UNIX, macOS and OS X, Linux, Sun Solaris Consulting

Network monitoring conventionally entails observing a network's bandwidth usage in order to identify areas of congestion or to troubleshoot equipment or application issues. Nagios and MRTG are useful, Open Source monitoring tools that run under Linux and can be used to understand mixed-vendor environments where UNIX and MS Windows both operate. Progent's IT support engineers can show you how to deploy each of these tools to optimize and repair your infrastructure.

Nagios Monitoring Application
The Nagios network monitoring system is a host and service monitor that runs under Linux. The monitoring daemon runs intermittent inspections of hosts and services you request by means of outside add-ons which return status data to Nagios. When issues are encountered, the Nagios can send alerts to management contacts in a number of ways such as email, IM, or SMS. Current status information, archival logs, and reports can be examined using the web.

Major features of Nagios include:

• Monitoring of system services such as POP3, HTTP, FTP, and NNTP
• Tracking of host resources: CPU load, memory/disk utilization, running processes, etc.
• Ability to specify host hierarchy, allowing distinction between machines that are not running as opposed to hosts that are unreachable
• Contact notifications by e-mail, pager, or other user-specified method when service or host issues occur or are resolved
• Option to specify event handlers to be run during service or machine events for automated problem resolution
• Accommodation for deploying redundant and dispersed network monitoring computers
• External command option that allows ad hoc edits to be made to the monitoring and alerting activity through the use of event scripts, the web interface, and third-party applications
• Retention of machine and service status after application restarts
• Scheduled offline periods for suppressing machine and service alerts when there are intentional service breaks
• Web interface for examining existing system status, notification and anomaly archive, event logs, etc.
• Authorization protocol that allows you to restrict what customers can view and do via the web interface

MRTG Graphical Traffic Load Monitor
MRTG Graphical Traffic Load Monitor is a free tool to track the traffic load on a network. Running under Windows or Linux, MRTG reads the traffic counters of routers and generates web pages which offer an up-to-date visual representation of this data.

MRTG allows you to graph the bandwidth through any SNMP-enabled network appliance. This includes processors, routers, and switches. You can use the resulting data to determine network trouble spots.

Type of information you are able to graph with MRTG include:

• Traffic in bits or bytes per second
• Connection rate in connections per second
• Traffic in an out of a particular VIP/virtual server or real server
• Total number of simultaneous sessions

Contact Progent about Network Monitoring Help
Progent's network monitoring specialists are skilled in operating a number of utilities that can assist you to repair or tune your connectivity infrastructure. To get network monitoring expertise, call Progent at 800-993-9400 or see Contact Progent.

Progent's Microsoft, Cisco, and Applications Consulting Expertise
Progent's Microsoft and Cisco authorized professionals offer clients in the, Silicon Valley, and in cities nationwide a broad range of expertise concerning the basic information technology needs shared by most small and mid-size business networks. Progent's core consulting areas include system integration, Microsoft Exchange help, network security consulting and Help Desk consulting and support. Progent's Experts Team offers in-depth knowledge of strategic application areas. By providing a one-stop source for information technology generalists and specialists, Progent is able to deliver speedy, affordable and complete network solutions that fit the unique needs of your organization.