Network Monitoring Software

What is network monitoring, and why is it important?

Network monitoring provides visibility across a business network. With fast, in-depth insights into the full range of network devices and services, admins can better manage network connectivity and troubleshoot issues.

This process is critical for ensuring network availability and optimizing performance across any business network. With effective network monitoring, admins can proactively strategize to prevent disruptions and respond quickly to issues affecting end-user experience.

What is network monitoring software, and how does it work?

Network monitoring software is a professional IT automation tool for discovering, mapping, analyzing, and managing a business network. Network monitoring software provides an overview of hardware usage and performance metrics to help maintain optimal connectivity.

The software monitors network access, routers, firewalls, and switches while measuring key performance indicators such as CPU utilization and more. Additionally, network monitoring software generates critical alerts and reports for additional oversight of your network.

How can network monitoring software help optimize networks and troubleshoot issues?

Software like NPM enhances network monitoring with mapping, data correlation, advanced alerting, and more. NPM offers NetPath for visual traceroute mapping and performance metrics tracking across managed nodes, displaying data through easy-to-use charts and graphs.

Admins need network monitoring software to perform proactive troubleshooting, gain context and insights, and prevent business disruption. By utilizing at-a-glance overviews and detailed updated data, IT pros using network monitoring software can head off network issues to help ensure optimal availability and end-user experience.

What types of network devices can NPM discover and monitor?

NPM makes it easy to scan your network, discover devices, and rapidly begin monitoring all typical network device types, including routers, firewalls, and switches.

Discover and monitor vendor devices, including Cisco ACI devices, Cisco ASA firewalls, Cisco Nexus devices, Cisco SwitchStack, F5 BIG-IP load balancer, Palo Alto firewalls, EnergyWise devices, Azure V-Nets and V-Net Gateways, and more.

Discovery: The NPM discovery process includes a few potential scanning options. You can scan based on IP range or subnets or scan directly for IP addresses not falling in a range. You can also scan an Active Directory domain controller, which is convenient for adding large subnets. Discover VMware vCenter or ESX Servers version 4.0 and later, using the Virtualization panel.

Monitoring: You can use NPM’s Network Insight features to assess the health and performance of your API-, SNMP-, and WMI-enabled devices. To use SNMP, enable it on the devices you’d like to monitor. Another option is WMI, usually enabled by default on Windows devices and used for WMI polling. You can also extend monitoring to cover non-standard devices using object identifiers (OIDs).

How can I start using NPM, and what are its licensing models?

To get up and running with NPM, you must first activate your NPM license during the installation process. You’ll need the license key—located in the SolarWinds Customer Portal. NPM licenses operate in conjunction with additional SolarWinds licenses.

SolarWinds offers two main licensing models, enabling access to our broad range of services.

Subscription Licensing means you can use SolarWinds software during the subscription period—with maintenance and 24/7 support during the subscription term.

Perpetual Licensing means you can use SolarWinds software in perpetuity—with maintenance and 24/7 support during the first year and the option to renew support services following year one.

The NPM licensing model offers different tiers depending on the type and number of services purchased while remaining flexible and scalable to the maximum number of nodes, interfaces, and volumes requiring monitoring and management.

SolarWinds NPM is licensed based on the largest number of selected network elements monitored, including nodes, interfaces, and volumes. Nodes refer to monitored devices, such as switches, routers, access points, modems, and virtual and physical servers. Interfaces include single points of network traffic, including virtual and physical interfaces, sub-interfaces, switch ports, and VLANs. Volumes, meanwhile, refer to the monitoring of any logical disks.

NPM network monitoring software has five different licensing levels. The SL100, SL250, SL500, SL2000, and SLX licenses correspond to the levels of nodes, interfaces, and volumes separately included within the license model. For example, the SL100 license provides a maximum of 100 nodes, 100 interfaces, and 100 volumes (300 elements cumulatively), whereas the SL500 license allows for a maximum of 500 nodes, 500 interfaces, and 500 volumes (1,500 elements in total). An SLX license can monitor a maximum of 12,000 elements (the sum of nodes, interfaces, and volumes). To monitor over 12,000 elements, additional polling engine (APE) licenses are required.

Does NPM monitoring software also provide network data analysis?

NPM provides network data analysis using PerfStack™ for cross-stack data comparison. PerfStack’s ability to compare and correlate data makes it easier to find problems and fix them more quickly.

With the PerfStack dashboard, you can drag and drop disparate data types onto a single timeline, so performance metrics from multiple sources are viewed all in a single chart. For additional insights, compare various network data types for fast issue analysis and incorporate system, virtualization, database, and storage data.

Because PerfStack offers a centralized timeline, you can start with the knowledge of when an issue arose on your network and use data analysis to discover where the problem occurred. The dashboard allows for visual correlation for at-a-glance ease of use, including collaboration between teams.

Can I extend NPM network functionalities to bandwidth analysis, network configurations, and IP management?

With NPM network monitoring software, you can easily integrate other SolarWinds network products to cover your IP address management, bandwidth analysis, and network configuration needs. When combined with NPM’s dashboards, you’ll have comprehensive, powerful insights across your network.

IP Address Manager (IPAM): built to automate the IP address tracking process, provide integrated DHCP, DNS, and IP address management, and enable IP troubleshooting, alerting, and reporting capabilities.

Network Configuration Manager (NCM): designed to automate your network configuration process, making it easier to make bulk changes to wired and wireless devices.

NetFlow Traffic Analyzer (NTA): made to capture and proactively analyze all bandwidth traffic across your network. With this bandwidth monitoring software, you can discover traffic patterns, create alerts, and prevent bandwidth hogs.