While you may not be that familiar with Software Defined Networking (SDN), it may be the next “big thing.” As with other popular technologies like cloud and big data, there is no clear consensus on the exact definition of SDN. Also like these technologies, SDN initiatives are likely to be pushed by IT folks outside the network team, and can greatly affect network visibility. While an SDN future may seem a few light years away, given the clout of vendors and users pushing these technologies, incl...

Network infrastructure is evolving at an unprecedented rate and, with mixed vendor environments the norm rather than the exception, management of those systems has become a labour intensive exercise. Unlike fault and performance management, Network Change and Configuration Management (NCCM) has no common harmonised management method or protocols; Even the first level engineering teams have to be proficient in numerous different configuration languages and interfaces for the simplest of tasks. In...

As IT environments become more complex, so does application performance management. IT professionals need tools that are up for the new challenge. "Applications are becoming increasingly difficult to troubleshoot, and [it's becoming more difficult to] understand how users are interacting with them," said Jonah Kowall, research vice president of IT operations management at Stamford, Conn.-based Gartner Inc. "Because applications are so diverse, there are a lot of different approaches and solution...

In managing network performance, user experience takes priority. Being proactive in managing performance means not only tracking the network and application, but obtaining an in-depth view of the underlying infrastructure health. There are two primary ways to obtain this information: agent or agentless. Selecting the best method for your team requires understanding the options and selecting the solution that integrates well with your existing resources. This IT Brief will: Define agent and agent...

It’s that time of year again – when we all look back as well as forward, regret the things we haven’t done, then promise to make them right once more. Instead of doing the typical forecast and prognostications that most analysts pump out this time of year, I prefer to take a different tact – to simply raise attention regarding the things we know we should do in network management but really haven’t got around to doing yet. Based on the research that I’ve done in the past year as well is that I p...

Employees' new mobile devices could cause the age-old security versus productivity debate to resurface Christmas is fast approaching. Now, and after the office is back to normal after the first of the year, employees are going to return with several shiny new gadgets, along with the expectation that they'll "just work" in the corporate environment. Security will be a distant afterthought, because it's still viewed as a process that hinders productivity. The back and forth between security helpin...

ONE Single platform for IT Service Assurance   Network Monitoring Devices Servers Applications Business Processes VoIP Monitoring SNMP v3 NetFlow v9, sFlow, IPFix Real-Time/Trend/Historic IPv4, IPv6 Auto Device Discovery Auto Network Discovery Inventory & Graphical Topology Group network devices to fit business needs Audit trail of configuration changes Automate the back up process and security checks Thresholds Error Management Event Management Event Correlation Root-Cause Analysis eMa...

Avoiding The Perfect VoIP Storm Although now a mainstream technology, managing VoIP remains a challenge for even the most seasoned IT pro. The application’s sensitivity to packet loss and delay and users intolerance for anything less than audio perfection can create a troubleshooting nightmare. 1. Understand and measure call quality There are a variety of metrics and variables you can use to assess VoIP call quality, including jitter, MOS, R-Factor, gap density, burst density, Quality of Service...

As an IT manager, you need visibility into every corner of the network, from the edge to the core. A distributed analysis solution can provide the coverage you need, but where should you deploy probes for maximum visibility at minimum cost? This paper describes by example how to plan and implement a monitoring/analysis infrastructure based on distributed probes. Because every network is different, the examples shown may not look like your network, but the concepts demonstrated will be applicable...