues instantly before they impact users
- Plan capacity upgrades strategically
- Secure the network by detecting anomalies
Let‘s get started.
Why Continuous Monitoring Matters
Network outages can completely cripple digital businesses resulting in major financial and reputation damage. 31% of organizations face 1-5 unplanned outages annually, says Statista. The average cost of downtime exceeds $300,000 according to this study.
No wonder network monitoring is a $2.5 billion market growing at over 10% CAGR.
Key components that need monitoring include:
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Servers – Tracking performance metrics can help optimize infrastructure efficiency.
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Routers & Switches – Monitoring availability & utilization helps prevent congestion issues.
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Firewalls – Logging security events is essential for breach detection.
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WiFi Access Points – Managing wireless traffic is key to ensuring good user experience.
Benefits of Continuous Monitoring:
- Ensure high availability and optimal performance
- Troubleshoot issues instantly before they impact users
- Strategically plan capacity upgrades
- Secure the network by detecting anomalies
Now let‘s see how leading network monitoring solutions can help you realize these benefits.
How Leading Solutions Work
Modern tools rely on protocols like SNMP, Netflow and ICMP to continuously collect data from network components:
SNMP
SNMP allows monitoring systems to poll networked devices for performance metrics like uptime, traffic counters, errors etc. SNMP trap alerts administrator when specific events occur.
NetFlow
NetFlow enables tracking application and traffic patterns by monitoring IP conversations between endpoints. This provides bandwidth monitoring and usage statistics.
ICMP
ICMP echo requests (pings) help monitor availability and latency of connections between devices.
Dashboard present data for admins to visualize health, detect anomalies, analyze trends and create reports. Advanced solutions utilize machine learning for automated root cause analysis anddiagnosis.
Commercial Tools vs. Open Source Software
Commercial tools like SolarWinds, PRTG and WhatsUp Gold are purpose-built for enterprises to handle large, complex networks with:
- Optimized data polling engines that scale to monitor 1000s of devices.
- Advanced fault analysis and traffic analytical capabilities.
- Intuitive web UIs, customizable dashboards and detailed reporting.
- Role-based access control, SSL encryption and high availability configurations.
- Dedicated vendor technical support resources.
Open source platforms like Zabbix, Nagios and LibreNMS offer extreme flexibility including:
- Ability to monitor almost any system metric via custom plugins and integrations.
- Access to modify source code enabling deep customization.
- Options for horizontal scalability and distributed monitoring.
- No vendor licensing costs.
However, they require significant expertise to set up, manage and troubleshoot. Scaling them can also prove challenging.
Determine requirements, availability of in-house skills and readiness for tool customization needs before deciding between commercial and open source route.
Comparison of 14 Leading Network Monitoring Tools
Here is a high-level comparison of leading solutions:
| Solution | Infrastructure Monitoring | Traffic Analysis | Alerting | Cloud/Hybrid Support |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| PRTG | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ |
| SolarWinds NPM | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ |
| WhatsUp Gold | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | Limited |
| Zabbix | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ |
| Nagios XI | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | Limited |
| ManageEngine OpManager | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ |
| NetCrunch | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | Limited |
| Kentik | Limited | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ |
| ThousandEyes | Limited | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ |
| ScienceLogic | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ |
| Accedian Skylight | Limited | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ |
| SevOne | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ |
| Paessler PRTG | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ |
| LibreNMS | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | Limited |
Let‘s analyze them in more detail.
SolarWinds Network Performance Monitor
Trusted by Fortune 500 companies worldwide, NPM…..
(Detailed reviews for 5-6 products)
The Right Fit Depends on Your Needs
Here is a step-by-step process to shortlist and select the ideal network monitoring system for your requirements:
Step 1: Determine Crucial Monitoring Needs
- infrastructure only or also traffic analysis?
- on-premise, cloud or hybrid environments?
- simple network vs. complex multi-vendor infrastructure?
- business-impacting metrics and thresholds?
Step 2: Define Must-Have Features
For instance, support for newer protocols like IPFIX, integration with specific security or analytics tools, customized reporting etc.
Step 3: Compare Options Aligned to Key Criteria
Start with solutions meeting technical specifications, scalability needs and budget.
Step 4: Pilot Top Choices
Thoroughly test top 2-3 options with production-scale data before deciding.
Best Practices for Network Monitoring Success
1. Baseline Networks
Document infrastructure and create traffic load profiles before monitoring tools come online.
2. Validate Monitoring Data
Randomly check tool-captured metrics vs. device-reported statistics manually.
3. Tunef Alert Rules
Refine thresholds and notifications over time to minimize false alerts.
4. Regularly Review Dashboards
Don‘t just wait for alerts. Quick periodic scans can reveal early warning signs.
5. Investigate Anomalies
Don‘t ignore odd traffic spikes or component failures as one-offs. Research potential risks.
Enable Proactive Network Management
Well implemented network monitoring leads to increased infrastructure efficiency, lower trouble tickets, smooth user experience and robust security. Integrated data facilitates better decision making.
Scalable commercial solutions like SolarWinds NPM and PRTG accelerate time to value with easy setup, predefined monitors and polished dashboards. Mature support services facilitate success.
On the other hand Zabbix, Nagios and other open source options provide ultimate customizability for large web-scale networks.
Carefully evaluate key elements like functional needs, capacity requirements, tool expertise availability and cost models. This ensures selecting and deploying solutions best fitting your environment.
Let me know if you have any other questions! I‘m happy to offer guidance to help you extract maximum value from network monitoring.
