Question

1.
(a) SNMP management is the most widely used network management system for enterprise networks. Briefly discuss the characteristics that allow it to have this status.

(b) It took a considerable amount of time for the SNMP security subsystem to be developed. Briefly discuss the controversies encountered during the development stages. What do you think could have been done differently?

(c) Describe a specific example of how the network operations center uses remote monitoring to efficiently manage networks

Help in MIS

Answer 1

The reason why SNMP is a must-have is that they’re rich with features relevant to the responsibilities of IT teams. A quality network monitoring program helps simplify the daily tasks of IT personnel, such as:

• Monitoring consumables, such as paper supplies, toner, and ink.
• Getting alerts for device-related events, like a copier running low on paper.
• Connect to other network devices safely.
• Keeping the company’s network up and running.

Thus, an SNMP monitoring program is every business should have. Further, here are more benefits of using an SNMP monitoring tool when organizing your system.

1. Discover Devices Within the Network

The most basic function of an SNMP monitoring program is to discover all the devices in the network. With a simple click of a button, network administrators can easily monitor and manage devices connecting to the system.

If the company has an extensive network, it can be challenging to track which IP addresses and devices are currently used. It also serves as a watchdog to alert you if there are unauthorized devices added or connecting to the network.

2. Map the Network

After discovering the devices within the network, an SNMP monitoring solution helps map out the system based on the physical links and the associated Wi-Fi access points. There’s no need to sort out the cables and wonder which machine is connected to a certain host.

3. Determine the Health Status of Devices

Network monitoring tools are convenient when you want to determine the status of a device. Determining the status of devices in the network is done by performing some tests, like a port test or ping.

The network map allows IT teams to know whether a device is down or offline, so that necessary investigations can be made and solutions applied.

4. Analyze Network Traffic

System administrators must have the ability to understand and analyze the incoming and outgoing traffic in their network. SNMP monitoring software can reveal the utilization of various switch ports in the system.

It means that the top protocols and communicators can be shown at a given time. SNMP tools can determine if and what overwork a network device.

5. Generate Hardware Reports

Every company needs access to statistical network information to understand and improve processes. An SNMP monitoring tool provides reports on CPU utilization, port bandwidth, hard disk capacity, and memory usage for every device.

IT teams generate and use these historical reports to determine and improve the performance of tools in the network. For example, if a server consumes more than 5% of its hard disk capacity daily, IT personnel can work out a solution to prevent future network problems.

6. Monitor and Respond to Alerts

Finding out if whether a device is down or offline is essential. But, it’s just as critical to resolving the incident. Any network monitoring tool is incomplete without a feature to monitor and respond to IT incidents.

These alerts are sent through SMS, email, or Slack messages. System administrators can even integrate these alerts to ticketing systems and virtualization software.

7. Examine Wireless Connectivity

With almost everyone in the company relying on wireless networks, it’s pertinent to be able to examine the signal strength and the factors that can affect it. SNMP monitoring programs help reveal the cause of slow or patchy connections. Network managers are alerted before users can report a growing problem.

8. Manage Devices in the Network

One of the essential benefits of SNMP monitoring software is the ability to access a device’s configuration settings. With this function, the network manager can issue commands, back up, make changes, or restore the configuration settings of every device connected to the network.

A network monitoring tool allows network administrators to disable a port or create a new connection with just a few clicks!