Cisco has developed numerous tools to manage and model network traffic
flows. Each of the following management tools has a distinct purpose.
CiscoWorks is the Cisco flagship network management product line
. It delivers
device level monitoring, configuration, and fault management tools. The
CiscoView device management software provides dynamic status, statistics, and
configuration information for switched products.
CiscoWorks 2000
includes the VPN/Security Management Solution (VMS). VMS is an integral part of
the Cisco SAFE blueprint for network security. It combines web-based tools for
configuring, monitoring, and troubleshooting enterprise VPNs, firewalls, and
network and host-based IDSs. VMS delivers the industry’s first robust and
scalable foundation and feature set that addresses the needs of small and large
scale VPN and security deployments.
The CiscoView Software graphically
displays a physical view of Cisco devices, allowing network managers to monitor
remote devices without actually physically checking them.
This
tool provides monitoring functions and offers basic troubleshooting. The
CiscoView Software can be integrated with the following network management
platforms:
- Sun Microsystems SunNet Manager
- Hewlett-Packard OpenView
- IBM NetView for AIX
The CiscoWorks2000 Product Line offers a set of solutions designed to
assist in managing an enterprise network. These solutions focus on three key
areas in the network:
- LAN
- WAN
- Service-level management
With a general move toward fully switched networks and the impetus to
include voice traffic within the data network, a greater level of
accountability for traffic traveling on Ethernet networks is required than has
previously been the case. Additionally, because of the time and possibly
financially sensitive nature of VoIP traffic and the breaking up of the
switched domain into VLANs, it is desirable to monitor and record the
statistics and flows of data from individual VLANs or ports in the network to
judge the impact of each on performance.
The Cisco Network Analysis
Module (NAM) allows a network administrator to do all of this and also
manipulate the network performance information captured to give real time
analysis of network performance and advance warning of bottlenecks or failures
within a network.
The NAM is a
module for a Cisco 6500 series chassis that contains hard drive storage to
record information captured from a switched network from a number of Switch
Port Analyzer (SPAN) sessions implemented on Cisco switches. The NAM can also
be accessed through a Web based browser to give interactive information and
reports on network performance and statistics based on the information
captured.
