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10 Network Monitoring Best Practices You Need to Know About

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Havrd WilliamMarketing Specialist and Content Writer at ExterNetworks

Wednesday, January 5, 2022

A well-maintained network infrastructure is critical to the success of your business. By following these tips, you can ensure that your network stays safe and efficient.

Article 4 Minutes
10 Network Monitoring Best Practices You Need to Know About
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Network monitoring is the process of collecting and analyzing data from a variety of sources, including network devices, servers, applications, databases, logs and other IT infrastructure components. It’s important for monitoring to be done in real time so that you can respond quickly to any issues that arise.

The following best practices are based on my experience working with clients over the past decade. I've identified these as the top ten network monitoring best practices. These are the ones I’d recommend for every client.

1. Monitor your network traffic and performance metrics regularly

Monitoring is a critical part of any IT project, but it's especially important when you're building out new systems or migrating existing applications to cloud-based infrastructure. When you monitor your network traffic and performance data, you'll be able to identify potential issues before they become major problems.

2. Monitor your network infrastructure

Monitoring your network infrastructure is one of the most important things you can do to ensure that your network is operating at peak performance. In this day and age, when everyone is connected to the Internet, it’s critical that you monitor your network infrastructure to detect any potential issues before they impact your users.

3. Use a network management system

A network management system (NMS) is an application that monitors and manages devices on a local area network. It provides real-time visibility into what’s happening on your LAN and alerts you if there are problems. NMS solutions provide a single pane of glass for managing all aspects of your network infrastructure, including servers, switches, routers, firewalls, wireless access points and other networking equipment.

4. Keep up with new technologies

As new technologies emerge, it’s important to keep up with them. This includes keeping abreast of new protocols, standards and security measures. If you aren't aware of the latest trends, then you could be putting yourself at risk.

5. Maintain your firewall configuration

Your firewall configuration is one of the most crucial components of your network infrastructure. A properly configured firewall protects against unauthorized access to your network and helps prevent malicious attacks. Make sure that you regularly check your firewall settings and update them as needed.

6. Monitor your servers

It’s important to work with network monitoring services to monitor your server applications and databases to ensure that they are running smoothly. You want to know whether they are responding quickly and efficiently.

The most common cause of this error is a misconfigured firewall.

If you’ve got a firewall set up correctly, then it should only allow connections from trusted sources. Otherwise, you could end up allowing malicious traffic through which could compromise your system.

7. Check your router settings

Routers are often overlooked, but they play a vital role in ensuring that your network is secure and reliable. Routers are responsible for forwarding traffic between networks. They must be configured correctly to function effectively.

8. Perform regular backups

Backup procedures are essential to protecting your business. Ensure that you perform regular backups of your data. Backups help protect against downtime and data loss.

A backup plan should include testing of your systems regularly. This will ensure that they are working correctly and that any problems can be identified quickly. Regularly test your backups by restoring them onto another system. If this fails, then it means that something has gone wrong with your original system.

The best way to do this is to back up your files using a cloud storage service like Dropbox or Google Drive. These services allow you to access your files from anywhere at any time. They also offer automatic updates so if anything goes wrong, you won’t lose all your work.

9. Test your network infrastructure

Testing your network infrastructure ensures that everything is functioning properly. Testing allows you to catch potential problems early on.

The most common way to test your network is by using a tool called ping. This will tell you if any devices on your network are responding to pings from another device. If they aren’t, then it’s likely that something is wrong with your connection.

10. Update your software

Software updates are another key component of maintaining a healthy network infrastructure. Updates ensure that your software is always current and that you don’t have outdated or vulnerable systems.

In addition to keeping your network updated, it’s important to keep your operating system and applications patched. This ensures that any vulnerabilities in your computer aren’t exploited by hackers who may want to gain access to your information or steal your identity.

Havrd William

Havrd William

Havrd is a Marketing Specialist and Content Writer currently working with ExterNetworks - A Leading Managed IT Service Provider.

www.extnoc.com/

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02/05/2022 Raj Dodiya
I think there are also some best Network monitoring best Practices that should know in 2022 rnrn1) End-to-End Visibility of The Networkrn rnTo manage the entire network of the IT organization proficiently, one needs clear visibility of the network. Whether it be quickly identifying the problems in the network or observing the flow of data, end-to-end and precise visibility helps the organization enhance network performance and reduce network outages. It offers you a good system overview and excellent insights into your network and devices. rnrn2) Consolidated System View rnrnAn organization contains different interfaces, applications, devices and networks. There is a list of organizations that contain more than one network setup. Ensure that your chosen network monitoring system monitors all these devices and networks and provides you with an integrated system view in one unified interface for your organization. rnrn3)Instant Alerts and Notification rnrnAlerts and notifications are exceptional and powerful features of network monitoring. With the help of proper alerts and notifications, the organization can identify the problem and work on resolving the issue. When any disruption or irregularities are found in the network, it is crucial to get notified as soon as possible. Detecting the problem immediately will help in solving it earlier. rnrn4)Customized and Robust Dashboards rnrnIt is essential to have a dashboard that gives you complete visibility of the entire network to make things easy and get brief insights into the network. The process becomes easy and hassle-free for the admin to check any problem or abnormal network insights by directly accessing the dashboard. rnrnSome prominent and advanced network monitoring platforms provide you with an automated build dashboard. But having a customized dashboard gives you various customizable features to create the dashboard according to your needs. rnrn An ideal dashboard should be the one that gives you a clear insight into all the critical components of the network. rnrn5)Reports For Better Monitoring rnrnTo witness exceptional and better Monitoring of your network, you must generate daily, weekly, or monthly reports. Whether you need insights into network performance or the history of your network device, then reports will help you out. rnrn Why are Reports Critical for Network monitoring? rnrnIt provides you with detailed insight into the network, including performance, availability, and more. rnrnIt offers you a range of metrics to overcome the problems and get a crystal-clear view of your entire network. rnrnIt helps in scaling the business with powerful insights and metrics. rnrnIt gives you a robust analysis of usage trends, network trends, and performance analysis to witness more efficient network monitoring outcomes. rnrnYou will get complete coverage in all aspects of your network with reports. rnrnConclusion rnrnAn organization's scalability and productivity are dependent on the networks. And to overcome the network challenges, every organization must have a robust network monitoring platform to get stability, security, and faster problem-solving. rnrnA network outage can cost you a more significant loss, and integrating a network monitoring system will help you reduce network outages. We hope that the above-discussed best practices will help you achieve great results. Ensure that you follow all these practices to witness exceptional growth, faster decision-making, and a quick solution for your organization.

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