With the advancement of modern technology in computing, networking, and communication, businesses are gradually dedicating themselves to the construction of computing systems and network infrastructure in order to accelerate their digital transformation in the face of competition.
Since the COVID-19 pandemic outbreak in 2020, several large-scale cities have shut down, resulting in the suspension of office work and school learning. Thus, Work From Home and Distance Learning became viable options for businesses and schools during the pandemic.
With the epidemic, demand for internet and network services has increased more than ever before. However, as networks have grown more important in people’s lives, their performance, security, and vulnerability to hacker assaults have deteriorated. As a result, internet slowness, data leakage, and extortion schemes become top priorities for IT administrators. As a result, network system operation and security are critical in every industry.
Large organisations and retail chain stores tend to use a decentralised network design since they operate in several locations. In other words, each branch and the headquarters (HQ) have their own IDC room and network equipment. Furthermore, the network architecture of such large organisations or retail chain shops typically comprises of many devices from multiple vendors, making the environment huge and complicated.
As a result, IT managers must maintain not only the headquarters network infrastructure but also those at the branches. This duty is critical since the service and quality of the internet have a direct impact on the productivity and operation of businesses and retailers. Any stoppage in production or income might result in massive losses. As a result, it is understandable that network administration has become a significant topic of late, and businesses often invest a lot of money to guarantee that systems run properly and efficiently.
According to the diagram above, decentralised network design allows for more flexible and open data flow. Privacy and security are also considerably greater than in centralised design; nonetheless, it is more necessary for IT Administrators to identify the underlying reason of a network system failure. According to the Garner analysis, 80% of the time spent repairing poor internet is spent on determining the core cause of the problem. The performance of a network and the productivity of a company are proportional. In other words, high-efficiency network performance benefits work productivity and contributes to the enterprise’s growth. According to the graph below, misconfiguration and overloaded bandwidth account for around 50% of network problems.
Strong network management software is consequently required for installation in order to reduce service interruptions caused by defects. It should be proactive rather than reactive to alert the fault when problems arise.
Choosing a decent network management software is not a simple process. First and foremost, it must be cross-platform and multi-vendor, owing to the complicated infrastructure’s diverse equipment. Second, the system must be built within the limits of 5M. (FCAPS). FCAPS stands for Fault Management, Configuration Management, Accounting Management, Performance Management, and Security Management.
Fault Management
These are the fundamental features of the system to detect the fault in the system and then notify the IT Administrators. Real-time detection and notification are crucial since this is the main reason to install network management software. To achieve this, the system can always auto-discover the devices in the network system and build the inventory report for management purposes.
The further feature to auto-generate topology maps of the network system can also help IT Administrators realize its environment precisely and easily. It is advisable to diversify the method of notification to as many kinds of tools as possible. This could include popular apps on the smartphone to ensure IT Administrators receive them quickly. The dispatch of scripts toward the fault also means that actions can be taken immediately to rectify any issues. Since 80% of repair time is wasted in finding the location of the fault, the function of Fault Management helps prevent further interruption of network services.
Configuration Management
According to chart 2 above, 28% of fault is caused by misconfiguration over the network system. The feature of backup configuration could provide IT Administrators with the means to compare different versions for troubleshooting. The feature of restore configuration could ease the IT Administrators’ efforts to fix the misconfiguration by restoring previous versions.
Accounting Management
This feature gives monitoring and reports on the flow in particular channels, devices, groups, and areas. The data could provide IT Administrators a glance at the traffic and even for billing purposes. The issue of overloaded bandwidth can be proactively sorted by this management while the IT Administrator could analyze the volume of traffic sub to individual port levels to manage any abnormal abuse of internet resources instead of passively upgrading the bandwidth, which is costly.
Performance Management
Those features monitor the performance of the network environment from the bandwidth of each user, device, and group to the whole system. It analyzes the traffic and manages the NetFlow of users or groups to ensure the quality of service. The analysis could become the suggestion to extend the infrastructure.
Security Management
Network management could play a basic role in cyber security by monitoring the traffic from unfriendly sources like weblinks or servers. It could block those to prevent further attacks. It could also manage the behavior of users from internal system access to those sites.
We have discovered an intriguing new contender in the network management sector. It’s called Cyber Monitor. According to the creator, it is a Web-based intelligent network analysis and monitoring solution. It supports several browsers and offers an uniform interface that allows cross-brand monitoring systems. Cyber Monitor can control network devices from many manufacturers, including IT, network security, OT, and other devices. Its big data analysis can gather NetFlow, evaluate aberrant network traffic, and immediately pinpoint the source of the problem.
They further claim that it has passed the severe telecom environment standards, conforms with Telecom Class 5M (FCAPS) management, and can fulfil the changing demands of different types of company operations. It has been widely employed to deliver efficient network management services in the telecommunications, transportation, and business industries.
For scalable demands, more advanced topics such as the ability to integrate with the AIOps module (which can predict and warn potential risks, define thresholds, and provide troubleshooting suggestions), the generation of variable log reports for IT Administrators, and even 3D visualisation IDC rooms are being considered.
There are several intelligent network management software options available on the market, including Nagios, PRTG, SolarWinds, and Cyber Monitor, among others. These software brands are extensively utilised in many businesses, and each offers its unique set of benefits. For example, SolarWinds is one of the most active solutions on the market with a long history and provides a robust system with rich capabilities for all types of applications, but it requires IT Administrators with experience to run its complicated system. Furthermore, SolarWinds requires the installation of several modules and tools in order to work properly.
PRTG’s functionality meets expectations and is simple to use. Cyber Monitor has been used in a variety of industries, including telecommunications, transportation, manufacturing, and business. It is also PRTG-compatible, allowing it to provide even more functionality on top. PRTG users may choose to upgrade to the Cyber Monitor package’s more powerful capabilities. Its distinctive position is to give network administration on decentralised network architecture as well as modification to construct the exclusive and more comfortable GUI, dashboard, and extra features to satisfy the demands of various sectors. That is why it is popular in its native market.
Since the internet’s inception, network administration has not been a new topic. This foundational effort, however, is becoming increasingly necessary as network infrastructure gets more complicated and network service becomes more critical to the functioning and productivity of companies. As a result, scalability and customisation are important factors to consider in the system since the entity and operation may expand in the long run.