Thursday, November 15, 2018

Network Monitoring with Open-source Tools


Open Network Monitoring System (OpenNMS) is a service-grade, enormously integrated, open source platform designed for building network monitoring solutions. There are two distributions of OpenNMS: Meridian and Horizon.

Meridian is advisable for organizations and businesses looking out for stability and long-term support. Horizon is suggested for quick innovations and is right for monitoring new technologies and IT ecosystems. Both distributions are completely open-source.

Network monitoring is vital to keep computer networks and programs secure from the various cyber attacks that are so common in recent times. This article presents the purpose for network monitoring, along with a few select open source network monitoring tools.

Network monitoring is used to maintain an eagle’s eye on different computer networks, looking out for sluggish and failing components. It is pretty essential, specifically in case of sudden outages and other troubles. Network monitoring is taken into consideration as to be part of network control. Enterprise networks must cope with large data sets being accessed by various devices. Such networks should provide a reliable and fast service that doesn't add too much value to the business.

The demand for open source software tools continues to grow and network management tools have ridden that wave. Instead of spending a small fortune purchasing software tools which might or might not do what you need, look out for a free open source tool to monitor, configure and map your networked devices.

Basic goals of network monitoring

There are 3 fundamental goals for network monitoring, which cover three functional areas for network management, based on the Open Systems Interconnection (OSI) model.



1. Performance Monitoring

This arrangements with estimating the execution of a system. There are multiple measurable parameters in a network. But from the list of parameters, relevant ones should be selected from the business value and performance perspective. Such parameters to be measured are known as a network since they indicate the performance attributes of the network.
  

2. Fault Monitoring

This arrangements with identifying the issues or issues in the system.. It covers the special layers of the network because a problem can arise in any one of them. It requires establishing the ‘normal’ traits for the network. There are always a few errors inside the network, however, this does not imply that the network has persistent problems.

3. Account Monitoring

This deals with how any person makes use of a specific network. The network keeps a record of all of the devices on it, which are utilized by people and additionally how often they are used. This sort of records is normally used for billing users for network usage and also for predicting future network utilization.

Different Open-source Tools used for Network Monitoring

Not only are there free and open source network monitoring solutions available, but the options are also diverse and abundant. Below, I’ve mentioned a few of the most popular free network monitoring software:
  1. Nagios
  2. Zabbix
  3. Incinga
  4. Libre NMS
  5. Pandora FMS
While it is conceivable to physically screen a system (contingent upon the measure of the system and how basic the assets on the system are), you will presumably be in an ideal situation utilizing apparatuses particularly intended for such a reason.

IBM® Network Performance Insight software tool to view and configure the performance analysis reports for a network

Network Performance Insight is a Dashboard Application Services Hub - based network monitoring tool by IBM that gives you a complete traffic flow and metric data analysis. The movement perception dashboards are rendered from Network Health Dashboard and Device Dashboard after you coordinate with IBM Tivoli® Network Manager IP Edition.

IBM Networks for Operations Insight is an optional feature which can be included in the deployment of the base IBM Netcool Operations Insight solution. The capabilities of Networks for Operations Insight include network discovery, visualization, event correlation and root-cause analysis, and configuration that provide service assurance in dynamic network infrastructures.

What Network Monitoring Tools do you use? Feel free to share your views in the comment section.

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