Home 
 1. Overview 
 What is Network Monitoring? 
 Why use Network Monitoring? 
 Who uses Network Monitoring? 
 How does Network Monitoring work?  
 How does Network Monitoring software work? 
 What does Network Monitoring cost? 
 2. Network monitoring implementation guide 
 What needs to be done  
 Prepare to implement 
 Implementing network monitoring 
 Reviewing the implementation 
 Resources 
 3. Network monitoring operations guide 
 What needs to be done  
 When does it need to be done 
 Who does it 
 How is it measured 
 Resources 
 4. Toolkit 
 5. Review of Network Monitoring 
 Recap of Network Monitoring 
 Checklist 
Recap of Network Monitoring
Network Monitoring summary What you should expect What you should have achieved Benefits of having implemented
In Network Monitoring we introduced the concept of monitoring the performance of your network and proactively detecting underlying problems. We gave you an overview of network monitoring and an implementation guide giving step-by-step instructions to help you implement a network monitoring process that we believe is appropriate for the needs of schools. An operations guide gave you a list of ongoing activities required in order for you to keep the process going and reap the benefits.

Check your understanding of the process by following:
Network Monitoring summary
Step
Tasks
Document the network.
Document your network so that you know what you are monitoring, by:
  • creating a map of the physical topology of your network
  • creating a map of the logical topology of your network
  • labelling and keeping records of cabling, patch panel information and other network hardware
  • standardising as far as possible and documenting the settings for computers, servers and other configurable equipment in the infrastructure
  • listing all the software on all the computers, including the software versions and patch levels
  • recording information about the users' accounts and user groups, including associated permissions and rights
  • describing the overview of the network and including it in a user handbook for your school
  • recording all incidents with resolutions to allow you to spot trends that may point to an underlying network problem
  • storing all documentation, including network maps, in the configuration management database.
Check the quality of the network cabling.
Test the quality of your cabling with a cable tester or third-party company to ensure that there are no underlying problems affecting the stability and performance of your network.
Choose a monitoring method.
Monitor and test the network traffic and messages generated by the network protocols to be sure that you have a healthy network. For this there are four options:
  • manually drawing logical and physical maps and checking server logs
  • using the built-in server utilities
  • using a protocol analyser to intercept network traffic and produce statistics on network performance
  • using network-monitoring software to report on network performance issues, produce statistics and provide network documentation such as maps and diagrams.
Establish a baseline.
Use the network document information to establish a starting point for interpreting the results of monitoring the network from day to day. This will help to define the normal operating environment and provide a reference for monitoring and troubleshooting.
What you should expect
What you should expect now that you have implemented network monitoring
  • You have a regular monitoring schedule for the network and servers, which those responsible follow to identify underlying network issues.
  • Your staff use network documentation to help identify network equipment and understand the relationships between them to help with incident and problem resolution.
  • All cabling has been tested to eliminate the possibility that it may be causing any underlying issues.
  • If you use any network monitoring software, it has been configured to report potential issues, which the person responsible for technical support then works to resolve.
What you should have achieved
What you should have achieved through network monitoring
  • Efficiency in resolving incidents and problems has improved because you now have accurate labelling of cabling and network equipment and also up-to- date records of that equipment and the relationships between them.
  • You are now able to detect proactively and resolve underlying issues relating to cabling, network traffic, failing network equipment and server capacity before these have an impact on the ICT users.
  • You can identify and plan ahead for additional disk, network traffic or processor capacity that will be required.
  • You can produce statistics on network performance and server capacity, and use these to make improvements.
  • Your school's ICT users now have a stable and reliable network available for use when they need it.
Benefits of having implemented
Benefits of having implemented network monitoring
  • You will be monitoring your network to minimise the occurrence of network problems before they affect users.
  • You will be looking at the capacity of your network equipment and traffic to allow you to carry out any necessary actions.
  • You can refer to accurate documentation of your network set-up when resolving problems.
  • You will improve reliability by ensuring that all network cabling is functioning correctly.
  • You can produce network capacity reports to help you make better planning decisions.

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