Whether you have a single computer in your office running your bookkeeping software or a whole datacenter filled with servers, network monitoring is key. Monitoring alerts you to any condition that could interrupt your business so that it can be fixed as quickly as possible. Knowing that your internet connection is down, your file server is running low on disk space, or your accounting server is under too much load is important for identifying areas of your network that can be improved. With network monitoring you are also able to see trending and performance data that can be invaluable to weeding out intermittent problems or solving issues with third-party providers whose services are not performing adequately.
Sample Monitoring Screen
Live map of a server room with each machine's status.
Live map of Hungary showing wide-scale deployment of systems and their status.
Common Monitoring Targets
- Network connections:
- Internet connection.
- VPN connection.
- Wireless and cellular connections.
- Server and workstation computer parameters:
- Disk space.
- CPU usage.
- Event log errors and warnings.
- Performance counters and statistics.
- Network performance and bottlenecks.
- VoIP phones and PBX systems.
- Locally and remotely hosted services:
- DNS
- Web sites and online storefronts.
- E-mail and groupware.
- Network devices:
- Switches.
- Routers.
- Wireless access points.
- Any of the above systems in remote offices or home offices.
Advanced Configuration
A monitoring system can be used in ways that aren't immediately obvious. We can not only detect when something has gone wrong; depending on the nature of the problem, it may be possible to automatically fix it. A down service can be restarted, a non-responsive application can be terminated, and with the help of a networked power switch, a router or cable modem and be rebooted when your internet connection goes down, all with no human intervention.
Specialty sensors can be used to monitor conditions that are important to your business. A plumber can use a networked temperature sensor to automatically notify his or her customers when the outside temperature drops below freezing, warning of the possibility of burst pipes or informing them of the special on pipe insulation this month.
Visual maps can be created of your network with real-time reporting of status. This can be used in a variety of ways, like a map of Suffolk county showing each of your offices, where green indicates that everything is okay, and red indicates that something is down at that location, a virtual map of your network showing each of your devices and their status, so that you can easily see what parts of your network are down, and what parts are affected as a result, or a photograph of a room full of servers, so that a machine with a problem can easily be physically identified.
