Network Management

For today's network providers, understanding the performance and effectiveness of their networks is critical to business success. To ensure user satisfaction, service providers and enterprise IT teams need to provide service-level agreements (SLAs) to customers or users. Performance management applications are vital to this effort. Effective performance management tools can alert network managers to underuse of network paths or potential problems. By analyzing and identifying trends in performance statistics, these tools can potentially help avert service degradations before they occur. Network Management: Accounting and Performance Strategies enables readers to understand these data collection concepts and distinguish various methods, and provides detailed guidance on how to apply these concepts in a real network. It details how to better leverage established Cisco components by using specific Network Management Systems (NMS) features within Cisco IOS. Today these functions are either unknown or unclear to customers who have a rough idea about NMS but need details, guidance, and best practices on how to use these functions. This book compares various collection mechanisms available today and guides readers to choose the best one to fulfill their network management needs. An important feature of this title are the "How To" sections, which not only explain concepts, but provide best practices, technical details, and real-world examples and guidance.Network Management: Accounting and Performance Strategies The definitive guide to collecting usage information from Cisco networks Benoit Claise, CCIE® No. 2868 Ralf Wolter Understanding network performance and effectiveness is now crucial to business success. To ensure user satisfaction, both service providers and enterprise IT teams must provide service-level agreements (SLA) to the users of their networks-and then consistently deliver on those commitments. Now, two of the Cisco® leading network performance and accounting experts bring together all the knowledge network professionals need to do so. Network Management: Accounting and Performance Strategies imparts a deep understanding of Cisco IOS® embedded management for monitoring and optimizing performance, together with proven best strategies for both accounting and performance management. Benoit Claise and Ralf Wolter begin by introducing the role of accounting and performance management in today's large-scale data and voice networks. They present widely accepted performance standards and definitions, along with today's best practice methodologies for data collection. Next, they turn to Cisco devices and the Cisco IOS Software, illuminating embedded management and device instrumentation features that enable you to thoroughly characterize performance, plan network enhancements, and anticipate potential problems and prevent them. Network standards, technologies, and Cisco solutions covered in depth include Simple Network Management Protocol (SNMP) and Management Information Bases (MIB), Remote Monitoring (RMON), IP accounting, NetFlow, BGP policy accounting, AAA Accounting, Network Based Application Recognition (NBAR), and IP SLA (formerly known as SAA). For each, the authors present practical examples and hands-on techniques. The book concludes with chapter-length scenarios that walk you through accounting and performance management for five different applications: data network monitoring, capacity planning, billing, security, and voice network performance. Network Management: Accounting and Performance Strategies will be indispensable to every professional concerned with network performance, effectiveness, or profitability, especially NMS/OSS architects, network and service designers, network administrators, and anyone responsible for network accounting or billing. Benoit Claise, CCIE® No. 2868, is a Cisco Distinguished Engineer working as an architect for embedded management and device instrumentation. His area of expertise includes accounting, performance, and fault management. Claise is a contributor to the NetFlow standardization at the IETF in the IPFIX and PSAMP Working Groups. He joined Cisco in 1996 as a customer support engineer in the Technical Assistance Center network management team and became an escalation engineer before joining the engineering team. Ralf Wolter is a senior manager, consulting engineering at Cisco. He leads the Cisco Core and NMS/OSS consulting team for Europe, works closely with corporate engineering, and supports large-scale customer projects. He specializes in device instrumentation related to accounting and performance management. Compare accounting methods and choose the best approach for you Apply network performance best practices to your network Leverage built-in Cisco IOS network management system components to quantify performance Uncover trends in performance statistics to help avoid service degradation before it occurs Identify under use of network paths, so you can improve overall network efficiencyWalk through hands-on case studies that address monitoring, capacity planning, billing, security, and voice networks Understand Cisco network performance, deliver on your SLAs, and improve accounting and billing This book is part of the Networking Technology Series from Cisco Press®, which offers networking professionals valuable information for constructing efficient networks, understanding new technologies, and building successful careers.