Network monitoring and troubleshooting devices are intelligent hardware and software tools that can help you manage your network better. These tools can help administrators with analysis, migration, monitoring, security, and testing.
The variety of network tools ranges from frontline troubleshooting devices to expert analysis systems. Hardware tools like the Fluke OneTouch, for example, are great for troubleshooting and taking the guesswork out of solving network problems.
On the other hand there are expensive software solutions that include expert analysis systems like the Sniffer Investigator, which can help you monitor and solve network related problems by identifying trouble areas and making recommendations.
Basic network troubleshooting can answer questions such as:
- Who the top talkers are on the network?
- Which users are causing congestion?
- Why can't users access a server?
- How many ports are up and running on the switch?
- Is this server, switch, or router connected?
However, troubleshooting doesn't end there. With large corporate networks you may not only be asking some of questions we listed above, but also questions regarding how well your network will stand up when there's a need for additional bandwidth. Expert analysis software can aid you in correcting network degradation.
There are also applications like Vantage 8.0 from Compuware, which focus more on the application layer of the network. Depending on your requirements and budget, there is a network troubleshooting solution for your corporate network and your specific needs.
Advanced Discovery
Network monitoring and troubleshooting tools discover devices by monitoring traffic and by actively querying hosts. Once discovered they can usually find:
- DNS name
- NetBIOS name
- SNMP name
- IPX name
- Addresses
Packet Capture
Some software suites even allow you to capture packets across the network. Expert analysis software can then decode the packets for you. There are many legitimate uses for packet capture, but it also makes a perfect hacking tool, since you will be able to sniff all the traffic on your network.
Traffic Generation
It is also possible to create different traffic loads to assist with stress testing your network. This may be an area of interest for someone who would like to investigate how the network would stand up to increased traffic and end users.
Remote analysis
Real-time remote monitoring and problem discovery makes it easy and economical to extend your knowledge and expertise across your network. Some software allows you to monitor distant sites directly from your desktop and zero in on problems using a Web browser interface. With some products you can run up to seven multiple sessions at any one time.
Reporting software
This is an important area, because reporting software allows you to transform collected network performance data into easy-to-understand summaries. Some software can even draw you a map of your entire network. You can document collisions, utilisation, and errors and publish them in a variety of formats--including HTML.
Fibre inspection
In this category, products such as the Fluke OptiView Pro Gigabit can save you valuable time inspecting fibre optic patch panels. The Fluke product will also safely inspect live fibre without harming eyes, thus reducing contamination and signal loss in hardware devices.
Reviews
In this feature we looked at a handful of hardware and software-based solutions. The most difficult part was comparing these products. They are all very different, have different uses, and specialise in different areas of network monitoring and troubleshooting. On the software side of things, you would need a machine with at least a 200MHz CPU and 64MB of RAM to run the software.
