Network monitoring is a set of automatic processes that help to detect the status of each element of your network infrastructure.

We are talking about routers, switches, access points, specific servers, intermediate network elements, and other related systems or applications (such as web servers, web applications, or database servers).In other words, network monitoring can be understood as taking a look at all the connected elements that are relevant to you or your organization.

What is a network monitoring system?

A network monitoring system is that set of software tools that allows you to program those automatic polls.

That way you may constantly monitor your network infrastructure, doing systematic tests so that, if they find a problem, they notify you.

These systems makes monitoring the network easy, as they also allow you to see all the information in dashboards, generate reports on demand, see alerts and, of course, see graphs with the monitoring data relevant to you.

How does network monitoring work?

Network monitoring can be as simple as seeing devices respond to a simple command like ping. So you will see whether they are connected, switched on and “alive”.

If you do that every five minutes, you’ll be actively monitoring those machines.

We don’t care if they’re servers or routers. We’ll know that, at least, they’re there and they’re responding. When one stops responding, you’ll know something happened to it.

It can also be as basic as periodically interrogating a router for the number of bytes it has transferred, both up and down.

With that you may create network traffic graphs.

We could even add more data to it, like the number of lost packets, latency times…

These data can be combined in graphs that visually compare some values with others and even set thresholds that warn you whether a data exceeds a certain value, for example, if packet loss exceeds 10%.

If you apply that same philosophy to monitoring other data, such as the temperature in a power supply, the process will be the same: obtain the data every X time, draw it on a graph and set thresholds to generate alerts.

This is network monitoring and, as it is evident, it can be easily extended to server, application or database monitoring.

Usually network monitoring is done using remote methods, so that from one place, you may scan the network and get information from your devices.

What is a network monitoring protocol?

In order to perform these network surveys, you need what are known as network monitoring protocols. They define how communication inside a network (in order to monitor systems and devices) can be done.

There are several different monitoring protocols that allow these types of surveys to be carried out.

1. SNMP Protocol

The best known monitoring protocol is SNMP (Simple Network Management Protocol) which allows you to probe a computer and ask for different values. For example, the number of bytes you have transmitted or the temperature of your power supply.

These values are identified by a numeric code, called an OID.

For example, the OID for obtaining the temperature of a power supply on a CISCO computer is as follows: 1.3.6.1.4.1.9.9.13.1.3.1.3

2. ICMP Protocol

Another basic protocol is the ICMP, which allows to know whether the machine responds (commonly known as “pinging” or ping test).

This protocol can also be used to calculate latency times (find out how long it takes for a packet to arrive from one machine to another).

Certain network applications, such as IMAP, DNS or SMTP have their specific ports and finding out whether a service is working properly is directly related to protocol design, so more complex testing is needed.

Generally any service that is offered over the network exposes a TCP port, so monitoring that those ports are active and responsive can already be basic monitoring.

Network Monitor Basics

We could say that, in addition to the aforementioned pings, there are three methods for monitoring a network.

1. Bandwidth Monitoring

Network bandwidth is the amount of information that circulates through a network link at any given time.

This information is usually measured in bits per second and allows you to know how overloaded or underutilized your networks are.

In order to measure it, there are several tools that analyze the network bandwidth, the communication protocols used, and so on.

2. TRAP Monitoring

TRAPS are urgent notices that circulate through the network, thanks to a protocol that allows it and an emitter/collector that generates and/or collects them.

Virtually all network devices allow these urgent warnings to be sent to a trap collector.Be careful! The SNMP survey should not be mistaken with the SNMP traps.

The first is a server that asks the device regularly, using SNMP, and in the second case, it is the device that occasionally, when something happens, sends a trap to the server. Both devices can be seen as network monitors, as they perform monitoring tasks using network monitoring protocols.

3. Syslog monitoring

Another method used is log or report collection (usually via syslog).

For this, as with the traps, you must set in motion a syslog collection server that will collect logs from all the devices that you configured for this purpose.

What are the benefits of a network monitoring system?

Knowing the status of all equipment at a glance allows you to know if there are any problems and anticipate as much as possible their impact.

If something goes wrong, you’d better be the one to warn your clients or bosses, not the other way around.

If something goes wrong, in addition to knowing what went wrong, you will be able to answer questions such as:

• Since when does it fail?
• What other things are failing?
• What was the normal performance?

What network monitoring tools are there?

From Pandora FMS we have done an analysis of the best network monitoring tools there are. We have compared them and here are our conclusions:

Best network monitoring tools

What is Packet Loss & How Can it Affect Your Network?

At Pandora FMS, we know that even the most minor of network issues can quickly throw a wrench in your company’s daily operations. One of the most common network issues many experience is known as packet loss.

Here, our team of network monitoring experts goes into detail about what packet loss is, as well as how to measure it and resolve it when necessary, so read on!

What is Packet Loss?

In the simplest terms, packet loss is when one or more “packets” fail to meet their destination. In most cases, it can be a minor issue that crops up in the background of your network from time to time. In fact, many applications are designed to manage package loss by relying on the built-in retransmission solutions available from transmission control protocols or by having a monitored acceptable level of packet loss.

Is there Acceptable Packet Loss?

As mentioned previously, packet loss can often be a minor issue, but that doesn’t mean it should go unaddressed. In terms of network monitoring, there is an acceptable level of packet loss (around %1 or so) that can happen and your operations will remain unaffected. This is because things like SIP or VoIP systems are designed to tolerate a small amount.

How is Packet Loss Caused?

One of the most common causes of packet loss is having links close to maximum throughput that start dropping packets, in other words, congestion. However, there are other causes as well, like general radio-based issues, faulty hardware and in some cases, a device will purposefully drop packets for routing purposes or to limit traffic throughput.

What are the Effects of Packet Loss?

Minimal packet loss isn’t likely to affect your network too much. However, extensive packet loss will greatly reduce the speed of any throughput connection, reducing the quality of applications like streaming video and voice-over IP services, as well as other latency-sensitive protocols. Since packet loss can increase the CPU load needed to process additional network overhead there may be some delays and issues.

How Do I Check for Packet Loss?

You can determine whether your network is experiencing packet loss by first performing a ping to identify the issue; you’ll then be able to determine the percentage of packet loss your network is experiencing. Often, there’s no single cause for packet loss, meaning you’ll need to monitor your system’s different processes, like port errors and congestion, to check it for packet loss symptoms.

• Testing: To test for packet loss inside your network, you can provide extra capacity for links that are receiving more than 90% congestion. Additionally, check your router and CPU’s resources to ensure it’s not an issue with those components within your system. For issues occurring outside of your network, it can often be due to your ISP or another ISP between your path and your destination. In this case, you’ll need to provide your ISP provider with detailed information via a ping/MPR output to resolve the issue.

Reducing Packet Loss

One of the best ways to reduce packet loss is to employ network monitoring software that will monitor capacity and hardware failures throughout your network, alerting you as soon as an issue is perceived. Providing proper network maintenance is another good way to avoid packet loss issues and keep your system running at peak performance levels.

Our Network Monitoring Solutions

As one of today’s leading network and server monitoring companies, Pandora FMS ensures your network is functioning properly.

Remote Network Monitoring: Pandora FMS delivers remote network monitoring without external access via our cutting-edge satellite servers.

Our basic network monitoring features include:

• Advanced Availability Reports
• Remote Software & License Inventory
• Polling SNMP v3 & Complete SNMP Trap Management
• NetFlow for Network Capacity Management & Low-Level Performance
• Integrated MIB Explorer, with Custom MIB Loading
• Auto-Discovery of Networks at Levels 2 & 3
• Integrated SSH & Telnet Console
• Historical Graphs for Up to 3Years Back
• High Availability
• Integrated IPAM for IP Addressing Management (IPv4/IPv6)
• Linux & Windows Monitoring
• & More!

We’re Experts in Complex Networks & Environments

When it comes to working with complicated networks and environments, the team from Pandora FMS are proven experts. Since 2004, we’ve helped clients overcome complex network issues by offering a comprehensive tool and obtaining key insight into their systems.

Our monitoring software is designed to offer users high scalability, adapting as the needs of your business grow. Thanks to our satellite servers and Metaconsole, we enable horizontal growth that is designed to handle thousands of network queries and duties per second. In some cases, our clients operate thousands of network devices and our monitoring solutions help them manage any issue that’s thrown at them.

Contact Pandora FMS for comprehensive monitoring solutions and technology!

If you want to get a handle on your company’s daily operations and improve and secure your network, the team from Pandora FMS would love to tell you more about our offerings. In addition to our network and server monitoring solutions, we offer SAP monitoring capabilities, log collection, and many more services designed to improve your capabilities.

Pandora FMS is committed to helping companies implement horizontal and integrated monitoring, combining key insight from different departments and sources to provide companies with a single dashboard to supervise their technology. We work with clients located in more than 40 countries around the world and have experience working with businesses in any industry, of any size.

We also offer support and training services to ensure a seamless implementation at every level of your business.