Enterprise networks provide essential services to an increasing number of small to mid-sized enterprises (SMEs). As organizations grow and networks expand and become more complex, rudimentary network management and troubleshooting is no longer sufficient. Network managers must evaluate cost-effective options for monitoring, managing, and maintaining the networks that SMEs rely on.

The Problem

Identifying troubles or traffic patterns that cause networks to grind to a halt is often a reactive process. Users complain – sometimes loudly – about sluggish network performance, forcing network managers to drop everything to try to track down the problem. If there is no network monitoring and management system in place, the command prompt is brought up and the time-consuming manual pinging, trace routing, and telneting begin in an effort to identify and isolate problems.