Network management systems assist companies to deploy infrastructure efficiently, access client details quickly, track network health, debug problems, protect against and respond to threats, and maximize responsiveness. Network management tools can help detect inefficient or inappropriate uses of network resources like streaming multimedia or peer-to-peer file sharing that can waste bandwidth, lower worker productivity or leave you vulnerable to data leakage. A well crafted network management environment can also help companies to make informed capacity planning moves by exposing trends in network usage for various periods or jos.

Meraki Dashboard Consultants

The Meraki Dashboard enables simplified cloud management for Cisco network appliances

Cisco offers a rich and growing catalog of network management solutions that allow unified management for local, cloud-based, or hybrid network architectures. With Cisco's newer security, switching, and Wi-Fi networking devices, you can run Meraki, Cisco DNA Center, or CLI management platforms for network management. For example, you can connect the latest Catalyst or Meraki switches and Catalyst or Meraki WiFi 6/6E APs to the Meraki dashboard to manage vital layers of your corporate infrastructure from the cloud. Progent's Catalyst WiFi AP consultants, Meraki Wi-Fi access point experts, Catalyst switches consultants, and Meraki switches consultants can help your organization to plan, implement and tune an up-to-date solution for network infrastructure management.

Legacy Network Management Tools from Cisco and Others
Cisco Network Management Solutions ConsultingA wealth of network management utilities from Cisco and other vendors underscores the importance and complexity of maintaining networks. Progent's Cisco qualified network management engineers are expert at assisting businesses design management solutions based on SNMP, SYSLOG services, and Cisco Netflow protocols to build powerful tools for understanding network utilization and latency, viewing key router and switch performance characteristics, and recognizing traffic profiles, processes, and appliances utilizing network resources. Progent can assist businesses to deploy a broad selection of free and license-based monitoring and management tools to maintain a Cisco-powered environment. Tools used by Progent's consultants include MRTG, Nagios, PRTG, Cisco Adaptive Security Device Manager (ASDM), Cisco Monitor Manager, Cisco Network Assistant, CiscoWorks, Cisco Security Manager, OpenView, AlterPoint DeviceAuthority, Adventnet Netflow, Big Brother, Solarwinds Orion, and NetMRI. Network management platforms can help IT administrators to be aware of current system utilization and intelligently plan for future traffic increases. Management utilities can also be deployed to highlight poor or improper utilization of network resources, such as streaming audio and video, peer-to-peer file exchange, etc. that can use up valuable and scarce network bandwidth. An efficiently planned network management solution can also aid companies to make intelligent choices on system upgrades once they appreciate how much system resources actually required at specific times. Having an effective network management system in place beforehand is essential to avoid severe disruptions that can be caused by DoS attacks and dangerous viruses/Trojans. Such assaults can render the network unstable and in the absence of proper tools it can be time consuming, and in some cases virtually impossible, to identify the source of the trouble. Network Management Products from Cisco
Cisco has created an array of effective utilities that should form the basis for any management strategy. Utilized in combination with appropriate third-party applications, Cisco's network management offerings can enhance the business value of network infrastructures for companies of all sizes by dealing with important areas such as resource utilization, performance, resilience, security, troubleshooting, and scalability. Cisco's most popular network management products include: Cisco Adaptive Security Device Manager is a web Java applet that allows you to set up and monitor the management utilities built into security devices. Cisco Adaptive Security Device Manager is loaded by the adaptive security device, and allows you to set up, monitor, and control the unit. Monitor Manager is a management and monitoring solution designed for the needs of small and medium-sized companies. Cisco Monitor Manager actively monitors important device processes on voice/data environments used by five to 250 users and equipped with up to 250 VoIP phones. The application offers:

  • Up-to-date tracking of important device processes on SMB-class routers and switches, Communications Manager Express, Cisco Unity Express, security devices, wireless access points, and VoIP phones
  • Ability to manage the Cisco Unified Communications 500 appliance for companies with as many as 50 workers
Cisco Monitor Manager tracks the network on a 24x7 cycle and frequently touches and gathers identification and operations-monitoring information from the monitored appliances in the network. Monitor Manager is a Microsoft Windows-based application and is entirely nondisruptive to system operations and does not use any agent software on managed appliances. The application provides a variety of useful features and benefits including:
  • Voice and data network discovery and topology
  • Device and process views of Unified Communications deployment
  • System wide device identification collection and documentation
  • Advanced security and dependable communication
  • Appliance performance monitoring
  • Cisco Unified IP Telephony monitoring
  • Interface status and data traffic monitoring
  • Real-time alarms and notices
  • Reports
  • Configuration log
Network Assistant is a desktop-hosted network management application designed for for LANs and WLANS for expanding organizations that have up to 40 switches and routers. By using Cisco's Smartports technology, Network Assistant streamlines setup, deployment, and ongoing administration and support of Cisco networks. Network Assistant provides a unified system view and allows IT managers to employ its functions across switches, routers, and access points. Security Manager is a powerful but simple to operate solution for managing all aspects of appliance set up and policies for Cisco PIX and ASA security appliances, virtual private networks, and Intrusion Prevention Systems (IPS). Cisco Security Manager efficiently manages even small networks consisting of no more than than ten devices, but also expands to manage enterprise systems composed of thousands of appliances. Scalability is enabled via smart policy-based control procedures that can simplify administrative overhead. Highlights of Security Manager are:
  • Allows control of Cisco router platforms running an IOS security software image, ASA 5500 Series firewalls, PIX firewalls, Cisco IPS 4200 Series sensors, and Catalyst 6500 family security modules
  • Reacts faster. more rapidly to attacks: specify and apply updated policies to many hundreds of appliances in a few simple steps
  • Rich GUI provides exceptional ease-of-use
  • Multiple views that provide flexible methods to manage devices and security policies including the option to manage the security environment visually on a topology image
  • Comprehensive video training for the novice operator to speed up training time
  • Centrally call out which policies are shared and automatically inherited by new devices to ensure corporate policies are configured regularly, while offering sufficient flexibility to modify policies at the individual device level
  • Capability to build a common firewall rule database for all Cisco platforms with smart analysis of firewall policies to determine conflicts in the rule table
  • Quickly set up site-to-site, hub-spoke, full mesh, or extranet Virtual Private Network links with a VPN wizard
  • Compatibility with Cisco ACS for granular role based access management to devices and management functions
  • Integration with security MARS system to associate events with related firewall rules to support faster management decisions and increased system up time
  • Capability to allocate specific tasks to every manager in the course of the deployment of a policy, with structured change control and logging; allows the security and systems operations staff to work in sync as a single group with efficient coordination
How Progent's Consultants Can Assist Your Business with Network Management
Progent's Cisco-Premier network management consultants can assist you to use Cisco's network management utilities alongside an array of powerful third-party programs to create a complete network management toolkit to keep your network running dependably, conserve valuable resources, guard your data, recover rapidly from equipment failure or malicious assaults, and enable you to expand or repurpose network resources effectively and affordably as your business evolves. Progent can also assist you to utilize network management applications to monitor and classify network data to implement traffic shaping, which permits you to program Cisco routers to impose a variety of bandwidth restrictions on designated types of activity based on the priorities you assign. By storing and queuing excess packets above your committed volume, and by assigning priority to business-critical applications, traffic shaping can keep Internet Service Provider overage charges from spiraling out of control and/or avoid lost productivity resulting from brute force policing of your network bandwidth restrictions during peak demand. Progent's CISM and CISSP security professionals can assist you to create a comprehensive security strategy that encompasses your network management processes, and Progent's remote and on-premises network experts and Cisco CCIE-certified engineers can utilize advanced network monitoring and analysis tools to isolate and remediate problems rapidly to keep your IT system running smoothly. To learn additional details concerning Progent's professional support for Cisco technology, choose a topic:

If you wish to ask Progent about technical assistance for Cisco technology, call 1-800-993-9400 or visit Contact Progent.

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